`There is no logical necessity for the creation of EUROPOL. It was purely a poliitcal development.` Discuss

The Creation of EUROPOL was Mainly Political

Introduction

Policing in Europe has obviously been undergoing tremendous transformations following the creation of the European Police Office - EUROPOL- and the recent modifications of the Treaty creating it , to allow it some operational powers1 . Bruggeman 2 contend that Europe , as a whole , seem to be entering into an era when governments find real benefits in working towards practical international police and justice co-operation for two reasons one , as a response to real or perceived threats to and security , and most importantly as a

way of compensating for the removal of b controls that characterise the single community imposed by the European Union . While Woodward 3 argue that the idea of creating a police force with intelligence and operational powers across the European Community is not such a new idea as it has always been the political agenda of some countries Mangelaars 4 support this contention , suggesting that the informal police cooperation that existed between the German , Belgium and Netherlands in the 1960s could well be seen as the precursor to the present EUROPOL

As it stands now , especially with the creation of EUROPOL , it has been argued that , considering the numerous structure of alliances operational in Europe , such as Interpol , the World Customs (WCO , and Schengen European Police cooperation could be seen as a complex

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Bruggeman , W (2002 . Policing and Accountability In A Dynamic European Context , 12 ( 4 ) Policing and Society , pp . 259-273

Bruggeman , W (2001 . International Law Enforcement Co-Operation : A Critical Assessment , 9 , European Journal on Criminal Policy and Research , pp 283-290

Woodward , R (1998 . Establishing Europol , 1-4 , European Journal on Criminal Policy and Research , pp 7-34

Mangelaars , J .W (1999 . Where does politics meet practice in establishing Europol ? European 1-4 , Journal on Criminal Policy and Research , pp 71-83

patchwork of overlapping institutions5 . Quoting from Benyon et al Bruggeman further assert that the police network (or cooperation ) in Europe can be seen as operating on three interrelated levels : a macro-level , concerned with constitutional and international legal agreements and the harmonisation of national laws and regulations a meso-level , concerned with police operational structures , practices procedures and technology and a micro-level , concerned with the prevention and detection of specific offences and crime problems6 . As a result , the author concludes that the European continental can be best characterised as a 'crowded police space

Therefore , this essay aims to look at the contention that the creation of EUROPOL was not as a result of any logical or pressing necessity That politics and political reasons appears to be the major driving factor behind the trend towards an operational European police Co-operation . To achieve this purpose , the next section of this essay will take a general look at EUROPOL , its creation , strengths , functions and limitations . The third section will look at EUROPOL within the context of INTERPOL . The fourth section of this essay will provide the argument to support the contention that EUROPOL did not satisfy any necessity or pressing need , while the last section shall...