Denmark to forge new security ties with EU after leaving Europol in May 2017

Meeting between Denmark and the presidents of the European Council and the European Commission lays ground for future co-operation as Denmark prepares to leave Europol in May 2017

From left to right: Donald Tusk, President of the European Council; Lars Rasmussen, Danish Prime Minister; Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the European Commission
From left to right: Donald Tusk, President of the European Council; Lars Rasmussen, Danish Prime Minister; Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the European Commission

Operational arrangements to be implemented in the wake of Denmark’s decision to leave Europol will need to address cross-border serious and organised crime as well as international terrorism, the Danish prime minister acknowledged in a meeting with the presidents of the European Council and the European Commission.

Lars Rasmussen met Donald Tusk and Jean-Claude Juncker on the sidelines of the European Council summit of the 28 EU member states’ heads of states in Brussels on Thursday.

Rasmussen, Tusk and Juncker said in a statement that any arrangements would be Denmark-specific, and not in any way equal full membership of Europol, the EU’s law-enforcement agency, which Denmark will leave on 1 May 2017, following a December 2015 referendum.

Denmark will lose access to Europol's data repositories, full participation in Europol's operational work and database and decision-making rights in the governing bodies of Europol.

The new arrangements would still ensure a sufficient level of operational cooperation including exchange of relevant data, subject to adequate safeguards.

The three agreed that the Commission and Denmark would endeavour to initiate the necessary legal procedure as rapidly as possible and take all necessary actions, including contacts with relevant institutional actors, to ensure a swift process with a view to the new arrangements being in place by 1 May 2017 or as rapidly as possible thereafter.

“This is to limit to the maximum extent possible the gap between 1 May 2017 and the entry into force of the future operational agreement, in order to minimise the negative impact on cooperation and data exchange,” the statement read.