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EUROPEAN UNION

Danish, EU parliaments agree on Europol deal

The Danish and EU parliaments both voted Thursday for a special agreement that will allow the Scandinavian nation continued participation in the EU's international policing and data resource-sharing organisation Europol.

Published: 28 April 2017 09:29 CEST
Danish, EU parliaments agree on Europol deal
Danish PM Lars Løkke Rasmussen (C) speaks with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker (R) and European Council President Donald Tusk (L)  in December 2016. Photo: Virginia Mayo/Scanpix

Denmark decided by referendum in December 2015 to continue to exempt itself from participation in EU legal cooperation at supranational level, which meant it could not remain in Europol after new EU legislation comes into effect on May 1st.

The special agreement with the EU will reduce the consequences of Denmark leaving Europol.

Parliament agreed Thursday to a bill that would enable Denmark to enter into a special agreement with the cross-border European police body, reports broadcaster DR.

A new Europol regulation comes into effect on May 1st which Denmark will otherwise be excluded from, after the December 2015 referendum in which Danes opted not to replace their opt-out (retsforbehold) on EU justice and home affairs with an 'opt-in' model.

Kristian Thulesen Dahl, leader of the EU-sceptic Danish People’s Party, tweeted a picture of a display in parliament showing support for the bill Thursday.

Justice minister Søren Pape Poulsen confirmed last month that Denmark had negotiated a first draft of a special agreement on Europol that would reduce any adverse effects of Denmark leaving the policing collaboration.

The agreement defines what information in Europol databases Denmark can access and the procedure of such access, reports DR.

READ ALSO: Europol: What's in it for the Danes?

This includes placement of Danish contact officers with Europol and likewise with Europol officers in Denmark and observer status for Denmark on Europol’s board.

Denmark will not have direct access to search Europol’s database but will be able to contact Danish-speaking Europol staff, who can check the database and add details on behalf of Danish police, reports DR.

A condition of the arrangement is that Denmark remains part of the Schengen zone.

The arrangement also received support in the EU parliament later on Thursday, meaning Denmark’s continued participation in Europol under its special agreement is all but confirmed.

A majority of 569 for and eight against, with 62 abstentions, approved the agreement to replace Denmark’s full membership on May 1st, according to DR.

“In a time of terror, cross-border crime and refugee crisis, it would have been a nightmare scenario and catastrophe for us to have dropped out,” EU parliament member Morten Helveg Petersen of the Social Liberal (Radikale Venstre) Party told news agency Ritzau.

The final hurdle before the arrangement is confirmed is a vote by the governments of the EU’s 27 other member states.

This is unlikely to trip up the passing of the agreement.

READ ALSO: EU President accuses populists of misleading Danes

“If Denmark suddenly leaves Europol, this could leave operational holes and a reduced capacity to fight organised crime and terrorism. It is therefore important that a sufficient agreement is reached with Denmark for after May 1st,” said Spanish EU parliament member Agustín Díaz de Mera.

Elected members of the EU parliament could also have blocked the approval of the proposal before May 1st had they insisted on referring it to their individual committees, but chose to forego this step to ensure that the deadline is met, reports DR. 

EU politicians have previously expressed doubt as to the viability of Denmark's continued participation in Europol.

BREXIT

OPINION: Pre-Brexit Brits in Europe should be given EU long-term residency

The EU has drawn up plans to make it easier for non-EU citizens to gain longterm EU residency so they can move more easily around the bloc, but Italy-based citizens' rights campaigner Clarissa Killwick says Brits who moved to the EU before Brexit are already losing out.

Published: 8 December 2023 14:34 CET
OPINION: Pre-Brexit Brits in Europe should be given EU long-term residency

With all the talk about the EU long-term residency permit and the proposed improvements there is no mention that UK citizens who are Withdrawal Agreement “beneficiaries” are currently being left out in the cold.

The European Commission has stated that we can hold multiple statuses including the EU long-term permit (Under a little-known EU law, third-country nationals can in theory acquire EU-wide long-term resident status if they have lived ‘legally’ in an EU country for at least five years) but in reality it is just not happening.

