EU proposes Belgian police officer to lead Europol

BRUSSELS, Dec 6 (KUNA) -- EU ambassadors agreed Wednesday to put forward Catherine De Bolle, the current Chief Commissioner of Belgium's Federal Police service, as the next executive director of Europol, the EU police agency.
An EU press release today said that the executive director of Europol is selected from a list of suitable candidates proposed by the management board of Europol. Once confirmed by the EU Council of Ministers, the selected candidate will be heard by the European Parliament, which then issues a non-binding opinion.
Following this, the selected candidate can be appointed by the Council.
The executive director of Europol is appointed for a four year term, renewable once. The term of the current executive director, Rob Wainwright, expires on 1 May 2018. Europol is based at the Hague, Netherlands. (end) nk.ibi