Cooperation agreement between Principality of Monaco and EUROPOL expanded

M. Patrice Cellario, Conseiller de Gouvernement-Ministre de l'Intérieur, et Mme Catherine De Bolle, Directeur Exécutif d'Europol ©DR

 

An agreement expanding the areas of cooperation between the Principality of Monaco and the European Police Office (EUROPOL) to all areas under EUROPOL’s competence, including terrorism, cybercrime, organised crime, drugs trafficking, people trafficking and money laundering, was signed by Mr Patrice Cellario, Minister of the Interior, and Ms Catherine De Bolle, Executive Director of EUROPOL, on 4 July 2018.

The Minister visited EUROPOL’s headquarters in The Hague (Netherlands) with a delegation comprising Police Commissioner Richard Marangoni and Chief Superintendents Christophe Haget and Régis Bastide.

The visit provided an opportunity to consolidate and deepen the links forged on the basis of an initial agreement signed in 2011. Since that time, EUROPOL has considerably expanded its strategic and operational analysis capacities, as well as its coordination and forecasting capabilities in crisis areas. These capabilities are made available to member states of the European Union and countries which have operational and strategic cooperation agreements with EUROPOL. The latter supports nearly 40,000 international investigations a year.

The visit was also a chance to hold discussions with operational managers from the European Counter Terrorism Centre (ECTC) and Financial Intelligence Units (FIUs), which are responsible for the fight against terrorism and money laundering, respectively. The prospects for cooperation in the field of cybercrime were also considered, with a view to strengthening the investigative capabilities of the Police Department in the face of this type of crime.