EU police to be above the law?

The history of Anglo-Saxon common law, to which America's concept of liberty under law is heir, describes a long, painful struggle to rein in the unaccountable powers of government and its agents. The European Union, by way of contrast, descends from the French Revolution and its Communist offspring, which promoted the vision of an all-powerful state.

Under European Communities Order 1997, entitled "Immunities and Privileges of the European Police Office," members of the EU's police force (the Europol) "shall enjoy immunity from suit and legal process in respect of acts, including words written or spoken, done by them in the exercise of their official functions." Veritas Group, an organization of British "Euro-skeptics," contends that this grants Europol officers "authority to steal, lie and even kill in the course of their duties" and that "the public will have no right of redress."

"It beggars belief that the government [is] prepared to allow foreign police officers to operate on British soil unchecked by law," complained Veritas leader Damian Hockney in an April 11 message to the London Assembly. "As a member of the Metropolitan Police Authority, I am deeply concerned that an outside force can operate in London without authority from the Met, completely free of any oversight or constraint."