Visit of the U.S. Ambassador to the Netherlands

On 19 May Director Wainwright hosted the visit of the new U.S. Ambassador to the Netherlands, HE Timothy Broas. The Director presented the work of the agency and gave an overview of the extent of Europol's cooperation with the United States. In the last five years operational cooperation with the United States has increased significantly. As a result, Europol, U.S. authorities and Member States have had a number of recent operational successes, disrupting and dismantling major organised crime groups involved in the distribution of child sexual exploitation material, large-scale violation of intellectual property rights, currency counterfeiting and cybercrime. Over the last year, Europol has supported 600 international operations involving U.S. agencies.

Ambassador Broas and Director Wainwright also exchanged views on the globalisation of crime and how it is changing the way in which law enforcement authorities cooperate worldwide, in particular in the field of cybercrime.

15 U.S. liaison officers are currently accredited to Europol, representing nine different U.S. federal law enforcement agencies. During the visit, Deputy Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Kevin McAleenan signed an Agreement with Director Wainwright, paving the way for the deployment of a CBP liaison officer at Europol in the coming weeks. U.S. representatives bring invaluable experience to Europol in the fight against serious organised crime and terrorism.