Europol marks the occasion of its 100th Management Board Meeting

Europol marks the occasion of its 100th Management Board Meeting

Today, Europol is holding its 100^th Management Board meeting to discuss the future of the organisation at a time of considerable strategic changes in the security environment and amidst important policy developments in the EU’s internal security. Europol’s Management Board gives strategic guidance and oversees the implementation of Europol’s tasks. It comprises one high-ranking representative from each Member State, and the European Commission. As representative of the Host State, the Netherlands, Mrs Anita Vegter, Director-General for the Administration of Justice and Law Enforcement, attended the meeting and delivered a speech on behalf of the Dutch Minister of Security and Justice, Ard van der Steur. Mrs Vegter said that: “The Member States need to make even better use of the opportunities that Europol offers for collaboration through its information systems and the Focal Point Travellers¹.”

Dimitris Avramopoulos, European Commissioner for Migration, Home Affairs and Citizenship congratulated the Management Board on its 100th meeting and stressed that: “We live in challenging times for security. The threats to the security of our citizens are constantly changing, evolving, multiplying. They are becoming more varied and more transnational. Europol’s role in this security environment could not be more central. Over the years it has earned the trust and recognition of the EU institutions, Member States and EU citizens themselves. It has become an established partner with unique capabilities in coordination and analytics. Europol has become the very nerve centre of our common work on security in Europe.” Please find Commissioner Avramopoulos’s full video message HERE.

Europol Director Rob Wainwright reminded in his opening speech of the 100th Management Board meeting that: “The Management Board is Europol’s primary governance instrument and its most important stakeholder environment. The core work and functions of Europol are rooted in serving directly the policing and security interests of EU Member States. Therefore it is critical to the continued success of Europol that it is supervised directly by representatives drawn from those national communities. During a period of considerable strategic change for Europol the continuity of purpose and experience offered by the Management Board is invaluable.”

Arie IJzerman, Chairperson of Europol’s Management Board, highlighted the fact that Europol has become one of the most influential actors in the European security landscape: “Today we gather in this great building to mark the 100th Management Board meeting. Europol is a unique organisation. Not only for its capabilities and because it has become one of the most influential actors in the European security landscape. Europol is unique because of its purpose and the idea behind it. These challenges create an unprecedented level of demand for Europol’s unique information and operational platform, which supports Member States investigations.”

On the occasion of the 100th meeting, the Management Board presented a book, which describes the role and evolution of the organisation from a Management Board perspective – from its founding roots in the early 1990s, through to its emergence as a fully-fledged EU agency in 2009 and its full integration into the post-Lisbon institutional environment under the new Regulation. The book provides an honest account of the history of Europol’s governing body, its achievements, its limitations and its relationship with Europol’s main stakeholders and actors. Europol’s Management Board book can be downloaded HERE.

Europol’s Management Board meets twice a year to discuss a wide range of Europol issues which relate to its current activities and its future developments. Each year the Management Board adopts Europol’s final budget, work programme of future activities and a general report on activities carried out during the previous year, which are submitted to the Council for endorsement and by the latter to the European Parliament for information.

¹ Focal Point (FP) Travellers is a specialist team of analysts and experts that coordinates EU Member States’ investigations into, and data analysis on, foreign terrorist fighters.