P7_TA(2014)0121

European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation and Training (Europol) ***I

European Parliament legislative resolution of 25 February 2014 on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation and Training (Europol) and repealing Decisions 2009/371/JHA and 2005/681/JHA (COM(2013)0173 — C7-0094/2013 — 2013/0091(COD))

(Ordinary legislative procedure: first reading)

(2017/C 285/37)

The European Parliament,

having regard to the Commission proposal to Parliament and the Council (COM(2013)0173),

having regard to Article 294(2) and Article 88 and Article 87(2)(b) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, pursuant to which the Commission submitted the proposal to Parliament (C7-0094/2013),

having regard to Article 294(3) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

having regard to the reasoned opinions submitted, within the framework of Protocol No 2 on the application of the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality, by the Belgian Chamber of Representatives, the German Bundesrat and the Spanish Parliament, asserting that the draft legislative act does not comply with the principle of subsidiarity,

having regard to the report of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs and the opinions of the Committee on Budgets, the Committee on Budgetary Control and the Committee on Constitutional Affairs (A7-0096/2014),

Stresses that point 31 of the Interinstitutional Agreement of 2 December 2013 between the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission on budgetary discipline, on cooperation in budgetary matters and on sound financial management (1) shall apply for the extension of the mandate of Europol; emphasises that any decision of the legislative authority in favour of such an extension shall be without prejudice to the decisions of the budgetary authority in the context of the annual budgetary procedure;

Requests the Commission, once the Regulation is agreed upon by the European Parliament and the Council, to fully take the agreement into account in order to meet the budgetary and staff requirements of Europol and its new tasks, in particular the European Cybercrime Centre, in accordance with paragraph 42 of the Joint Statement of the European Parliament, the Council, and the Commission of 19 July 2012 on decentralised agencies;

Calls on the Commission to refer the matter to Parliament again if it intends to amend its proposal substantially or replace it with another text;

Instructs its President to forward its position to the Council, the Commission and the national parliaments.

(1) OJ C 373, 20.12.2013, p. 1.

P7_TC1-COD(2013)0091

Position of the European Parliament adopted at first reading on 25 February 2014 with a view to the adoption of Regulation (EU) No …/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the establishment of the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation and Training (Europol) and repealing Decisions Council Decision 2009/371/JHA and 2005/681/JHA [Am. 1]

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Article 88 and Article 87(2)(b) thereof, [Am. 2]

Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission,

After transmission of the draft legislative act to the national parliaments,

After having consulted the European Data Protection Supervisor,

Acting in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure (1),

Whereas:

(1) Europol was set up by Council Decision 2009/371/JHA (2) as an entity of the Union funded from the general budget of the Union to support and strengthen action by competent authorities of the Member States and their mutual cooperation in preventing and combating organised crime, terrorism and other forms of serious crime affecting two or more Member States. Decision 2009/371/JHA replaced the Convention based on Article K.3 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU), on the establishment of a European Police Office (Europol Convention) (3).

(2) Article 88 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) provides for Europol to be governed by a regulation to be adopted in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure. It also requires the establishment of procedures for the scrutiny of Europol’s activities by the European Parliament, together with national parliaments, in accordance with Article 12(c) TEU and Article 9 of Protocol No 1 on the role of national parliaments in the European Union, in order to enhance the democratic legitimacy and accountability of Europol to the European citizens . Therefore, it is necessary to replace the Decision 2009/371/JHA by a regulation laying down rules on parliamentary scrutiny. [Am. 3]

(3) The European Police College (‘CEPOL’) was established by Decision 2005/681/JHA (4) to facilitate cooperation between national police forces by organising and coordinating training activities with a European policing dimension. [Am. 4]

(4) The ‘Stockholm Programme — An open and secure Europe serving and protecting citizens’ (5) calls for Europol to evolve and become a ‘hub for information exchange between the law enforcement authorities of the Member States, a service provider and a platform for law enforcement services.’ On the basis of an assessment of Europol’s functioning, further enhancement of its operational effectiveness is needed to meet this objective. The Stockholm Programme also sets the aim of creating a genuine European law enforcement culture by setting up European training schemes and exchange programmes for all relevant law enforcement professionals at national and Union level. [Am. 5]

(5) Large-scale criminal and terrorist networks pose a significant threat to the internal security of the Union and to the safety and livelihood of its citizens. Available threat assessments show that criminal groups are becoming increasingly poly-criminal and cross-border in their activities. National law enforcement authorities therefore need to cooperate more closely with their counterparts in other Member States. In this context, it is necessary to equip Europol to support Member States more in Union-wide crime prevention, analyses and investigations. This has also been confirmed in the evaluations evaluation of Decisions Decision 2009/371/JHA and 2005/681/JHA. [Am. 6]

(6) Given the links between the tasks of Europol and CEPOL, integrating and rationalising the functions of the two agencies would enhance the effectiveness of operational activity, the relevance of training and the efficiency of Union police cooperation. [Am. 7]

(7) Decisions Decision 2009/371/JHA and 2005/681/JHA should therefore be repealed and replaced by this regulation, which draws on the lessons learnt from the implementation of both Decisions that Decision . The Europol agency as established by this regulation should replace and assume the functions of Europol and CEPOL as established by the two repealed Decisions Decision . [Am. 8]

(8) As crime often occurs across internal borders, Europol should support and strengthen Member State actions and their cooperation in preventing and combating serious crime affecting two or more Member States. As terrorism is one of the most important threats presents a threat for the security of the Union, Europol should assist Member States in facing common challenges in this regard. As the EU law enforcement agency, Europol should also support and strengthen actions and cooperation on tackling forms of crime that affect the interests of the EU. It should also offer support in preventing and combating related criminal offences which are committed in order to procure the means, to facilitate, to carry out or to ensure the impunity of acts in respect of which Europol is competent. [Am. 9]

