Europol set for launch on schedule

Date: 24/06/1999

By Simon Coss

THE head of the European police agency Europol says he is "80-90%" sure that his organisation will finally be able to open for business next Thursday (1 July).

Director Jürgen Storbeck says he is confident that the legal hitches which have prevented the police agency from operating at full capacity until now can be resolved by the end of the month.

Italy, Portugal, Greece and Austria have yet to sign bilateral agreements with the Netherlands to govern the diplomatic immunity of national 'liason officers' seconded to work at the Hague-based police agency.

But officials believe Austria and Greece will complete their respective approval procedures "in a matter of days", and Portuguese diplomats say their government will formally notify the Dutch government and the Council of Ministers that the agreement has been approved "before the end of next week."

However, Italy could still delay Europol's formal launch. Although officials in Rome insist that they are optimistic about the chances of meeting the deadline, parliamentarians have yet to examine the country's bilateral deal.

The EU convention which formally created Europol entered into force last October but outstanding legal problems have so far prevented the agency from operating at full capacity.

If the loose-ends are tied up by next week, Europol will be able to begin using its vast computer database - The Europol Computer System (TECS) - which contains information on criminal suspects across the Union.

But even if that happens, Storbeck admits it will be another year before his agency is firing on all cylinders. Technical problems mean that the computer database will will not be fully operational until the end of 2000.