The President of the EU Agency for Judicial Cooperation in Criminal Matters (Eurojust), Ladislav Hamran (Slovakia), reported on the activities of his agency to MEPs of the European Parliament’s Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) on Tuesday 1 February.
He underlined the fact that the number of cases handled by Eurojust is continuously increasing since the creation of the agency. In 2021, the latter supported almost 1,500 large-scale operations targeting organised crime groups. Joint investigation teams have increased from 33 in 2011 to 254 last year.
Despite these positive figures, the President of Eurojust highlighted the fact that its staffing levels have continuously decreased since 2014. “We are the only force that had to face a decrease in the number of staff. No surprise we reached the end of our efficiency gains”, he regretted.
Several MEPs criticised this lack of resources and asked for more details regarding Eurojust’s needs. Ladislav Hamran said that the agency would need 21 additional posts in 2023 to reach 2014’s level. “We understand the concerns of budgetary authorities, but I plead for your support”. He also repeatedly thanked the members of the LIBE Committee, who, he said, had always supported the work of Eurojust.
Digitalisation of justice
A large part of the exchange between MEPs, but also several representatives of national parliaments, with the President of Eurojust, and then with prosecutors from the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, highlighted the urgent need for the digitalisation of justice.
In connection with the recent Commission proposals along these lines (see EUROPE 12844/12), participants in the debate recalled that the work of Eurojust and the European Public Prosecutor’s Office increasingly depends on the existence of exchange platforms for joint investigation teams and tools for sharing information.
Most of the MEPs who shared this finding also raised the issue of data protection and cyber security. They have repeatedly referred to the case of the police cooperation agency Europol, which has been ordered by the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) to delete data on individuals without an established link to criminal activity (see EUROPE 12866/10).
Cooperation with the European Public Prosecutor’s Office
This exchange in the LIBE Committee also made it possible to highlight the collaboration between these two agencies through the voices of various Eurojust and European Public Prosecutor’s Office speakers. José de la Mata, member and contact point at Eurojust for the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, stressed the complementarity of the two structures. Eurojust allows, for example, to cover Member States that are not affiliated to the European Public Prosecutor’s Office.
Since the launch of the latter, six cases have been opened at Eurojust involving the European Public Prosecutor’s Office. “These figures may seem low, but we must remember that the European Public Prosecutor’s Office is very new, and the fact that it is participating in coordination meetings, where information is exchanged and possible joint investigations may emerge, is a positive signal”, said Mr de la Mata.
Finally, regarding the functioning of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, the Deputy Director of DG Justice at the European Commission, Nils Behrndt, indicated in the same exchange that he was optimistic that Sweden would soon join the European Public Prosecutor’s Office. (Original version in French by Léa Marchal)