Prague, Oct 1 (CTK) – A Czech-German agreement on police cooperation enabling one country’s police to intervene on the other country’s territory, if necessary, came into force on Saturday.
Czech Interior Minister Milan Chovanec and his German counterpart Thomas de Maiziere signed the agreement in Prague in April 2015. Afterwards, it was approved by the two countries’ parliaments.
It enables the police to pursue suspicious vehicles onto the other country’s territory as if they acted in their own country. This also applies to police helicopters.
The new rules should enable a quick intervention on the foreign territory without the other country’s previous approval if people’s health or lives are in danger.
The agreement also includes the customs officers’ agenda.
According to it, the Czech and German police will form more joint patrols.
Furthermore, the agreement defines bilateral cooperation in the protection of witnesses, extradition of persons and escorting dangerous or oversize cargo.
The new deal has replaced the old agreements on cooperation in fighting organised crime and on police cooperation from 1991 and 2000, respectively, which were signed still before the Czech accession to the EU and the Schengen area and were therefore obsolete. They enabled Czech and German patrols to operate on the other country’s territory only within the distance of up to 30 km from the state border.
