BRUSSELS, Belgium – The Office of the Special Representative of INTERPOL to the European Union (EU) was officially inaugurated on Thursday, marking a milestone in the continuing collaboration between the two organizations.
The opening of the Brussels office is the latest step in identifying and developing new areas for co-operation between the two institutions in joint efforts to enhance regional and global security.
INTERPOL President Khoo Boon Hui said the creation of the new office demonstrated the collective commitment of the EU and INTERPOL to work hand in hand to make the world a safer place.
“The European Union has always been a strong and active partner of INTERPOL and this co-operation is key to the success of the partnership,” said President KHOO.
“INTERPOL, as the world’s largest police organization, can contribute towards EU member states’ efforts to ensure freedom and security to their citizens, providing a link to law enforcement in the rest of the world.”
Developing closer ties between INTERPOL and the EU will help law enforcement regionally and globally address the variety and complexity of the challenges they face, said INTERPOL Secretary General Ronald K. Noble.
“Enhancing security in Europe means looking beyond regional and political borders, particularly when globalisation means that events and crises on the opposite side of the world now have international repercussions,” said Mr Noble. “The European region is one of INTERPOL’s strongest in terms of support and activity, and the opening of our liaison office at the heart of the EU will ensure that we all continue to move from strength to strength.”
Headed by INTERPOL’s Special Representative to the EU, Pierre Reuland, the team at the new Brussels-based office will provide a vital link between the two organizations by strengthening partnerships in police co-operation.
“The opening of the INTERPOL office at this time means we are ideally placed to work closely with the EU in its implementation of the Stockholm Programme to better support all law enforcement agencies in fighting transnational crime effectively,” said Mr Reuland. “An important part of this will be linking INTERPOL’s global tools to the EU security architecture.”
Other key areas for co-operation include the wider dissemination of European Arrest Warrants via INTERPOL to its 187 member countries, and ensuring all individuals entering the EU have their identity documents checked against INTERPOL’s Stolen and Lost Travel Documents database, the only one of its kind in the world, containing more than 19 million entries.