Europol Strengthens its Powers
by Nigel Farage
MEP-South East region (UKIP)
Vice President of the EDD Group, European Parliament

The stealthy march towards a federal state by the European Union has been taking place for some considerable time. One of the institutions it decided that it needed was a police force. The establishment of Europol was agreed as a concept during the Maastricht Treaty discussions in 1992. based in The Hague, it began limited operations in 1994 by setting up the Europol Drugs Unit to aid the fight against drugs. Europol began its full activities, however, in July 1999.

Europol's original remit was to support action against drug trafficking, immigration networks, vehicle trafficking, trafficking in human beings, child pornography, trafficking of radioactive materials, forgery and terrorism., three years on, Europol is assuming the mantle of a force akin to the American Federal Bureau of Investigation but with wider legal powers. Under the terms of the Schengen Agreement in 1985, a law enforcement database was set up to counteract criminal abuses caused by the loss of border controls, including: arrest for extradition, persons refused entry to the Schengen area for national security reasons, missing people, minors or people wanted for detention, the prosecution of arrest warrants, either as suspects of witnesses and so on.

Europol has put forward a proposal to the Commission that it be given access to this database with the 'possibility of updating, deleting and modifying information'. They have wanted access to this information for some time and have only been prevented by the reluctance of the member states to share it. With Europol gaining access, the Schengen database will virtually come under its control. At present, only member states can attend, delete or modify their own data. Under their proposal, Europol will be able to gain full access and amend, delete and modify the information.

Internet Surveillance
Even more controversial are Europol's efforts to control surveillance on data retention. The proposals will require Internet Service Providers to retain user ID's and passwords, number of bytes transmitted and received, credit card numbers and bank accounts for subscription payments. E-mail servers will be required to retain similar information whilst Web serves will be treated similarly. Details of telephone users, including mobiles, will be required to be kept which for mobile users, means that their geographical location will be logged.

Add to all of this the EU-wide arrest warrant and the European Union would appear to be moving towards a police state of '1984' proportions. The implications for the individual's privacy, civil liberties and data protection are considerable, particularly if the European judicial system of Corpus Juris is adopted in this country. The Criminal Justice Bill, announced in the Queen's speech in November, contained elements of Corpus Juris including doing away with juries for some trials and the eradication of the 'double jeopardy' rule. It is only a matter of time before a suspect will be held in custody indefinitely without the rights enshrined in Habeas Corpus.
Liberty News No.2, 2003
The official newspaper for the Campaign for an Independent Britain.

To find out more about this the Campaign for an Independent Britain, write to CIB, 81, Ashmole Street, London SW8 1NF or call (0208) 340 0314.

The author of this piece, Nigel Farage, is MEP for the UK Independence Party, currently the only political party in Britain of any standing fielding the policy of Britain withdrawing from the EU. For more information, contact: http://www.independence.org.uk