The federal police's 2015 activity reportCooperation between Belgium and the Netherlands receives a new impulse
17 September 2015
On 17 September 2015, a meeting within the framework of cross-border police cooperation between Belgium and the Netherlands took place in Wilrijk. Both General Commissioner of the Federal Police Catherine De Bolle and Chief of the Zeeland/West-Brabant Police Force Hans Vissers emphasised the necessity of effective cooperation.
The General Commissioner pointed among other things to the current crime survey requiring intensive cross-border cooperation. Catherine De Bolle: ‘Smooth cross-border cooperation does not only require an adapted legal framework, but also efficient consultative structures. This is realised through fora like the Benelux Interstate Consultation and the Benelux Strategic Consultation. This consultation at ‘top level’ is conducted in a constructive atmosphere, yet it is not the adequate forum to reach concrete, operational agreements on cooperation in the border region. This requires direct consultation between the involved police forces in the border region itself. It is exactly this consultation between neighbours that we want to encourage.’
