From: "John Hurst", [EMAIL PROTECTED] The European Police Force - A New Threat To Britons Lindsay Jenkins A few years ago the idea of an EU police force would have been laughable. And even more laughable would have been the suggestion that the British police would take their orders from Brussels. So here is a salutary tale of how pressure is slowly and remorselessly building for an EU police force which would mean the end of the British police forces, as we know them and of many of our freedoms. Next year - 2000 - all the EU governments will meet for another intergovernmental conference in preparation for the next EU treaty. The issues, which will dominate the headlines throughout the year, will be 'police and judicial control' - that is everything which in the UK comes under the aegis of the Home Office. The creation of one criminal and civil code, one judiciary, and one immigration system will take a big step forward. The proposed European constitution includes 'The Union (EU) shall.endeavour to protect citizens against all forms of crime...' and for that it needs a police force. These extremely radical - and many would say terrifying - proposals are being introduced in stages. Jean Monnet, the so-called father of the EU, used to say 'take the line of least resistance - that will ultimately win the day'. So stage one is co-operation and then the moves begin for more and more centralisation, always going for that line of least resistance. It all began in 1984 at the Fontainebleu Summit. While Mrs Thatcher was fighting 'for our money back' other Member States were planning to end border controls as 'a pathfinder to an EU-wide frontier free zone' or in common parlance one country. Because the UK refused to get rid of its frontier controls Germany, France, and Benelux signed the Schengen Treaty - Schengen is a village in Luxembourg. An EU without the old national borders has led inexorably to demands for one 'judicial space' and a 'European area of justice': that includes one police force. As Jurgen Storbeck, the German head of Europol, recently explained to the British Police Foundation, organised crime crossing the old national borders is having a field day. After much negotiation, and the provisions of the Maastricht Treaty, the European Drugs Unit started work in 1994 'to support member States .in the fight against drugs and associated money laundering', a purely co-operative venture. The Drugs Agency turned into Europol on 1st October 1998. Europol now has a legal framework and under the Europol Convention which came into force on 1st July 1999 Europol will shortly be able to deal with other forms of serious crime. Then came the Amsterdam treaty and the project took a great leap forward. Title VI says: the member states are to 'develop common action...in the fields of police and judicial co-operation in criminal matters and by preventing racism and xenophobia. What does this mean? We do not know. Under Amsterdam new areas have been added: illegal immigration, trafficking in human beings; child pornography; stolen vehicles; terrorism, and counterfeiting currency. Co-operation is no longer good enough - the treaty says 'closer co-operation'. The British police and Customs and Excise have been enthusiastic users of Europol, which they view as a form of Interpol. Indeed the countries, which make most use of it, are the UK and Germany. There are 142,000 police officers in this country and probably no more than half a dozen have any idea of the threat from Europol. At Europol's HQ in The Hague, which in the Second World War was the Nazi headquarters, there are 130 staff and 45 liaison officers (3 British) and by 2003 there will be over 350 staff. Europol already has its worrying side. No Europol officer can be prosecuted or in the words of the 1997 British Statutory Instrument: 'shall enjoy immunity from suit and legal process in respect of acts done by them in the exercise of their official functions'. Today that is of little concern - Europol does not have executive powers - but what of tomorrow? Europol has already edged beyond the co-operation stage, or the Interpol look alike which has fooled the British police so far. Europol's state of the artanalysis system is only accessible to Europol analysts. Within the next two years Europol will set up a database of 'criminal activity' which will include ethnic origins, sexuality, and political and religious views. Europol can assist in training police officers from member states, advise on their organisation, equipment and methods including technical and forensic. The first step was the European Police College at Leusden in the Netherlands funded by the EU and now four years old - purely co-operative of course. Within three years the next EU treaty plus changes by the Home Secretary, Jack Straw, may mean that Europol will be under the control of an EU Commissioner; a European Public Prosecutor may supervise all Europol investigations. The British police oath to the Queen as head of state may be abolished. A new Police Staff College to train senior European police officers is planned - perhaps with the knowledge that the British will not be keen on the new Europol we are already being thrown the sop that the new police college will be somewhere in the UK. The Continental practice is that the police are not responsible for investigating a crime. All investigations are started and supervised by a judge, under the overall authority of the Public Prosecutor, the police are merely his agents. The House of Lords Select Committee investigating Corpus Juris (the Brussels plan to harmonise all EU legal procedures and abolish the British legal system including habeas corpus and trial by jury) said in June 1999 that the proposed European Public Prosecutor would 'be able to exercise substantial coercive powers in relation to the citizen and in doing so would be independent of national governments and Community institutions' and be 'accountable to no-one'. Still, to come under the Amsterdam treaty and all within the next five years - members of the European police will take part in joint operations anywhere in the EU including this country - the treaty says in a 'support capacity'. Will they be in plain clothes or what uniform will they wear - will they be armed or unarmed? And if an operation goes wrong Europol officers cannot be sued. Europol will also be able to ask the British police to carry out an investigation investigation - this is way beyond anybody's interpretation of co-operation. Or can they refuse? The Patten Report on policing in Northern Ireland drew the headlines with its proposed new oath removing references to the Queen and the Crown and emphasising the commitment to human rights and racial equality with no reference to upholding the law and preventing crime. Jack Straw is considering adopting that oath for all UK police forces. And what might come in say five years time? Former Superintendent David Hodges of Thames Valley Police believes Britain will soon get a national police force. 'I really fear that, I think it would become highly politicised, in a way that chief constables are spared at the moment, and .it would erode individual liberties. But we are increasingly becoming part of Europe, and all European police forces are national. We will sooner or later have to conform.' We have the only unarmed police force - the same pressures may mean that the British police will be armed - again some say within five years. To chill the blood even more: Europol's Jorgen Storbeck told the British police that Europol will 'stand or fall according to whether member States supply (it with) good quality information... The signs are mixed at present. If they do not, then we have to go and find it, then the calls for Europol to have executive powers may prove irresistible.' We have been warned. Lindsay Jenkins October 1999 -- European police forces are not all national, not by any stretch of the imagination. I think the description here applies to France, Spain and maybe the Netherlands and Belgium. Steve. Cybershooters website: http://www.cybershooters.org List admin: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ___________________________________________________________ T O P I C A http://www.topica.com/t/17 Newsletters, Tips and Discussions on Your Favorite Topics
