During the plenary session of 4 March 2021 the Belgian Parliament approved the new Benelux Police Treaty. The Treaty will only actually enter into force after approval by the Netherlands and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. Normally this will be the case in the course of 2021 as a bill is already submitted to the Lower House in the Netherlands. The treaty only relates to the Benelux countries and will therefore not cover the exchange of information with Germany.
The purpose of this new treaty is, among other things, to expand the possibilities for cross-border police action and to facilitate police investigations in neighbouring countries. In addition, the aim of this convention is also to improve the exchange of data. Because of this last goal, the Benelux Police Treaty is also important for the work of the EURIEC.
The new Benelux police treaty even explicitly provides for a provision aimed at making it possible to exchange police data for the purpose of taking administrative measures to prevent criminal offences. The EURIEC is in contact with representatives of the Benelux to jointly examine the possibilities that the treaty may offer for a cross-border administrative approach.