(9) Europol should ensure better quality, coherent and consistent training for law enforcement officers of all ranks within a clear framework in accordance with identified training needs. [Am. 10]

(10) Europol should be able to request Member States to initiate, conduct or coordinate criminal investigations in specific cases where cross-border cooperation would add value. Europol should inform Eurojust of such requests. Europol should justify the request. [Am. 11]

(10a) Europol should keep a record of collaboration in the operations of joint investigation teams targeting criminal activities falling within its remit. [Am. 12]

(10b) Whenever a cooperation between Europol and Member States has been established regarding a specific investigation, clear provisions should be drawn up between Europol and those Member States involved, outlining the specific tasks to be carried out, the degree of participation with the investigative or judicial proceedings of the Member states, and the division of responsibilities and the applicable law for the purposes of judicial oversight. [Am. 13]

(11) To increase the effectiveness of Europol as a hub for information exchange in the Union, clear obligations for Member States to provide Europol with the data necessary for it to fulfil its objectives should be laid down. While implementing such obligations, Member States should must pay particular attention to providing only data relevant for the fight against crimes considered to be strategic and operational priorities within relevant policy instruments of the Union. Member States should also provide Europol with a copy of bilateral and multilateral exchanges of information with other Member States on crime falling under Europol’s objectives and also indicate the source of this information . At the same time, Europol should increase the level of its support to Member States, so as to enhance mutual cooperation and sharing of information. Europol should must submit an annual report to all Union institutions and to national parliaments on the extent to which individual Member States provide it with information. [Am. 14]

(12) To ensure effective cooperation between Europol and Member States, a national unit should be set up in each Member State. It should be the principal liaison between national law enforcement authorities and training institutes and Europol. The role of the national Europol units as guarantors and defenders of national interests in the Agency should be maintained under the Regulation. National units should also continue to be the contact point between Europol and the competent authorities, thereby giving them a centralised and coordinating role in respect of all Member State cooperation with and through Europol, and thus ensuring that each Member State responds in a uniform way to Europol requests. To ensure continuous, effective exchange of information between Europol and national units and to facilitate their cooperation, each national unit should second at least one liaison officer to Europol. [Am. 15]

(13) Taking into account the decentralised structure of some Member States and the need to ensure in certain cases rapid exchanges of information, Europol should be allowed to cooperate directly with law enforcement authorities in Member States in individual investigations, while keeping Europol national units informed.

(14) To ensure that Union-level law enforcement training is of high quality, coherent and consistent, Europol should act in line with Union law enforcement training policy. Union-level training should be available to law enforcement officers of all ranks. Europol should ensure that training is evaluated and that conclusions from training needs assessments are part of planning to reduce duplication. Europol should promote the recognition in Member States of training provided at Union level. [Am. 16]

(15) It is also necessary to improve the governance of Europol, by seeking efficiency gains and streamlining procedures.

(16) The Commission and the Member States should be represented on the Management Board of Europol to effectively supervise its work. To reflect the dual mandate of the new agency, operational support and training for law enforcement, the full The members of the Management Board should be appointed on the basis of their knowledge of law enforcement cooperation, whereas alternate members should be appointed on the basis of their knowledge of training for law enforcement officers. Alternate members should act as full members in the absence of the full member and in any case when training is discussed or decided. The Management Board should be advised by a scientific committee on technical training issues. [Am. 17]

(17) The Management Board should be given the necessary powers, in particular to set the budget, verify its execution, adopt the appropriate financial rules and planning documents, adopt measures to protect the financial interests of the Union and to fight against fraud, as well as adopt rules for the prevention and management of conflicts of interests, establish transparent working procedures for decision-making by the Executive Director of Europol, and adopt the annual activity report. It should exercise the powers of appointing authority towards staff of the agency including the Executive Director. To streamline the decision making process, and to reinforce supervision of administrative and budgetary management, the Management Board should be also entitled to establish an Executive Board. [Am. 18]

(18) To ensure the efficient day-to-day functioning of Europol, the Executive Director should be its legal representative and manager, acting in complete independence in the performance of all tasks and ensuring that Europol carries out the tasks provided for by this Regulation. In particular, the Executive Director should be responsible for preparing budgetary and planning documents submitted for the decision of the Management Board, implementing the annual and multiannual work programmes of Europol and other planning documents.

(19) For the purposes of preventing and combating crime falling under its objectives, it is necessary for Europol to have the fullest and most up-to-date information possible. Therefore, Europol should be able to process data provided to it by Member States, third countries, international organisations and Union bodies as well as coming from publicly available sources , as long as Europol can be considered to be lawful recipient of that data, to develop an understanding of criminal phenomena and trends, to gather information about criminal networks, and to detect links between different offences. [Am. 19]

(20) To improve Europol’s effectiveness in providing accurate crime analyses to the Member States’ law enforcement authorities, it should use new technologies to process data. Europol should be able to swiftly detect links between investigations and common modi operandi across different criminal groups, to check cross-matches of data and to have a clear overview of trends, while maintaining guaranteeing high level of protection of personal data for individuals. Therefore, Europol databases should not be pre-defined, allowing Europol to choose the most efficient IT structure. To ensure a high level of data protection, the purpose of processing operations and access rights as well as specific additional safeguards should be laid down. The principles of relevance and proportionality must be observed with regard to personal data processing. [Am. 20]

(21) To respect ownership of data and protection of information, Member States and authorities in third countries and international organisations should be able to determine the purpose for which Europol may process the data they provide and to restrict access rights. Purpose limitation contributes to transparency, legal certainty and predictability and is especially of high importance in the area of police cooperation, where data subjects are usually unaware when their personal data are being collected and processed and where the use of personal data may have a very significant impact on the lives and freedoms of individuals. [Am. 21]

(22) To ensure that data are accessed only by those for whom access is necessary to perform their tasks, this Regulation should lay down detailed rules on different degrees of right of access to data processed by Europol. Such rules should be without prejudice to restrictions on access imposed by data providers, as the principle of ownership of data should be respected. In order to increase efficiency of preventing and combating crime falling under Europol’s objectives, Europol should notify Member States of information which concerns them.

