Council Decision of 6 December 2001 extending Europol's mandate to deal with the serious forms of international crime listed in the Annex to the Europol Convention

Council Decision
of 6 December 2001
extending Europol's mandate to deal with the serious forms of international crime listed in the Annex to the Europol Convention
(2001/C 362/01)
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION
,
Having regard to the Convention on the establishment of a European Police Office (Europol Convention)(1), and in particular Article 2(2) thereof,
Having regard to the initiative of the Kingdom of Belgium and the Kingdom of Sweden(2),
Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament(3),
Having regard to the preparatory work on this issue performed by the Europol Board, in particular regarding the budgetary and staffing implications for Europol,
Whereas:
(1) One of the Union's objectives is to provide citizens with a high level of safety within an area of freedom, security and justice by developing common action among the Member States in the fields of police cooperation.
(2) The effectiveness of the cooperation within the framework of the Europol Convention would be enhanced if Europol, within certain prioritised areas, could perform its tasks in respect of all aspects of international organised crime listed in the Annex to the Europol Convention.
(3) Prioritised areas should be defined on the basis of the continuous collection of data on trends in crime in the territories of the Member States.
(4) This Decision is without prejudice to the respective roles of the Commission and the European Central Bank.