On Wednesday, the European Parliament plenary gave its final green light to granting new powers to Europol.
With 470 votes in favour, 118 against, and 16 abstaining, MEPs endorsed the deal reached in March by Parliament and Council negotiators on strengthening the mandate of Europol, the EU’s police agency.
Under the new rules, Europol will be able to propose to member states alerts on third-country nationals that should be added to the Schengen Information System (SIS), so that front-line officers in member states can have access to alerts on foreign terrorist fighters and other persons of interest. Under certain conditions, Europol could also use information sourced from third countries in the alerts it proposes.
The current package of Europol reform proposals also included a second file, which MEPs endorsed during the May session in Strasbourg.
Next steps
The legal text now needs to be formally adopted by the Council, before it is published in the EU’s official journal and enters into force.