The meeting of EU Justice Ministers on Monday 13 October provided an opportunity for a policy debate on the future of the European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation, Eurojust.
The discussion at this EU Council meeting followed on from the evaluation published last July by the European Commission (https://aeur.eu/f/iv4 ), which reported both an improvement in efficiency and difficulties linked to the agency’s internal organisation.
At a press conference, the Danish Minister for Justice, Peter Hummelgaard, who chaired the meeting, hoped that the discussion would provide “valuable guidance for the agency and the Commission in their future evaluation work”.
According to the EU Council press release, “many ministers stressed that Eurojust must have the necessary resources and tools to support concrete investigations”. Several delegations flagged the role that Eurojust can play in improving judicial cooperation between the EU and third countries, for instance when it comes to extraditing drug criminals.
The European Commissioner for Justice, Michael McGrath, hailed the agency as a “real success” in strengthening justice and security. As he put it, Eurojust “plays a crucial role in strengthening judicial cooperation to combat cross-border crime”.
He also stated that the European Commission is committed to “supporting Eurojust further, in particular in its fight against organised crime and by strengthening cooperation with the European Public Prosecutor’s Office and Europol”.
According to a source close to the matter, the ministers expressed broad appreciation for Eurojust’s work and called for its support for national investigations to be consolidated.
If the agency is to be strengthened, “the corresponding resources will also have to be found”, although the budget issue was not discussed in detail at the meeting.
Several Member States have also warned of the risk of duplication with other agencies, especially Europol and the European Public Prosecutor’s Office. Eurojust must not become “the Europol of justice”, but only develop in areas where it brings real added value, without encroaching on national competences.
The European Commission must now work on an impact assessment of the legislation governing the agency. The exchange of views makes it possible to establish a political orientation with a view to a possible revision of the Eurojust Regulation. (Original version in French by Nithya Paquiry)