European Police College (CEPOL) comes to Hungary

European Police College (CEPOL), the EU organisation responsible for setting up and conducting training programmes for police officers, will be located in Hungary – said Minister of Interior Sándor Pintér in Luxembourg. CEPOL has so far been located in Bramshill, Great Britain, but the current site has become unavailable. Hungary was one of six countries to apply for the host position, beginning next year.

Minister Pintér called the decision an important Hungarian success that is a sign of the trust of our EU partners in Hungarian professionalism. He also mentioned that this is the first time that Hungary has been given the opportunity to operate an EU agency.

He added that having gained the approval of the committee that represents the governments of the member states, Hungary hopes to now also win the support of the European Parliament.

CEPOL will be located in a building in the centre Budapest and – according to plans – would being operations in the next semester.

The institution will be managed by a staff of 30-50, including teachers, but the number of those involved in training the students will vary. The Budapest centre will be mainly responsible for training mentors, who will teach people in other member states, and there will be also operative trainings, Minister Pintér added.

CEPOL’s current head is also Hungarian – retired Police General Ferenc Bánfi, who is serving his second term in this position.

The main task of the agency is to provide unified postgraduate training courses for police officers, and Minister Pintér also emphasised the importance of CEPOL courses with relation to combating organised crime.

Source: Ministry of Interior