Within European law enforcement circles, counter-terrorism networks and privileged partnerships tend to be preferred to formal bureaucratic structures because of their flexibility and directness. The professional preference for informal, bilateral and privileged relationships may, however, undermine the potential of formally established agencies such as Europol and Eurojust, which work through national and centrally co-ordinated channels of information and intelligence. This article seeks to assess whether standards of democratic, legal and social legitimacy are under pressure as a consequence of this persistent preference for horizontal, direct and informal co-operation.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.