PRESS STATEMENT
European Confederation of Police
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eMail: jv@eurocop-police.org
Responsible: Jan Velleman
EUROCOP – 617, rue de Neudorf – L-2220 Luxembourg

Luxembourg, 8 February 2005

EU Directive to promote creation of private militia

EuroCOP President warns of the consequences of the planned EU Services Directive in the Private Security sector

Heinz KIEFER, President of the European Confederation of Police, EuroCOP, is concerned about the planned use of the so-called "Bolkestein" Directive in the Private Security sector: With the ‘country of origin’ principle as the basis of this Directive, national regulation guaranteeing professionalism and protection against abuse in the Private Security sector risk to be undermined.

Whether there are specific training requirements for private security employees working at a train station in the EU, currently depends on in which Member State the train station is located. The relevant legislation on Private Security in Member States varies greatly, even screening procedures of the employees and security firm owners are not a standard requirement in all EU states. Citizens of countries with strict legal requirements for this sector can, up until now, count themselves lucky.

However, once the EU Services Directive comes into effect that will all change: the deciding factor in whether or not training is required will be the location of the security firm’s headquarters. This follows the aforementioned ‘country of origin’ principle. This would also dictate whether a person with a police record for violent crimes may or may not be employed to guard the entrance of a shopping centre.

‘Under such circumstances high legal requirements become obsolete says Heinz KIEFER: ‘Qualified employees, strict approval procedures and training cost money. On the grounds of these financial requirements alone, security firms will relocate their headquarters to countries with the lowest standards and regulations.

‘This will lead to abusive action with the formation of private militia as a worst case scenario. In order to avoid this, private security must be excluded from the Services Directive’s application realm,’ says KIEFER who calls on the Commission to first of all push for the development of common private security standards throughout the EU.

The European Confederation of Police, EuroCOP is the umbrella organisation of 26 national Police Unions and Staff Organisations from 18 European States. It represents the interest of over 600.000 police officers in Europe. www.eurocop-police.org.