Founded 2002 Affiliation ETUC | Members 600,000 Office location Luxembourg, Luxembourg | |
Full name European Confederation of Police Key people Anna Neilberg, chairman | ||
The European Confederation of Police (EuroCOP) is the umbrella organization of 33 trade unions from 26 European countries, which represent a total of more than 500,000 police officers. It was founded in 2002 at a conference in Roskilde, Denmark, emerging from the Union Internationale des Syndicats de Police (UISP), which had existed since 1953. It was created in order to enable further organizations, particularly ones from the United Kingdom, to join. The union's headquarters is in Luxembourg.
EuroCOP represents its members in European matters and at European Union institutions. For example, the union has an observer status at the Council of Europe. Its goals include enhancing the efficiency of police work under democratic control, the creation of norms for the qualifications of police employees, the preservation of the civil status of police officers, and the prevention of the privatization of police duties. One example of a current mission of EuroCOP has been to push the Spanish government to follow its election promise to completely de-militarize the Guardia Civil.
The organization should not be confused with the idea of "Euro-Cops", EUROPOL police officers, whose jurisdiction would reach into all of Europe.