Police and border guards become EU vanguard under Europol agreement

The Polish police and border guards have become associate members of the European police service, Europol. Under an agreement signed yesterday in the town of Korczowa on the Poland-Ukraine border by Polish Interior Minster Marek Biernacki, his Belgian counterpart Antoine Duquesne, and head of Europol Jurgen Strobeck, Poland has become the first European Union (EU) candidate country to become an associate member of Europol. Commenting on the agreement Biernacki said, "The police and border guards have entered the European Union in advance of the Polish State." The agreement grants P oland's law enforcement agencies only limited rights. They are not permitted to conduct joint investigations with Europol or to participate in its decision-making process, and they will have reduced operational authority within the EU. However, Europol chief Strobeck said it was "99% certain" that Poland would have access to the data bases of European Union police forces. (Rzeczpospolita, p. A5) P.W.