(23) To enhance operational cooperation between the agencies, and particularly to establish links between data already in possession of the different agencies, Europol should enable Eurojust and the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) to have access to and be able to search against data available at Europol , on the basis of specific safeguards . [Am. 22]

(24) Europol should maintain cooperative relations with other Union bodies, and law enforcement authorities and law enforcement training institutes of third countries, international organisations, and private parties to the extent required for the accomplishment of its tasks. [Am. 23]

(25) To ensure operational effectiveness, Europol should be able to exchange all information, with the exception of personal data, with other Union bodies, law enforcement authorities and law enforcement training institutes of third countries, and international organisations to the extent necessary for the performance of its tasks. Since companies, firms, business associations, non-governmental organisations and other private parties hold expertise and data of direct relevance to the prevention and combating of serious crime and terrorism, Europol should also be able to exchange such data with private parties. To prevent and combat cybercrime, as related to network and information security incidents, Europol should, pursuant to Directive [name of adopted Directive] of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning measures to ensure a high common level of network and information security across the Union (*1), cooperate and exchange information, with the exception of personal data, with national authorities competent for the security of network and information systems. [Am. 24]

(26) Europol should be able to exchange personal data with other Union bodies to the extent necessary for the accomplishment of its tasks. The European Data Protection Supervisor should ensure that this exchange of information concerns only persons who have committed or who are thought likely to commit offences in respect of which Europol has competence. [Am. 25]

(27) Serious crime and terrorism often have links beyond the territory of the EU. Europol should therefore be able to exchange personal data with law enforcement authorities of third countries and with international organisations such as Interpol to the extent necessary for the accomplishment of its tasks. In exchanging personal data with third countries and international organisations, it is necessary to strike an appropriate balance between the need for effective enforcement and personal data protection. [Am. 26]

(28) Europol should be able to transfer personal data to an authority of a third country or an international organisation on the basis of a Commission decision finding that the country or international organisation in question ensures an adequate level of data protection, or, in the absence of an adequacy decision, an international agreement concluded by the Union pursuant to Article 218 TFEU, or a cooperation agreement concluded between Europol and this third country prior to the entry into force of this Regulation. In view of Article 9 of Protocol 36 on transitional provisions attached to the Treaty, legal effects of such agreements should be preserved until those agreements are repealed, annulled or amended in the implementation of the Treaty.

(29) Where a transfer of personal data cannot be based on an adequacy decision taken by the Commission, or, an international agreement concluded by the Union, or an existing cooperation agreement, the Management Board and the European Data Protection Supervisor should be allowed to authorise a transfer or a set of transfers, provided adequate safeguards are ensured. Where none of the above applies, the Executive Director should be allowed to authorise the transfer of data in exceptional cases on a case-by-case basis, if it is necessary to safeguard the essential interests of a Member State, to prevent an imminent danger associated with crime or terrorism, if the transfer is otherwise necessary or legally required on important public grounds, if the data subject has consented, or if vital interests of the data subject are at stake.

(30) Europol should be able to process personal data originating from private parties and private persons only if transferred to Europol by a Europol national unit of a Member State in accordance with its national law or, by a contact point in a third country with which there is established cooperation through a cooperation agreement concluded in accordance with Article 23 of Decision 2009/371/JHA prior to the entry into force of this Regulation or an authority of a third country or an international organisation with which the Union has concluded and international agreement pursuant to Article 218 TFEU.

(31) Any information which has clearly been obtained by a third country or international organisation in violation of human rights shall not be processed. [Am. 27]

(32) Data protection rules at Europol should be strengthened and aligned with other relevant data protection instruments applicable to processing of personal data in the area of police cooperation in the Union to ensure a high level of protection of individuals with regard to processing of personal data. While Decision 2009/371/JHA provides for a robust data protection regime for Europol, it should be further elaborated to align Europol with the requirements of the Lisbon Treaty, reflect the growing role of Europol, improve the rights of data subjects and further enhance the trust between Member States and Europol which is necessary for a successful exchange of information. Data protection rules at Europol should be strengthened and draw on the principles underpinning Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council (6) or the instrument replacing Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 to ensure a high level of protection of individuals with regard to processing of personal data , as well as on other data protection principles, including accountability principle, data protection impact assessment, privacy by design and by default and notification of personal data breaches. As soon as the new data protection framework of the EU institutions and bodies will be adopted, it should be applicable to Europol . As Declaration 21 attached to the Treaty recognizes acknowledges, the specific nature of the specificity of personal data processing of personal data in the law enforcement context, the data proves necessary that specific rules on the protection rules of of personal data and the free movement of such data are established for Europol should be autonomous based on Article 16 TFEU and aligned with other relevant data protection instruments applicable in the area of police cooperation in the Union, in particular Convention No. 108 (7) and its Additional Protocol of 8 November 2001 and Recommendation No R(87) of the Council of Europe (8) and the robust data protection regime laid down in Council Framework Decision 2008/977/JHA on the protection of personal data processed in the framework of police and judicial cooperation in criminal matters (9) [to be replaced by the relevant Directive in force at the moment of adoption]. Transparency is a crucial part of data protection since it enables other data protection principles and rights to be exercised. To enhance transparency, Europol should have transparent data protection policies that it should make easily publicly available setting out in an intelligible form and using clear and plain language the provisions regarding the processing of personal data and the means available for the exercise of the rights of data subjects, as well as publish a list of the international and cooperation agreements it has with third countries, Union bodies and international organisations. [Am. 28]

(33) As far as possible, personal Personal data should be distinguished according to the degree of their accuracy and reliability. Facts should must be distinguished from personal assessments, in order to ensure both the protection of individuals and the quality and reliability of the information processed by Europol. [Am. 29]

(33a) Bearing in mind the particular character of the Agency, it should have its own particular regime that should also guarantee data protection, which should on no account be at a lower level than the general regime applicable to the Union and its Agencies. Reforms relating to the general rules on data protection should thus apply to Europol as soon as possible and no later than two years after the entry into force of the new general rules; the legislative alignment between the particular data protection regimes of Europol and the EU should be completed before the end of two years following the adoption of any corresponding rules. [Am. 30]

(34) Personal data relating to different categories of data subjects are processed in the area of police co-operation. Europol should make distinctions between personal data of different categories of data subjects as clear as possible. Personal data of persons such as victims, witnesses, persons possessing relevant information as well as personal data of minors should in particular be protected. Therefore, Europol should not process them unless it is strictly necessary for preventing and combating crime within its objectives, and if those data supplement other personal data already processed by Europol.

