Police: Football

(asked on 13th October 2014) - View Source

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the likelihood of the UK concluding memoranda of understanding or other similar agreements with other EU Member States to formalise the exchange of information about policing football matches with an international dimension in the event that the UK ceases to be bound by Council Decision 2002/348/JHA.


Answered by
Karen Bradley Portrait
Karen Bradley
This question was answered on 16th October 2014

A full impact assessment has been conducted on Council Decision 2002/348/JHA. Details of this assessment can be found in Command Paper 8897 https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/326698/41670_Cm_8897_Accessible.pdf), published on 3 July 2014. The Government has considered the potential impacts of the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice very carefully and believes it is in the best interests of the UK to opt back in to Council Decision 2002/348/JHA.

The measure provides an established and functioning network that reduces the safety risks to UK supporters travelling to overseas matches. If the UK did not seek to rejoin Council Decision 2002/348/JHA it would be significantly more difficult for UK law enforcement agencies to share information with other Member States. The lack of structure and organisation could lead to difficulty in identifying the correct law enforcement agencies in Member States, thus resulting in other Member States failing to act upon information the UK has sought to provide. As stated in Command Paper 8897, Ukraine and Russia are prime examples of non-EU countries in which the UK has had more difficulty in sharing information.

The Government believes that Council Decision 2002/348/JHA provides the best means by which to share information relating to football matches with an international dimension. Details and an assessment of the alternatives are set out in Command Paper 8897.

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