WHILE Judges in Italy, Spain, Belgium and France pursue investigations into institutionalised corruption, often controversially, a Europe-wide police system has finally reached the brink of full operation.

After four and a half years Kurt Schlogel, the Austrian interior minister, last week officially inaugurated the Europol convention to launch formally the embryonic European police organisation which has been stuttering along in The Hague waiting for its official charter to be agreed. Belgium was the final nation of the 15 European Union member states to ratify the agreement.

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