(35) In the light of fundamental rights to protection of personal data, Europol should not store personal data longer than necessary for the performance of its tasks. At the latest three years after the data has been recorded, the need for the continued storage thereof should be considered. [Am. 32]

(36) To guarantee the security of personal data, Europol should must implement appropriate technical and organisational the necessary measures. [Am. 33]

(37) Any person should have a right of access to personal data concerning them, to have inaccurate data concerning them rectified and to erase or block data concerning them, if the data is no longer required. The rights of the data subject and the exercise thereof should not affect the obligations placed on Europol and should be subject to the restrictions laid down in this Regulation. [Am. 34]

(38) The protection of the rights and freedoms of data subjects requires a clear attribution of the responsibilities under this Regulation. In particular, Member States should be responsible for accuracy and keeping up to date the data they have transferred to Europol and for the legality of such transfer. Europol should be responsible for accuracy and for keeping the data provided by other data suppliers up to date. Europol should must also ensure that data are processed fairly and lawfully, are collected and processed for a specific purpose, that they are adequate, relevant, not excessive in relation to the purposes for which they are processed, and stored no longer than is necessary for that purpose. [Am. 35]

(39) Europol should keep records of collection, alteration, access, disclosure, combination or erasure of personal data for the purposes of verification of the lawfulness of the data processing, self-monitoring and ensuring proper data integrity and security. Europol should be is obliged to co-operate with the European Data Protection Supervisor and make the logs or documentation available upon request, so that they can be used for monitoring processing operations. [Am. 36]

(40) Europol should designate a data protection officer to assist it in monitoring compliance with the provisions of this Regulation. The data protection officer should be in a position to perform his/her duties and tasks independently and effectively. The data protection officer should be given the resources necessary to fulfil his tasks. [Am. 37]

(41) An independent, sufficiently empowered, transparent, accountable and effective structure for supervision is essential for the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data as required by Article 8 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights and Article 16 TFEU. National competent authorities for the supervision of the processing of personal data should monitor the lawfulness of the processing of personal data by Member States. The European Data Protection Supervisor should monitor the lawfulness of data processing by Europol exercising its functions with complete independence. [Am. 38]

(42) The European Data Protection Supervisor and national supervisory authorities should co-operate with each other on specific issues requiring national involvement and to ensure coherent application of this Regulation throughout the Union.

(43) As Europol is processing also non-operational personal data, not related to any criminal investigations, such as personal data of staff of Europol, services providers or visitors, processing of such data should be subject to Regulation (EC) No 45/2001. [Am. 40]

(44) The European Data Protection Supervisor should hear and investigate complaints lodged by data subjects. The investigation following a complaint should be carried out, subject to judicial review, to the extent that is appropriate necessary for full elucidation in the specific case. The supervisory authority should immediately inform the data subject of progress and the outcome of the complaint within a reasonable period. [Am. 41]

(45) Any individual should have the right to a judicial remedy against decisions of the European Data Protection Supervisor concerning him/her.

(46) Europol should be subject to general rules on contractual and non-contractual liability applicable to Union institutions, agencies and bodies, with the exception of liability for unlawful data processing.

(47) It may be unclear for the individual concerned whether damage suffered as a result of unlawful data processing is a consequence of action by Europol or by a Member State. Europol and the Member State in which the event that gave rise to the damage occurred should therefore be jointly and severally liable.

(48) To ensure To respect the role of the parliaments in the monitoring of the European area of freedom, security and justice and the political responsibilities of the national parliaments and of the European Parliament in respecting and exercising their respective powers in the legislation process, it is necessary that Europol is be a fully accountable and transparent internal organisation, it is necessary, . To that end , in the light of Article 88 TFEU, to lay down procedures for scrutiny of Europol activities by the European Parliament together with national parliaments should be established in accordance with the provisions on interparliamentary cooperation laid down in Title II of Protocol No 1 on the role of national parliaments in the European Union , taking into due account the need to safeguard confidentiality of operational information. [Am. 42]

(49) The Staff Regulations of Officials of the European Communities and the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the European Communities laid down in Regulation (EEC, Euratom, ECSC) No 259/68 of the Council (10) should apply to Europol staff. Europol should be able to employ staff engaged from the competent authorities of the Member States as temporary agents whose period of service should be limited in order to maintain the principle of rotation, as the subsequent reintegration of staff members into the service of their competent authority facilitates close cooperation between Europol and the competent authorities of the Member States. Member States should take any measure necessary to ensure that staff engaged at Europol as temporary agents may, at the end of this service at Europol, return to the national civil service to which they belong.

(50) Given the nature of the duties of Europol and the role of the Executive Director, the Executive Director may should be invited to make a statement to and to answer questions from the competent committee of the European Parliament Joint Parliamentary Scrutiny Group before his appointment, as well as before any extension of his term of office. The Executive Director should also present the annual report to the European Parliament Joint Parliamentary Scrutiny Group and to the Council. Furthermore, the European Parliament should be able to invite the Executive Director to report on the performance of his duties. [Am. 43]

(51) To guarantee the full autonomy and independence of Europol, it should be granted an autonomous budget, with revenue coming essentially from a contribution from the budget of the Union. The Union budgetary procedure should be applicable as far as the Union contribution and any other subsidies chargeable to the general budget of the Union are concerned. The auditing of accounts should be undertaken by the Court of Auditors.

