A European Federal Police

Submitted by the Political Commission 1: Institutions and Governance

Adopted by the Federal Committee on 11 November 2023 in Madrid, Spain

 

JEF Europe,

  • Recalling the growing threat of organised crime in Europe as highlighted in the resolution readopted at the Spring 2023 Federal Committee, and acknowledging its profound impact on the European Union’s economy, democracy, and the rule of law;
  • Recognizing that the European Union lacks the necessary federal law enforcement agency to efficiently combat transnational crime;
  • Taking into consideration the existing frameworks and instruments related to transnational crime, including the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and the Protocols Thereto of 2004, The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, the Council of Europe Organized Crime Situation Report 2005, and the European Parliament resolutions on organised crime, corruption, money laundering, and financial crimes;
  • Noting that the current responsibility of criminal law predominantly resides with Member States, requiring a treaty revision for significant changes;
  • Highlighting the limitations of the European Union’s existing mechanisms for combating organised crime, such as the European Public Prosecutor Office (EPPO), Europol, and Eurojust, which rely on voluntary cooperation and have a limited scope of jurisdiction;
  • Acknowledging that the fight against cross-border crime requires a harmonized legal framework and enhanced cooperation at the European level;
  • Emphasising the urgent need to establish a European Federal Police Force to strengthen the EU’s capacity to combat organised crime effectively, and support Member States in their rule of law enforcement;
  • Recognising that a European Federal Police Force would provide a centralized and coordinated approach to investigating and addressing criminal activities where required;
  • Considering that a European Federal Police Force would streamline the efforts of law enforcement agencies across Member States, allowing for more efficient and effective operations.

JEF Europe, therefore,

  1. Calls for the establishment of a truly European Federation with the authority to enact a federal penal law aimed at efficiently combating organised crime;
  2. Urges the drafting of a comprehensive federal penal law that provides an overarching legal framework for addressing organised transnational crimes, while respecting the principle of subsidiarity to allow for differentiation between Member States where necessary;
  3. Advocates for the European Parliament to initiate the creation of a European Federal Police Force with real policing and enforcement powers to better combat crime at the European level;
  4. Recommends the further development of the European Public Prosecutor Office (EPPO) ensuring them with adequate resources, and a Financial Police Authority as a part of the Federal Law Enforcement Structure to enhance cooperation in investigating and combating financial crimes at the European level;
  5. Demands that the Federal Police Authority is subject to democratic oversight, that all fundamental and procedural rights are fully guaranteed and that the democratically elected institutions (e.g. the European Parliament,…) have de facto control over the Federal Police Authority;
  6. Further advocates for the sharing of criminal competences at the European level to enable the use of regulations instead of directives, with the ultimate goal of harmonising the penal codes of Member States concerning organized transnational crimes, international crimes, including war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide, as well as other forms of cross-border crimes, e.g. trafficking in human beings;
  7. Calls for continued and full collaboration by the Member States with international courts and tribunals as well as other quasi-judicial bodies in accordance with their obligations arising from international law, cooperation of federal level judicial and law enforcement authorities with international judicial and quasi-judicial bodies, e.g. European Court of Human Rights and the United Nations Committee against Torture, and inclusion of the so-called international crimes as defined in the Rome Statute and the relevant United Nations conventions in the Federal Penal Code;
  8. Encourages good coordination and cooperation between all law enforcement authorities in Europe, including the future