The day after they were presented, MEPs on the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) broadly welcomed, on Thursday 25 June, the European Commission’s proposals to strengthen the mandate of the EU Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation, Eurojust (see EUROPE 13895/3), during an exchange of views with the Director-General of the Directorate-General for Justice and Consumers, Ana Gallego.
They questioned her on the Agency’s financial resources, the procedural rights of the persons concerned and cooperation with national authorities, as well as on the revision of the European Investigation Order Directive and on the rules applicable to the processing of personal data by European Union institutions.
Ana Gallego recalled that the legislative package adopted by the Commission pursues a shared objective of strengthening the European Union’s capacity to respond to serious cross-border offences.
According to her, the reform would preserve the “DNA” of Eurojust, but would also give it greater capacity to support national judicial authorities, simplify its governance and strengthen its cooperation with Europol, the European Public Prosecutor’s Office and third countries. She also said that the mandate would be extended, notably to violations of EU restrictive measures, gender-based violence with a cross-border dimension and cyberattacks.
Several MEPs asked how these new powers would be financed. Birgit Sippel (S&D, German) considered that the extension of the mandate would require more specialised staff and questioned whether the planned resources would be adequate.
According to Ana Gallego, the Commission is proposing a proportionate financial reinforcement in the next Multiannual Financial Framework, mentioning an additional need of around €83 million over seven years, on top of the resources already programmed. She nevertheless recalled that the budget negotiations were still ongoing.
On the revision of the European Investigation Order Directive, the Director-General indicated that the proposal should facilitate the cross-border gathering of evidence, notably through better use of digital tools and the introduction of rules on the remote participation of suspects, prosecuted persons and victims. In response to questions from Birgit Sippel, who feared an adverse effect on the fairness of proceedings, she assured her that the use of videoconferencing would remain based on the free and informed consent of the person concerned, without calling into question their right to appear physically, and that a lawyer would have to be present during these hearings.
Interventions also focused on the practical arrangements for cooperation between the European agencies and with third countries.
Malik Azmani (Renew Europe, Dutch) thus asked for details on joint investigation teams, the interconnection of information systems and the safeguards applicable to exchanges with third countries. Saskia Bricmont (Greens/EFA, Belgian) wanted answers on cooperation between Europol and Eurojust, as well as on the implementation of international cooperation agreements.
Ana Gallego replied that the reform should strengthen complementarity between Europol and Eurojust, improve data interoperability between the agencies and consolidate cooperation with third countries, while complying with European Union rules on the protection of personal data. (Original version in French by Nithya Paquiry)