THE HAGUE - Catherine De Bolle, who previously served as Commissioner General of the Belgian Federal Police from 2012, took up her duties on Wednesday as new Executive Director of Europol, announced the EU Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation.

De Bolle replaces from Rob Wainwright, whose term expired on May 1, 2018 after nine years in service. Her tasks involve overseeing the administration of Europol and the management of its more than 1 000 personnel, as well as the overall performance of the agency.

"Europol is seen as a pre-eminent law enforcement agency and I intend for that to remain the case," said the new executive director. "This means focusing on the support delivered to national law enforcement authorities, and ensuring that our services truly deliver added value to our stakeholders."

"The increasing scale of the flow of information to Europol is both our greatest asset and our most significant challenge. I want Europol to be recognised as a leading centre for criminal data analysis," she added.

De Bolle was appointed by the Council of the European Union as Europol's Executive Director on March 8, 2018. She ranked first from a list of suitable candidates proposed by the Management Board of Europol and won the confidence of the majority of EU Member States.