Cooperation between the German security authorities and their foreign counterparts takes many forms and is based on a variety of agreements.

Bilateral police agreements and joint centres

Germany has signed bilateral agreements on cross-border police cooperation with all of its neighbouring countries. Above all, these agreements govern

• cross-border police measures such as surveillance, controlled deliveries and pursuit;
• joint police operations, in particular joint patrols;
• information-sharing;
• cross-border personnel support; and
• work at the joint centres for police and customs cooperation.

Cooperation between German and French police officers (Larger version opens in new window) Source: Bundespolizei

At the joint centres, the police and customs authorities of the partner countries work together in mixed international teams under one roof on the basis of mutual trust. In Germany, the Federal Police, the relevant state police and Customs are usually represented at the joint centres.

They share information and experience on all matters related to the shared border area. This makes it easier to coordinate cross-border operations, for example by identifying additional contact persons in the neighbouring country. And language is no barrier, as the officers working at the joint centres can speak the language of both partner countries.

The Prüm Treaty: Easier cross-border cooperation

On 27 May 2005, Belgium, Germany, Spain, France, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Austria signed the Prüm Treaty in Prüm, a city in the Eifel region of south-western Germany.

The Treaty governs

• the automated exchange of DNA data, fingerprint data and information from motor vehicle registers, as well as the necessary data protection;
• information-sharing on terrorist threats and hooligans;
• various forms of operational police cooperation, such as joint patrols and police assistance in the event of major events and disasters.

Especially the automated exchange of data saves the law enforcement authorities a great deal of time, thereby significantly increasing their efficiency.

The Prüm Treaty is an international treaty which was originally concluded outside the framework of EU law. The EU’s Prüm Council Decision entered into force on 26 August 2008. This decision incorporated the substance of the Prüm Treaty into the legal framework of the European Union.

Europol

Europol, the European Police Office, is an EU agency with its own legal personality and headquarters in The Hague. It provides significant assistance with cooperation between the police and law enforcement agencies of the EU member states.

Europol is intended to support and strengthen action by the competent authorities of the member states and their mutual cooperation in preventing and combating serious crime affecting two or more member states, terrorism and forms of crime which affect common EU interests.

refer to: Website of Europol (Opens new window) Source: EUROPOL

To that end, Europol stores and analyses information from the member states, making it easier for them to share information. Consulting their databases can reveal connections between investigations carried out in individual member states.

Using what are known as analysis projects, Europol can clarify connections between crimes and provide operational, strategic and thematic analyses for the member states.

Europol also helps the member states in other areas of police cooperation, for example by participating in joint investigative teams, coordinating joint action days, offering advanced training and conducting criminal science research.

Regulation (EU) 2022/991, which entered into force on 28 June 2022, gave Europol more capabilities and powers as the EU’s central agency for sharing information in the field of law enforcement, analysis and operational support. In particular, the Regulation improved Europol’s cooperation with private parties, information-sharing with third countries and the processing of personal data by Europol in support of criminal investigations. The Regulation also expanded Europol’s role in research and innovation.

In this way, Europol’s new mandate laid the groundwork for fighting serious and organised crime and terrorism comprehensively and effectively across borders to respond to ongoing technological developments, such as cyber crime and online sexual abuse of children. Europol is developing into a full-scale information and innovation hub for law enforcement in the EU which is able to provide optimal support for the operational action of the national police forces.

International cooperation through Interpol

refer to: Internetangebot von Interpol (Opens new window)

Police cooperation to fight crime is needed even beyond the EU’s borders. Interpol, the International Criminal Police Organization, with headquarters in Lyon, France, ensures that its 196 member countries around the world can share general law enforcement and case-related information on all areas of crime rapidly and securely. Interpol provides a secure global information and communications network and keeps criminal records and databases.

Interpol also provides additional support by

• producing situation reports as well as strategic and operational crime analyses;
• publishing notices of missing and wanted persons and stolen goods;
• making available expertise on specific types of crime; and
• offering basic and advanced training.

The officials who work at Interpol’s General Secretariat have no authority to conduct law enforcement measures, however. Which law enforcement measures officers in the member countries may conduct is determined by their national law.

Assistance with police training and equipment

Police training and equipment assistance, also for border policing, is another way to fight crime and terrorism effectively. Such assistance is intended to enable the security authorities in the countries of origin and transit for organised and cross-border crime and the regions where international terrorists are active or seek refuge to fight such crime more effectively. Equipment assistance increases the capacities and technical possibilities of operational command and control assets, thereby improving the operational (border) policing skills of the partner countries.

Another objective of (border) police capacity-building is to strengthen the rule of law in the field of public security and order, and to create democratic structures in these countries, because such democratic structures and the rule of law are not always strongly rooted or effective elsewhere in the world.

This assistance is based on the principle of sustainability, ensuring that only those measures and projects which pursue the aim of permanent, effective crime-fighting receive support.