92000E0135

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0135/00

by Gerhard Hager (NI) to the Council

(31 January 2000)

Subject: Progress in setting-up the European Police College

At the Tampere summit, the European Council decided to establish a European Police College, in the form of a network of existing national training institutes.

1. How far have the actual plans for establishing this European Police College progressed?

2. Within what timeframe is setting up of the college being planned and when is it to start work?

3. What will be the precise scope of the College's activities, and what tasks is it to undertake beyond coordinating the national training systems?

4. How large a staff will be required in the Council's view?

5. What expenditure will be involved?

Reply

(28 March 2000)

On 14 December 1999 the Committee referred to in Article 36 of the TEU decided to commission a preliminary study on the future network of European Police Colleges. The General Secretariat of the Council of the European Union is currently carrying out that study. It will be examined by the Article 36 Committee on 28 and 29 February 2000.

Once the preliminary study has been examined, the next step will be to determine how the network design that is generally supported by the Member States is to be implemented in detail. The Finnish Presidency set 1 January 2001 as the target for the network to start operating.

A detailed description of the network's activities will be provided at a later stage. The tasks assigned to the network are currently expected to go beyond those now covered by the Association of European Police Colleges (AEPC).

No precise information regarding staff requirements will be available until the preliminary study, or even the second study, has been completed.

Precise information about the network's financial requirements is not yet available.