Source · Select Committees · Business and Trade Committee
Recommendation 4
4
Accepted
Explore opportunities to deepen UK-EU law enforcement cooperation, securing real-time intelligence exchanges.
Recommendation
To support the fight against economic crime, we urge the Government to explore how to maximise opportunities to deepen law enforcement cooperation with the EU, in particular to secure real-time intelligence exchanges. We hope to see the announcement of a clear roadmap for further negotiations in this area at the forthcoming UK/EU summit. (Recommendation, Paragraph 18)
Government Response Summary
The government accepted the recommendation, stating that a package was agreed at the UK-EU Summit to strengthen law enforcement cooperation, including new data exchange capabilities for DNA, facial imagery, criminal records, and biometric data. This will involve increased cooperation with Europol and the EU Drugs Agency.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
At the UK-EU Summit, we agreed a package which strengthens our law enforcement cooperation with the EU, including through discussions on new data exchange capabilities and strengthening our existing arrangements. This package will help strengthen our border security, support our police officers and help enhance our intelligence and investigative capabilities against murderers, rapists and drug smugglers via DNA and facial imagery. It will also help ensure investigations are equipped with the full facts of a suspect’s criminal history, and that those are fully utilised to protect UK citizens from harm. Increased cooperation with Europol will aid more effective, quicker action with European police agencies to identify, stop, and prosecute people smuggling gangs and other criminal networks. Exchanging information via the EU Drugs Agency will help UK officers take faster, more informed action against new types of illicit drugs, and new trends in their manufacture. In summary, improving our data exchange arrangements, including criminal records, biometric data and electronic evidence, will mean our law enforcement bodies are better equipped to investigate crimes and strengthening our judicial cooperation will better enable us to bring criminals to justice.