(52) Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council (11) should apply to Europol.

(53) Regulation (EC) No 1073/1999 of the European Parliament and of the Council (12) should apply to Europol.

(54) Europol processes data that require particular protection as they include EU classified information and sensitive non-classified information. Europol should therefore draw up rules on confidentiality and processing of such information, taking into account the basic principles and minimum standards laid down in Council Decision 2011/292/EU (13).

(55) It is appropriate to evaluate the application of this Regulation regularly.

(56) The necessary provisions regarding accommodation for Europol in the Member State in which it has its headquarters, in the Netherlands, and the specific rules applicable to all Europol’s staff and members of their families should be laid down in a headquarters agreement. Furthermore, the host Member State should provide the best possible conditions to ensure the proper functioning of Europol, including schools for children and transport, so as to attract high-quality human resources from as wide a geographical area as possible. [Am. 44]

(57) Europol, as established by this Regulation, shall replace and succeed Europol as established by Decision 2009/371/JHA, and CEPOL as established by Decision 2005/681/JHA. It should therefore be a legal successor of all their contracts, including employment contracts, liabilities and properties acquired. International agreements concluded by Europol as established on the basis of Decision 2009/371/JHA and CEPOL as established on the basis of Decision 2005/681/JHA should remain in force, with the exception of the headquarters agreement concluded by CEPOL. [Am. 45]

(58) To enable Europol to continue to fulfil the tasks of Europol as established on the basis of Decision 2009/371/JHA and CEPOL as established by Decision 2005/681/JHA to the best of its abilities, transitional measures should be laid down, in particular with regard to the Management Board, and the Executive Director and ring-fencing part of Europol’s budget for training for three years following the entry into force of this Regulation. [Am. 46]

(59) Since the objective of this Regulation, namely the establishment of an entity responsible for law-enforcement cooperation and training at Union level, cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States and can, therefore but , by reason of the scale and effects of the action, can rather be better achieved at Union level, the Union may adopt measures, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity, as set out in Article 5 TEU. In accordance with the principle of proportionality, as set out in that Article, this Regulation does not go beyond what is necessary to achieve that objective. [Am. 47]

(60) [In accordance with Article 3 of the Protocol (No 21) on the position of United Kingdom and Ireland in respect of the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice, annexed to the TEU and the TFEU, those Member States have notified their wish to participate in the adoption and application of this Regulation] OR [Without prejudice to Article 4 of the Protocol (No 21) on the position of the United Kingdom and Ireland in respect of the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice, annexed to the TEU and the TFEU, those Member States will not participate in the adoption of this Regulation and will not be bound by or be subject to its application].

(61) In accordance with Articles 1 and 2 of the Protocol (No 22) on the position of Denmark annexed to the TEU and the TFEU, Denmark is not taking part in the adoption of this Regulation and is not bound by it or subject to its application.

(62) This Regulation respects the fundamental rights and observes the principles recognised in particular by the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, in particular the right to the protection of personal data and the right to privacy as protected by Articles 8 and 7 of the Charter, as well as by Article 16 TFEU.

HAVE ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Chapter I

GENERAL PROVISIONS AND OBJECTIVES OF EUROPOL

Article 1

Establishment of the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation and Training [Am. 48]

1. A European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation and Training (Europol) is hereby established to improve mutual cooperation among law enforcement authorities in the European Union and to strengthen and support their actions as well as to deliver a coherent European training policy. [Am. 49]

2. Europol, as established by this Regulation, shall replace and succeed Europol as established by Decision 2009/371/JHA, and CEPOL as established by Decision 2005/681/JHA. [Am. 50]

2a. Europol shall liaise with a single national unit in each Member State, to be established or designated in accordance with Article 7. [Am. 51]

Article 2

Definitions

For the purposes of this Regulation:

(a) ‘the competent authorities of the Member States’ means all police public authorities and other law enforcement services existing in the Member States which are responsible under , in accordance with the applicable national law, for preventing and combating criminal offences in respect of which Europol is competent ; [Am. 52]

(b) ‘analysis’ means the assembly, processing or use of data careful examination of information to discover its specific meaning and particular features with the aim of assisting criminal investigations and carrying out any of the other tasks listed in Article 4 ; [Am. 53]

(c) ‘Union bodies’ means institutions, entities, missions, offices and agencies set up by, or on the basis of the TEU and the TFEU;

(d) ‘law enforcement officers’ means officers of police, customs and of other relevant services, including Union bodies, responsible for preventing and combating serious crime affecting two or more Member States, terrorism and forms of crime that affect a common interest covered by a Union policy and for civilian crisis management and international policing of major events;

(e) ‘third countries’ means countries that are not Member States of the European Union;

(f) ‘international organisations’ means international organisations and their subordinate bodies governed by public law or other bodies which are set up by, or on the basis of, an agreement between two or more countries;

(g) ‘private parties’ means entities and bodies established under the law of a Member State or a third country, in particular companies and firms, business associations, non-profit organizations and other legal persons that do not fall under point (f);

(h) ‘private persons’ means all natural persons;

(i) ‘personal data’ means any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person hereinafter referred to as (‘data subject’); an identifiable person is one who can be identified, directly or indirectly, in particular by reference to an identifier such as a name, an identification number , location data, unique identifier or to one or more factors specific to the physical, physiological, genetic, mental, economic, cultural or social or gender identity of that person ; [Am. 54]

(j) ‘processing of personal data’ hereinafter referred to as ‘processing’ means any operation or set of operations which is performed upon personal data, whether or not by automatic means, such as collection, recording, organisation, storage, adaptation or alteration, retrieval, consultation, use, disclosure by transmission, dissemination or otherwise making available, alignment or combination, blocking, erasure or destruction;

