Britain drops objections to development of centralised police agency

THE LIFTING of the British policy of non co operation has allowed the long delayed Europol Convention to get the final go ahead.

British objections to a role for the European Court of Justice in the interpretation of the treaty have meant that the EU's embryonic centre for police intelligence in The Hague has been operating with one hand tied behind its back, unable to exchange crucial data on suspects.

The matter has been deadlocked since the Cannes summit last summer, when a protocol which would have allowed member states to sign up individually for the court role was proposed. Fourteen governments said they would do so, but Britain said that even the opt out it was to be allowed was not acceptable.

The UK objected to the involvement of a Community institution in what it regarded as essentially an area of intergovernmental co operation. And it claimed that the court's jurisprudence would inevitably "contaminate" British case law.

Britain's dropping of these objections enables the member states to ratify the treaty and protocol. The European Drugs Unit now working from Europol headquarters in The Hague will become the fully fledged Eurpol.

A similar formula will be applied to pending conventions on the protection of the Union's financial interests, and on the use of information technology for Customs purposes.

The leaders reiterated their commitment to the fight against drugs. They agreed to a major review at the Dublin summit of progress on the issue.

They also expressed the hope that work on a convention on the external frontiers of the union would be completed by December. And they asked the Council of Ministers to work on the budget for a new centre to monitor racism and xenophobia.