Although established since the 1990s, Europol became an entity of the EU in January 2010 as a result of the Europol Council Decision. The Europol Management Board commissioned RAND Europe, in partnership with BGS, to conduct an independent assessment of the implementation of the Europol Council Decision and the activities subsequently carried out by Europol. The evaluation was wide in scope, covering a range of operational, administrative, and governance issues, including: the effect of Europol’s new status as an entity of the EU; the relationship between Europol and Member States; Europol’s role as an intelligence hub and in the analysis of personal data; and cooperation between Europol and other EU agencies, Third States and external partners (including the private sector). BGS provided expert operational and strategic law enforcement insight and helped identify a series of recommendations later adopted by Europol.