(k) ‘recipient’ means a natural or legal person, public authority, agency or any other body to whom data are disclosed, whether a third party or not; however, authorities which may receive data in the framework of a particular inquiry shall not be regarded as recipients; [Am. 55]

(l) ‘transfer of personal data’ means the communication of personal data, actively made available, between a limited number of identified parties, with the knowledge or intention of the sender to give the recipient access to the personal data;

(m) ‘personal data filing system’ hereinafter referred to as ‘filing system’ means any structured set of personal data which are accessible according to specific criteria, whether centralised, decentralised or dispersed on a functional or geographical basis;

(n) ‘the data subject’s consent’ means any freely given specific , explicit and informed indication of his/her wishes by which the data subject clearly and unambiguously signifies his/her agreement to personal data relating to him/her being processed; [Am. 56]

(o) ‘administrative personal data’ means all personal data processed by Europol apart from those that are processed to meet the objectives laid down in Article 3(1) and (2).

Article 3

Objectives

1. Europol shall support and strengthen action by the competent authorities of the Member States and their mutual cooperation in preventing and combating organised crime, terrorism and other forms of serious crime , as specified in Annex 1 and affecting two or more Member States, terrorism and forms of crime which affect in such a way to require a common interest covered by a Union policy, as specified in Annex 1 approach by the Member States taking in account the scale, significance and consequences of the offences . [Am. 57]

2. Europol shall also support and strengthen action by the competent authorities of the Member States and their mutual cooperation in preventing and combating criminal offences related to the offences referred to under point (a). The following offences shall be regarded as related criminal offences:

(a) criminal offences committed in order to procure the means of perpetrating acts in respect of which Europol is competent;

(b) criminal offences committed in order to facilitate or carry out acts in respect of which Europol is competent;

(c) criminal offences committed in order to ensure the impunity of acts in respect of which Europol is competent.

3. Europol shall support, develop, deliver and coordinate training activities for law enforcement officers. [Am. 58]

Chapter II

TASKS RELATED TO LAW ENFORCEMENT COOPERATION

Article 4

Tasks

1. Europol is the European Union agency that shall perform the following tasks in accordance with this Regulation:

(a) to collect, store, process, analyse and exchange information;

(b) to notify the Member States without delay , through the Europol national units, as referred to in Article 7, of information concerning them and of any connections between criminal offences; [Am. 59]

(c) to coordinate, organise and implement investigative and operational action (i) carried out jointly with the Member States' competent authorities , either in investigations already started by Member States or as a result of a request from Europol to a Member State to initiate a criminal investigation ; or [Am. 60] (ii) in the context of joint investigative teams, in accordance with Article 5, where appropriate in liaison with Eurojust;

(d) to participate in joint investigative teams as well as to propose that they are set up in accordance with Article 5;

(e) to provide information and analytical support to Member States in connection with major international events;

(f) to prepare threat assessments, strategic and operational analyses and general situation reports;

(g) to develop, share and promote specialist knowledge of crime prevention methods, investigative procedures and technical and forensic methods, and to provide advice to Member States;

(h) to provide technical and financial support to Member States' cross-border operations and investigations, including through joint investigative teams in accordance with Article 5 ; [Am. 61]

(i) to support, develop, deliver, coordinate and implement training for law enforcement officers in cooperation with the network of training institutes in Member States as set out in Chapter III; [Am. 62]

(j) to provide the Union bodies established on the basis of Title V of the Treaty and the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) with criminal intelligence and analytical support in the areas that fall under their competence; [Am. 63]

(k) to provide information and support to EU crisis management structures, and to EU crisis management missions established on the basis of the TEU;

(l) to develop Union centres of specialised expertise for combating certain types of crime falling under Europol’s objectives, in particular the European Cybercrime Centre;

(la) to aid investigations in the Member States, in particular by forwarding all relevant information to the national units. [Am. 64]

2. Europol shall provide strategic analyses and threats assessments to assist the Council and the Commission in laying down strategic and operational priorities of the Union for fighting crime. Europol shall also assist in operational implementation of those priorities.

3. Europol shall provide strategic intelligence to assist the efficient and effective use of the resources available at national and Union level for operational activities and the support of those activities.

4. Europol shall act as the Central Office for combating euro counterfeiting in accordance with Council Decision 2005/511/JHA (14). Europol shall also encourage the coordination of measures carried out to fight euro counterfeiting by the competent authorities of the Member States or in the context of joint investigation teams, where appropriate in liaison with Union bodies and the authorities of third countries.

4a. Europol shall not apply coercive measures. [Am. 65]

Article 5

Participation in joint investigation teams

1. Europol may participate in the activities of joint investigation teams dealing with crime that falls under Europol’s objectives.

2. Europol may, within the limits provided by the law of the Member States in which joint investigative team is operating, assist in all activities and exchange of information with all members of the joint investigative team. Europol officers shall not take part in the application of coercive measures. [Am. 66]

3. Where Europol has reasons to believe that setting up a joint investigation team would add value to an investigation, it may propose this to the Member States concerned and take measures to assist them in setting up the joint investigation team.

