Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 2 September 2014 to Question 207073, whether the UK could take part, through membership of the relevant EU Council working groups, in the sharing of advice and best practice between EU member states on fighting organised crime if it did not opt back into Joint Action 97/827/JHA.

If the UK did not opt back into Joint Action 97/827/JHA it may, in theory, continue to attend the relevant Council of the European Union working groups. However, there are no alternative methods open to the UK that are considered to be as effective as cooperation under the EU measure in order to evaluate the application and implementation at national level of international undertakings in the fight against organised crime.