European police college planned

Keywords Police, Training, Europe

Portugal has proposed the establishment of a European police college, which would contribute to training senior officials of national police forces, and develop a European approach to the problems which arise in member states in the area of fighting crime and providing internal security.

Initially, the college would consist of a network of national police-training institutes. Within each national institute, specific units would constitute a national section of the European college. A board of administration would determine the college curriculum every year, including annual training sessions and specialized high-level training for police playing a key role in the fight against organized crime.

The college, which was agreed in principle at the Tampere summit of October 1999, would be open to EU member states, Norway, Iceland and the countries which have applied for EU membership.