The Stockholm programme and its relevance for European police education

Abstract

One of the most important programme in the field of freedom, security and justice is the ‘Stockholm Programme’. This overall strategy was launched in the course of 2010 in order to place new pointers on the horizon in the development of the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice in the European Union. Since the entry into force of the Maastricht Treaty in the early nineties, police cooperation across national frontiers has been a crucial and fast-growing domain of action.
In addition to a brief description of the content, this article makes a case, based on four separate arguments, for giving the establishment and content of the Stockholm Programme a prominent place in higher European police education. The author concludes that a safer Europe can only be realised if Member States evolve from mutual trust to mutual recognition, and if members of the European police community can build cross-border ties through European police education.