site.btaJoint Parliamentary Scrutiny Group on Europol Meets in Sofia

Sofia, March 18 (BTA) - The Joint Parliamentary Scrutiny Group on EUROPOL (JPSG) is meeting in Sofia on Sunday and Monday. This is the fourth event of the parliamentary dimension of the Bulgarian EU Council Presidency and the second JPSG meeting since its establishment.

JPSG is a unique - and the only - form a scrutiny on Europol's functioning by the European Parliament together with national parliaments.

The event will be co-chaired by Bulgarian National Assembly Internal Security and Public Order Committee Chairman Tsvetan Tsvetan and European Parliament Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs Chairman Claude Moraes.

Taking part will be EU Digital Economy and Society Commissioner Mariya Gabriel, EU Security Union Commissioner Julian King, Europol Executive Director Rob Wainwright and Europol Management Board Chairman Priit Parkna, among others.

The participants will exchange views on the Europol Draft Multiannual Programming 2019-2021 and will be updated on the work of the Europol Management Board, with a special focus on the Europol External Strategy 2017-2020. Gabriel will deliver a presentation on countering illegal content online and optimizing cybersecurity. King and Wainwright will discuss Europol's contribution to the fight against terrorism and the prevention of organized crime.

Europol Deputy Executive Director Oldrich Martinu and Serbian General Police Director Vladimir Rebic will speak about past and future Europol cooperation with the Western Balkan countries.

On Sunday, ahead of Monday's JPSG discussions, Tsvetanov and Wainwright held a working meeting at which they gave exceedingly high marks to the joint work between Bulgaria and Europol, GERB said in a press release. They stressed the paramount importance of the Europol Draft Multiannual Programming 2019-2021 and agreed that the European perspective of the Western Balkans must be given a special place in the programming. "We should not let these countries remain blank spots on Europe's map because otherwise other geopolitical players may move into this void," Tsvetanov pointed out.

Also on Sunday, Bulgarian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ekaterina Zaharieva presented Wainwright with her Ministry's highest honour, Golden Laurel Branch. She thanked the Europol Executive Director for the support and expressed her conviction that the fine cooperation between Bulgaria and the EU law enforcement agency will continue in future.

Tsvetanov, who also attended the ceremony, said that Wainwright had opened the Europol structure to all Member States and to third countries which are strategic partners in the fight against cross-border organized crime and terrorism.

Wainwright thanked for the honour and credited Europol's entire record of success in the fight against cross-border crime, organized crime and terrorism to the agency's fine cooperation with the national bodies and authorities in the EU. He acknowledged Bulgaria's contribution in assisting not only the work of Europol but also of all EU institutions that have to respond to present challenges and risks.