European Police Chiefs Task Force (EPCTF) Expanded Troika Meeting
- On: 11.07.2008
- In: Paris, Sorbonne University
The meeting will bring together the Chiefs of Police of the acting Trio Presidency of the Council of the European Union - France, the Czech Republic and Sweden - the previous trio - Germany, Portugal and Slovenia - as well as Spain, representing the next trio.
The General Secretariat of the Council, the European Commission and the Director of Europol will also attend the meeting.
The main item on the agenda will be the future of this Task Force. The Chiefs of Police will meet for a three-day meeting following the Informal JHA Council in Cannes, which will discuss the architecture of Europe's internal security. There are indeed plans within the European Union to ensure the promotion and reinforcement of operational cooperation with regard to internal security and, above all, to ensure the coordination of actions undertaken by the competent authorities of Member States. For this reason, it will be indispensable to consider the evolution of the EPCTF. Participants in the meeting of 11 July will to this effect have the opportunity to review its work in progress.
In 1999 the Tampere Council called for the creation of such a structure so that police forces could, in cooperation with Europol, exchange experiences, best practices and information on cross-border crime.
The Commission had, however, pointed out the structural shortcomings of this Task Force, which meets during every Presidency of the European Council. These include too few meetings, inequalities between its participants' levels of representation, overloaded agendas, etc.
In addition to reflecting on its future, the Task Force of 11 July will also prepare the two other meetings planned under the French Presidency: the strategic Task Force of 22 October, in Brussels, and the operational Task Force, to be held on 26 and 27 November in The Hague.
- Updated: 08.10.2008
