STRASBOURG – The European Parliament’s plenary session yesterday voted in favor of giving Europol, the Community’s police agency, more powers to carry out investigative projects and receive data from private companies such as telecommunications companies.
Parliament thus approved, by 480 votes to 143, with 20 abstentions, an agreement reached in February between negotiators from the institution itself and the Council, the body representing the governments of all the states of the Union Union (EU). the intention to strengthen Europol’s powers.
With these changes, the police agency will be able to receive content from private entities, although this will be done in cases involving sensitive issues such as terrorism or child sexual abuse, according to a statement by the European Parliament.
On the other hand, Europol will also be able to process large amounts of data and support the police of any country in the European Union in checking whether foreign direct investments are behind such cases that threaten the security of the country.
After the vote in Parliament, PP MP Javier Zarzalejos, rapporteur for the initiative, assured that the new mandate given to Europol would mean “a step forward” in its ability to support member states.
However, these additional powers come with increased monitoring, as with the new regulation Europol will have a human rights officer who will be responsible for ensuring European data protection standards.
This is a newly created position that will work in coordination with the European Data Protection Supervisor, an independent authority tasked with ensuring that the EU institutions themselves respect the right to privacy in all their activities and in the preparation of public policy data respect .