3a. Europol participation in a joint investigative team shall be agreed by the competent authorities of the Member States involved in that team and shall be recorded in a document signed in advance by the Director of Europol, which shall be annexed to the corresponding agreement on the setting-up of a joint investigative team. [Am. 67]

3b. The annex referred to in paragraph 3a shall lay down the conditions under which Europol officers are to take part in the joint investigative team, including rules governing the privileges and immunities of those officers and the liabilities arising from possible irregular activities on the part of those officers. [Am. 68]

3c. Europol officers taking part in a joint investigative team shall be subject, as regards any infringements against them or committed by them, to the national law of the Member State in which the joint investigative team is operating, applicable to members of the joint investigative team performing similar functions in that Member State. [Am. 69]

3d. Europol officers taking part in a joint investigative team may exchange information obtained from Europol's data storage systems with the members of the team. Given that this involves direct contact as regulated in Article 7, Europol shall simultaneously inform the Europol National Units in the Member States represented in the joint investigative team and the Europol National Units in the Member States which provided the information. [Am. 70]

3e. Information obtained by a Europol officer while taking part in a joint investigative team may be incorporated into any of Europol's data storage systems, through the Europol National Units, with the consent and under the responsibility of the competent authority which provided that information. [Am. 71]

4. Europol shall not apply coercive measures.

Article 6

Requests by Europol for the initiation of criminal investigations

1. In specific cases where Europol considers that a criminal investigation should be initiated into a crime that falls under its objectives, it shall inform Eurojust. [Am. 72]

2. At the same time, Europol shall may request the National Units of the Member States concerned established on the basis of Article 7(2) to initiate, conduct or coordinate a criminal investigation. [Am. 73]

2a. In the case of a suspicion of a malicious attack on the network and information system of two or more Member States or Union bodies, carried out by a state or non-state actor located in a third country, Europol shall initiate an investigation on its own initiative. [Am. 74]

3. The National Units Member States shall give such requests due consideration and shall, through their National Units, inform Europol without delay of the initiation of the whether an investigation will be initiated . [Am. 75]

4. If the competent authorities of the Member States concerned decide not to comply with the request made by Europol, they shall provide Europol with the reasons for the decision, within one month of the request. The reasons may be withheld if giving them would:

(a) harm essential national security interests; or

(b) jeopardise the success of investigations under way or the safety of individuals.

5. Europol shall inform Eurojust of the decision of a competent authority of a Member State to initiate or refuse to initiate an investigation.

Article 7

Member States’ cooperation with Europol

1. Member States and Europol shall cooperate with Europol in the fulfilment of its Europol's tasks. [Am. 76]

2. Each Member State shall establish or designate a National Unit which shall be the liaison body between Europol and the designated competent authorities in Member States as well as with training institutes for law enforcement officers. Each Member State shall appoint an official as the designate a head of the National Unit. [Am. 77]

3. Member States shall ensure that their National Units are able to fulfil their tasks as set out in this Regulation, in particular that they have access to national law enforcement databases.

4. The national unit shall be the only liaison body between Europol and the competent authorities of the Member States. However Europol may directly cooperate with competent authorities of the Member States in respect the framework of individual investigations. In that case, being carried out by those authorities provided that this direct contact represents added value with a view to the successful conclusion of the investigation and in accordance with national legislation. Europol shall inform the National Unit without delay and of the need for such contact in advance. Europol shall provide , as soon as possible, a copy of any the information exchanged in the course of through these direct contacts between Europol and the respective competent authorities. [Am. 78]

5. Member States shall, via their National Unit or a competent authority of a Member State, in particular: [Am. 79]

(a) supply Europol , on their own initiative, with the information and intelligence necessary for it to fulfil its objectives. This includes providing Europol without delay with information relating to crime areas that are considered a priority by the Union. It also includes providing a copy of bilateral or multilateral exchanges with another Member State or Member States in so far as the exchange refers to crime that falls under Europol’s objectives perform its functions, and respond to Europol's requests for information, the supply of intelligence and advice . Without prejudice to the Member States’ discharging the responsibilities incumbent upon them with regard to the maintenance of law and order and the safeguarding of internal security, a national unit shall not in any particular case be obliged to supply information or intelligence if that would entail: (i) harming essential national security interests; (ii) jeopardising the success of a current investigation or the safety of individuals; or (iii) disclosing information relating to organisations or specific intelligence activities in the field of State security; [Am. 80]

(b) ensure effective communication and cooperation of all relevant competent authorities of the Member States and training institutes for law enforcement officers within the Member States, with Europol; [Am. 81]

(c) raise awareness of Europol’s activities. [Am. 82]

(ca) ask Europol to provide relevant information that might facilitate investigations being carried out by the designated competent authorities; [Am. 83]

(cb) ensure effective communication and cooperation with the competent authorities; [Am. 84]

(cc) ensure compliance with the law in every exchange of information between themselves and Europol. [Am. 85]

6. The heads of National Units shall meet on a regular basis, particularly to discuss and solve problems that occur in the context of their operational cooperation with Europol.

7. Each Member State shall define the organisation and the staff of the National Unit according to its national legislation.

8. The costs incurred by National Units and of the competent authorities in Member States in communications with Europol shall be borne by the Member States and, apart from the costs of connection, shall not be charged to Europol.

9. Member States shall ensure a minimum the highest possible level of security of all systems used to connect to Europol. [Am. 86]

10. Each year Europol shall draw up a report on the quantity and quality of regarding information provided sharing by each Member State pursuant to paragraph 5(a) and on the performance of its National Unit. The report shall be analysed by the Management Board with the objective of continuously improving the mutual cooperation between Europol and the Member States. The annual report shall be sent to the European Parliament, the Council, the Commission and national parliaments. [Am. 229]

Article 8

Liaison officers

1. Each National Unit shall designate at least one liaison officer to Europol. Except as otherwise laid down in this Regulation, liaison officers shall be subject to the national law of the designating Member State.

2. Liaison officers shall constitute the national liaison bureaux at Europol and shall be instructed by their National Units within Europol in accordance with the national law of the designating Member State and the provisions applicable to the administration of Europol.

3. Liaison officers shall assist in the exchange of transmit information between from their national units to Europol, and their Member States from Europol to the national units . [Am. 87]

4. Liaison officers shall assist in the exchange of information between their Member States and the liaison officers of other Member States in accordance with national law. Europol’s infrastructure may be used, in line with national law, for such bilateral exchanges also to cover crimes outside the objectives of Europol. The Management Board shall determine the rights and obligations of liaison officers in relation to Europol. All such exchanges of information shall be in accordance with Union and national law, in particular Decision 2008/977/JHA or Directive 95/46/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (15) , as applicable. Europol shall process data received under this provision only when it can be considered a lawful recipient under national or Union law. [Am. 88]

5. Liaison officers shall enjoy the privileges and immunities necessary for the performance of their tasks in accordance with Article 65.

