CO-OPERATION BETWEEN EUROJUST AND EUROPOL
(17069/06)
Letter from Joan Ryan MP, Parliamentary
Under Secretary of State, Home Office to the Chairman
I enclose for your information the Annual Report
to the Council on Co-operation between Eurojust and Europol for
2005 and 2006.
In June 2004, Eurojust and Europol signed a
co-operation agreement governing co-operation in strategic, operational
and practical and administrative matters. The Hague Programme
(of the same year) stipulated that the two bodies should report
annually to the Council on their common experiences and about
specific results. This is the first such annual report for 2005
and 2006.
I would like to take this opportunity to highlight
the substantial progress made in all fields of co-operation. The
Government welcomes the fact that Eurojust and Europol are addressing
the barriers to operational co-operation identified in the report
and is optimistic that both organisations will continue to work
to overcome difficulties arising from differences in organisational
structure and legal frameworks.
16 January 2007
Annex A
Annual Report to the Council
CO-OPERATION
BETWEEN EUROJUST
AND EUROPOL
FOR 2005 AND
2006 POINT 2.3 OF
THE HAGUE
PROGRAMME
1. BACKGROUND
The co-operation agreement between Eurojust
and Europol was signed on 9 June 2004. On the basis of this agreement,
co-operation was carried out in the following fields: in strategic
matters (2), in operational matters (3) and in practical and administrative
matters (4).
2. STRATEGIC
CO-OPERATION
The strategic co-operation focused on facilitating
the implementation of the areas of co-operation described in the
agreement. The main tool of co-operation in strategic matters
is the Eurojust-Europol Steering Committee, which was set up to
monitor the implementation of the agreement, and to develop strategies
and priorities. It is composed of both members of Eurojust and
Europol, and holds joint meetings. The Steering Committee met
four times in 2005 and three times in 2006. A scoreboard was developed
as a means for documenting key tasks and identifying priorities.
Apart from these joint meetings, Eurojust and
Europol also attended each other's respective strategic meetings.
Furthermore, preparations have started in October
2005 for joint Europol-Eurojust participation in the R4eGov project,
a three year project on e-government funded by the EU Commission
to enhance interoperability between public institutions within
the EU.
It is also worth mentioning that Eurojust and
Europol jointly organised the first meeting of the national experts
on Joint Investigation Teams (JITs), which took place on 22 and
23 November 2005. Another experts meeting was held on 10 November
2006 which resulted in concrete conclusions which were submitted
to Council. Furthermore, a project was initiated by Eurojust and
Europol to provide a guide on Member States' legislation regarding
the setting up of JITs. This comprehensive guide, which has been
presented and distributed during the expert meeting in November
2006, is an excellent example of the well-functioning co-operation
between the administrations of both organisations.
3. OPERATIONAL
CO-OPERATION
Co-operation in operational matters takes mainly
place via the case co-ordination meetings organised by Eurojust,
to which Europol is regularly invited. In a number of successful
cases, involvement of both parties from the beginning provided
a basis for good co-operation. To give a few examples, Europol
and Eurojust participated in 2005 in a Dutch-British JIT, resulting
in the seizure of heroin and money and the arrests of several
suspects. Equally, in 2005, co-operation between Europol and Eurojust
resulted in another JIT, involving Germany and the Slovak Republic,
initiated by Europol and facilitated by Eurojust. Furthermore
Eurojust had been involved via the French representative to support
in ongoing payment card fraud cases currently analysed in a work
file operated by Europol.
More regular involvement of Eurojust at an earlier
stage would further improve co-operation between the two organisations.
Participation by Eurojust in Europol's analysis
groups is rather limited for two main reasons. First the legal
framework of Europol does not allow Eurojust to be associated
with the analysis files; however, this will be possible, under
certain conditions, after the entry into force of the "Danish
Protocol" in early 2007. Second Member States participating
in analysis groups are reluctant to use the legally available
avenues to associate Eurojust national members systematically
with the AWF teams, even though this would facilitate more efficient
co-operation. Nevertheless, Eurojust national members were involved
in eight of currently 16 analysis files through specific cases.
Eurojust has also contributed to Europol's Organised
Crime Threat Assessment (OCTA) in 2005 and 2006, based on the
requirements developed by Europol.
To facilitate the exchange of classified information,
Eurojust drafted a table of equivalences between the respective
security regimes of Eurojust and Europol. Discussions on this
table are complicated by the differences between the two security
regimes. However, the technical design and specifications for
a secure line between the two organisations to enable the electronic
exchange of confidential data were agreed and the work on the
project has well progressed.
4. CO-OPERATION
IN PRACTICAL
AND ADMINISTRATIVE
MATTERS
Co-operation in practical and administrative
matters was furthered by the designation of contact points within
Eurojust and Europol. Eurojust and Europol agreed to recognise
each other's contributions in their respective Annual Reports.
On an administrative level, co-operation between the legal services
has been excellent, as evidenced by a common position on JITs
and the JIT network presented to the MDG.
Both Europol and Eurojust hold the view that
their respective headquarters should be in proximity in the near
future.
5. CONCLUSION
Given that the co-operation agreement between
Eurojust and Europol was signed in June 2004, and given the complexities
arising from differences in organisational structures and legal
frameworks, substantial progress has been made in the fields of
strategic, operational, practical and administrative co-operation.
Constraints on operational co-operation arise
from Europol's strict legal framework and the lack of awareness
of Member States that they have to take pro-active steps to facilitate
Eurojust's involvement in analysis files. Co-operation could be
improved by promoting better awareness of Europol and Eurojust's
respective legal frameworks, exchange of information at an earlier
stage, a more systematic involvement of Eurojust in analysis files
and a rapid adoption of the table of equivalence between the respective
security regimes.
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