This effectively leaves Brits locked into their host countries while other third country nationals can enjoy some mobility rights. As yet, in Italy, it is literally a question of the computer saying no if someone tries to apply.

The lack of access to the EU long-term permit to pre-Brexit Brits is an EU-wide issue and has been flagged up to the European Commission but progress is very slow.

READ ALSO: EU government settle on rules for how non-EU citizens could move around Europe

My guess is that few UK nationals who already have permanent residency status under the Withdrawal Agreement are even aware of the extra mobility rights they could have with the EU long-term residency permit – or do not even realise they are two different things.

Perhaps there won’t be very large numbers clamouring for it but it is nothing short of discrimination not to make it accessible to British people who’ve built their lives in the EU.

They may have lost their status as EU citizens but nothing has changed concerning the contributions they make, both economically and socially.

An example of how Withdrawal Agreement Brits in Italy are losing out

My son, who has lived almost his whole life here, wanted to study in the Netherlands to improve his employment prospects.

Dutch universities grant home fees rather than international fees to holders of an EU long-term permit. The difference in fees for a Master’s, for example, is an eye-watering €18,000. He went through the application process, collecting the requisite documents, making the payments and waited many months for an appointment at the “questura”, (local immigration office).

On the day, it took some persuading before they agreed he should be able to apply but then the whole thing was stymied because the national computer system would not accept a UK national. I am in no doubt, incidentally, that had he been successful he would have had to hand in his WA  “carta di soggiorno”.

This was back in February 2022 and nothing has budged since then. In the meantime, it is a question of pay up or give up for any students in the same boat as my son. There is, in fact, a very high take up of the EU long-term permit in Italy so my son’s non-EU contemporaries do not face this barrier.

Long-term permit: The EU’s plan to make freedom of movement easier for non- EU nationals 

Completing his studies was stalled by a year until finally his Italian citizenship came through after waiting over 5 years.  I also meet working adults in Italy with the EU long-term permit who use it for work purposes, such as in Belgium and Germany, and for family reunification.  

Withdrawal agreement card should double up as EU long-term residency permit

A statement that Withdrawal Agreement beneficiaries should be able to hold multiple statuses is not that easy to find. You have to scroll quite far down the page on the European Commission’s website to find a link to an explanatory document. It has been languishing there since March 2022 but so far not proved very useful.

It has been pointed out to the Commission that the document needs to be multilingual not just in English and “branded” as an official communication from the Commission so it can be used as a stand-alone. But having an official document you can wave at the immigration authorities is going to get you nowhere if Member State governments haven’t acknowledged that WA beneficiaries can hold multiple statuses and issue clear guidance and make sure systems are modified accordingly.

I can appreciate this is no mean feat in countries where they do not usually allow multiple statuses or, even if they do, issue more than one residency card. Of course, other statuses we should be able to hold are not confined to EU long-term residency, they should include the EU Blue Card, dual nationality, family member of an EU citizen…

Personally, I do think people should be up in arms about this. The UK and EU negotiated an agreement which not only removed our freedom of movement as EU citizens, it also failed to automatically give us equal mobility rights to other third country nationals. We are now neither one thing nor the other.

It would seem the only favour the Withdrawal Agreement did us was we didn’t have to go out and come back in again! Brits who follow us, fortunate enough to get a visa, may well pip us at the post being able to apply for EU long-term residency as clearly defined non-EU citizens.

I have been bringing this issue to the attention of the embassy in Rome, FCDO and the European Commission for three years now. I hope we will see some movement soon.

Finally, there should be no dragging of heels assuming we will all take citizenship of our host countries. Actually, we shouldn’t have to, my son was fortunate, even though it took a long time. Others may not meet the requirements or wish to give up their UK citizenship in countries which do not permit dual nationality.  

Bureaucratic challenges may seem almost insurmountable but why not simply allow our Withdrawal Agreement permanent card to double up as the EU long-term residency permit.

Clarissa Killwick,

Since 2016, Clarissa has been a citizens’ rights campaigner and advocate with the pan-European group, Brexpats – Hear Our Voice.
She is co-founder and co-admin of the FB group in Italy, Beyond Brexit – UK citizens in Italy.

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