The United States will send a permanent FBI officer to the headquarters of Europol in The Hague, a spokesman for the U.S. mission to the European Union said Friday.
’’In the near future an FBI agent will join Europol. He will exchange information between the staff members,’’ the spokesman told Kyodo News. ’’Main tasks of the agent will be the fight against terrorism and counterfeiting.’’
One of Europol’s main assignments is the battle against organized crime.
After the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the United States, Europe started cooperating more closely with the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Two officers from Europol have been already working at the FBI over the past year.
Justice and Home Affairs Commissioner Antonio Vitorino said during two-day talks with his European colleagues in the Dutch city of Scheveningen that Europe is satisfied with the intensified cooperation with the United States in the last three years.
’’There are three short-term priorities. Enhance the exchange of information, fight against the financing of terrorism and guarantee secure frontiers while allowing free circulation,’’ Vitorino said Thursday.
Other innovative plans which came out of the meeting of the European ministers include a pilot project in the north African countries of Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco and Tunisia. Details of the pilot project were not released.

© The Associated Press
Brussels - October 1st, 2004