Turkey’s total lack of cooperation with the Republic of Cyprus in the fight against organized crime and terrorism “endangers the overall effectiveness of the objectives set by Europol” Cypriot MPs underlined.
They were attending a discussion on the Europol’s draft multi-annual programming for 2019-2021, in Brussels, according to an announcement by the House of Representatives.
Head of Cyprus’ parliamentary delegation, MP Demetris Demetriou, along with MPs Nicos Kettiros and Elias Myrianthous took part at the third meeting of the Joint Parliamentary Scrutiny Group for Europol, which concluded work on Tuesday.
Cypriot MPs voiced their reservations over Turkey’s inclusion in the list of countries with which there is an urgent need to sign an agreement for data exchange with Europol, due to the low level of personal data protection in the country, which they said is getting worse due to Ankara’s counter-terrorism measures.
They also condemned the total lack of cooperation between Turkey and Cyprus in the fight against organized crime and terrorism. Under these conditions, upgrading and widening the scope of relations between Europol and Turkey sends the wrong message vis-à-vis the importance the EU ascribes to personal data protection, Cypriot MPs said.
Members of the Cypriot delegation also asked questions about the prospects for cooperation between Europol and Egypt, as well as about the rise in crypto currencies and the fight against money laundering.
(Cyprus News Agency)
