Previous police cooperation in Europe was generally kept secret from the public and was based on informal, unofficial agreements. Interpol and TREVI, the two main mechanisms of multinational police cooperation in Western Europe are still characterized by a lack of clearcut international treaties governing their organization, mission, and duties. However, both agencies should still be considered international public institutions. But while TREVI consists of an international governmental institution, Interpol forms a peculiar international police organization. The European Council, TREVI, the Commission of the European Community, and the European Parliament have all debated the future restructuring of international police organization. By the end of the 1980's, many of the EC member states were ready to commit themselves to the development of a new form of regular police cooperation which would be organized within the intergovernmental framework of political cooperation among the member states and not within the framework of the Community itself. The Treaty on European Union defines the functions of Europol as support for national criminal investigation and security authorities; database development and maintenance; central analysis and assessment of information; collection and analysis of national prevention programs; and measures relating to further training, research, forensic matters, and criminal recordkeeping. 12 references