“As Europol’s mandate and technological capabilities expand, we must ensure that the protection of fundamental rights is not pushed into the background,” MEP Kristian Vigenin said during the 19th meeting of the Joint Parliamentary Scrutiny Group on Europol in Brussels.
As a member of the European Parliament’s Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) and of the Joint Parliamentary Scrutiny Group on Europol, Vigenin welcomed the work of Europol’s Fundamental Rights Officer and the establishment of the new Fundamental Rights Advisory Forum. The MEP pointed out that the agency’s programming document for 2027–2029 places significant emphasis on artificial intelligence, biometric identification and automated data processing.
“We must ensure that, when AI is used, decisions affecting people are subject to genuine human oversight, that algorithmic bias is overcome and that the safeguards of the Artificial Intelligence Act are applied in practice,” he stressed.
The MEP asked Europol’s Fundamental Rights Officer, Dirk Alert, to provide specific explanations of how he participates in the assessment of new artificial intelligence tools before they are introduced and whether he has sufficient resources and powers to ensure effective human oversight and prevent discrimination. In response, Alert confirmed that Europol seeks his opinion even before developing or acquiring these technologies. He acknowledged, however, that ensuring genuine human oversight is becoming increasingly difficult, while a framework for assessing the impact on fundamental rights is still lacking.
Asked by Vigenin whether his recommendations are actually being applied in Europol’s activities, Prof. Arnd Zinn, Chair of the Fundamental Rights Advisory Forum, stressed that trust, transparency and cooperation are necessary to achieve practical results.
“We need a strong and effective Europol that, at the same time, respects the values it is tasked with protecting. We must ensure that security and fundamental rights complement rather than undermine each other,” Vigenin concluded.
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