Athens, 25 September 2023

Hellenic Parliament delegation at 13th Meeting of Joint Parliamentary Scrutiny Group on EUROPOL

A delegation of the Hellenic Parliament, consisting of the Chairman of the Standing Committee on Public Administration, Public Order and Justice Lazaros Tsavdaridis and members Anna Karamanlis, Alexandros Meikopoulos and Nadia Giannakopoulou participated in the 13th Meeting of the Joint Parliamentary Scrutiny Group on Europol, which took place on 20-21 September 2023 in Brussels.

The head of the Greek delegation Lazaros Tsavdaridis referred to the need to reinforce cooperation between Europol and Frontex in the Eastern Mediterranean Basin in order to make the most of the work of the two agencies in their fight against smuggling of migrants and human trafficking, including the processing of operational personal data. He also pointed out that the European Union needs to further protect itself against cyber threats from third countries, criminal gangs and terrorist organisations, therefore a tailored European security policy for cyberspace, in which European citizens will feel completely safe, without compromise on their freedoms, is imperative. He also referred to the establishment of a new framework to ensure interoperability between the European Union’s information systems, as well as to the critical issue of the fragmentation of the legal framework for cross-border police cooperation.

Mrs Anna Karamanlis referred to asset recovery as one of the most powerful tools in the fight against the shadow economy, as it deprives criminals of their illegally acquired assets and prevents them from reinvesting them in further criminal activities. She pointed out that this rate remains very low, according to a recent report by Europol.

Mrs Nadia Giannakopoulou referred to the importance of the institution of the Operational Task Forces in the fight against transnational, organised crime and called for the improvement and updating of this tool, as well as its further use in the fight against illegal immigration.

 

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