Other Tampere initiatives included the creation of a task force of European police chiefs. This has helped to create personal links between the heads of national police services in EU countries. The chiefs are probably now more willing and able to lift the telephone to discuss practical problems and joint operations with their opposite numbers in neighbouring and nearby countries. The regular meetings of the police chiefs should result in a more spontaneous input, and in closer co-operation, between national police services in the EU member states. Both the training and police chiefs' initiatives should help considerably in the practical implementation of joint investigations of serious crime as envisaged in this Bill.