The decision about the launch
ing of cross-border investigations, responsibility for which cannot be given to a competent national
judicial authority because of the cross-border nature of the investigations, cannot be left to Europol, any more than the decision to end an investigation can. From the point of view of constitutional democracy, therefore, it will become necessary to establish a European judicial authority - a European public prosecutor's office, for example -, which would be empowered to issue orders to Europol in the fram
...[+++]ework of its investigative powers.
On ne peut donc laisser à Europol la décision d'ouvrir ou de clore des enquêtes transfrontalières qui, par essence, ne relèvent pas de la compétence d'une autorité judiciaire nationale. Du point de vue de l'État de droit, il faut donc une autorité européenne, par exemple un parquet européen, qui, dans le cadre de ses pouvoirs d'investigation, puisse charger Europol de certaines missions.