María Gámez reaffirms the Civil Guard's commitment to Europol
The general director of the Civil Guard and the executive director of Europol have held a meeting by videoconference in which they have positively assessed the latest joint operations carried out between both organizations
Gámez has highlighted the work of the 28 civil guards who work at Europol in the units against terrorism, cybercrime, money laundering or environmental crimes
After the incorporation of a SEPRONA official to the European agency, Spain has become the country that provides the most information to Europol in the field of crimes against the environment.
The general director of the Civil Guard, María Gámez, this morning held a meeting by videoconference with the executive director of Europol, Catherine de Bolle.
In this virtual meeting, Gámez has reaffirmed the commitment that the Civil Guard has with the European agency and has highlighted the importance of international cooperation on all fronts in the fight against crime.
In this sense, Gámez has emphasized the offer of the Civil Guard's capacities, experience and knowledge in areas of common interest to both organizations, such as the fight against terrorism, organized crime, cybercrime, and illicit arms trafficking. or crimes against the environment.
The role of the Civil Guard has contributed to the "excellent results" of one of the greatest challenges that Europol has faced since its creation, the EMMA operation, Gámez stressed. This international investigation against money laundering concluded last December with the arrest of more than 400 people around the world and the identification of more than 4,000 "mules" of money.
28 civil guards in the agency
Currently, there are a total of 28 civil guards within the European agency: four liaison officers, a national expert in environmental research and 23 members of the agency's staff.
Of the 23 civil guards that are “staff” of the agency, nine are included in the so-called “European Counter Terrorism Center” (ECTC).
Under the command of Brigadier General Manuel Navarrete until last September – when he was appointed director of CITCO – this department is in charge of tracking terrorism in Europe and its financing.
Regarding the fight against cybercrime, the Civil Guard actively participates in the SIRIUS project. Created by Europol in 2017, its purpose is access to electronic evidence for investigations based on the use of the internet.
María Gámez stressed that the Civil Guard participates very actively in EMPACT and considers that they are one of the best tools that have been made available to the competent national authorities for the fight against organized crime, while recognizing the role carried out by EUROPOL in support of the Member States.
The Civil Guard's commitment to EMPACT projects has been demonstrated in recent years and, even in 2020, in a year that has been really complicated for reasons that we all know, the Civil Guard has led two Joint Action Days (JAD ), JAD SEE (South East Europe) and cyber patrol activity on the Darkweb, which have been carried out with the help of new technological tools, such as the Virtual Command Center.
The reduction of environmental crimes is another of the common objectives between both institutions. After the incorporation of a Seprona official to the European agency, Spain has become the country that provides the most information on crimes against the environment.
Illegal animal trafficking, irregular covid waste management, food fraud or illegal ivory trafficking are some of the investigations in which Europol and the Civil Guard have worked together in recent years.
INTERPOL
Likewise, the Director General, María Gámez, will hold a virtual working meeting tomorrow Thursday with Interpol's Secretary General Jürgen Stock, to discuss collaboration issues in matters related to terrorism, cybercrime and organized crime and new criminal forms.