6. Europol shall ensure that liaison officers are fully informed of and associated with all of its activities, insofar as this is necessary for the performance of their tasks.

7. Europol shall cover the costs of providing Member States with the necessary premises in the Europol building and adequate support for liaison officers to carry out their duties. All other costs that arise in connection with the designation of liaison officers shall be borne by the designating Member State, including the costs of equipment for liaison officers, unless the budgetary authority decides otherwise on the recommendation of the Management Board.

Chapter III

TASKS RELATED TO TRAINING FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS

Article 9

Europol Academy

1. A department within Europol, called the Europol Academy, as set up by this Regulation, shall support, develop, deliver and coordinate training for law enforcement officers in particular in the areas of the fight against serious crime affecting two or more Member States and terrorism, management of high-risk public order and sports events, strategic planning and command of non-military Union missions, as well as law enforcement leadership and language skills and in particular to:

(a) raise awareness and knowledge of: (i) international and Union instruments on law enforcement cooperation; (ii) Union bodies, in particular Europol, Eurojust and Frontex, their functioning and role; (iii) judicial aspects of law enforcement cooperation and practical knowledge about access to information channels;

(b) encourage the development of regional and bilateral cooperation among Member States and between Member States and third countries;

(c) address specific criminal or policing thematic areas where training at Union level can add value;

(d) devise specific common curricula for law enforcement officers to train them for participation in Union civilian missions;

(e) support Member States in bilateral law enforcement capacity-building activities in third countries;

(f) train trainers and assist in improving and exchanging good learning practices.

2. The Europol Academy shall develop and regularly update learning tools and methodologies and apply these in a lifelong learning perspective to strengthen the skills of law enforcement officers. The Europol Academy shall evaluate the results of these actions with a view to enhancing the quality, coherence and efficacy of future actions.

Article 10

Tasks of the Europol Academy

1. The Europol Academy shall prepare multi-annual strategic training needs analyses and multi-annual learning programmes.

2. The Europol Academy shall develop and implement training activities and learning products, which may include:

(a) courses, seminars, conferences, web-based and e-learning activities;

(b) common curricula to raise awareness, address gaps and/or facilitate a common approach in relation to cross-border criminal phenomena;

(c) training modules graduated according to progressive stages or levels of complexity of skills needed by the relevant target group, and focused either on a defined geographical region, a specific thematic area of criminal activity or on a specific set of professional skills;

(d) exchange and secondment programmes of law enforcement officers in the context of an operational based training approach.

3. To ensure a coherent European training policy to support civilian missions and capacity-building in third countries the Europol Academy shall:

(a) assess the impact of existing Union-related law enforcement training policies and initiatives;

(b) develop and provide training to prepare Member States’ law enforcement officers for participation in civilian missions, including to enable them to acquire relevant language skills;

(c) develop and provide training for law enforcement officers from third countries, in particular from the countries that are candidates for accession to the Union;

(d) manage dedicated Union External Assistance funds to assist third countries in building their capacity in relevant policy areas, in line with the established priorities of the Union.

4. The Europol Academy shall promote the mutual recognition of law enforcement training in Member States and related existing European quality standards.

Article 11

Research relevant for training

1. The Europol Academy shall contribute to development of research relevant for training activities covered by this Chapter.

2. The Europol Academy shall promote and establish a partnership with Union bodies as well as with public and private academic institutions and shall encourage the creation of stronger partnerships between universities and law enforcement training institutes in Member States. [Am. 89]

Chapter IV

ORGANISATION OF EUROPOL

Article 12

Administrative and management structure of Europol

The administrative and management structure of Europol shall comprise:

(a) a Management Board, which shall exercise the functions set out in Article 14;

(b) an Executive Director, who shall exercise the responsibilities set out in Article 19;

(c) a Scientific Committee for Training in accordance with Article 20; [Am. 90]

(d) if appropriate, any other advisory body established by the Management Board in accordance with Article 14(1)(p);

(e) if appropriate, an Executive Board in accordance with Articles 21 and 22. [Am. 91]

SECTION 1

MANAGEMENT BOARD

Article 13

Composition of the Management Board

1. The Management Board shall be composed of one representative from each Member State and two representatives one representative of the Commission, all with voting rights. [Am. 92]

1a. A representative of the Joint Parliamentary Scrutiny Group shall be authorised to attend meetings of the Management Board with observer status. This representative shall not be entitled to vote. [Am. 93]

2. The members of the Management Board shall be appointed on the basis of their experience in the management of public or private sector organisations and knowledge of law enforcement cooperation.

3. Each member of the Management Board shall be represented by an alternate member who shall be appointed on the basis of his/her experience in the management of public and private sector organisations and knowledge of national policy on training for law enforcement officers. The alternate member shall act as a member on any issues related to training of law enforcement officers by the full member on the basis of the criteria set out in Article 13(2). The alternate member shall represent the member in his/her absence. The member shall represent the alternate on any issues related to training of law enforcement officers in his/her absence. [Am. 94]

4. All parties represented in the Management Board shall make efforts to limit the turnover of their representatives, to ensure continuity of the Management Board’s work. All parties shall aim to achieve a balanced representation between men and women on the Management Board. [Am. 95]

5. The term of office for members and alternate members shall be four years. That term shall be extendable. Upon expiry of their term of office or in the event of their resignation, members shall remain in office until their appointments are renewed or until they are replaced determined by the period assigned to them by the designating Member State . [Am. 96]

5a. The Chairperson shall be supported by the Secretariat of the Management Board. The Secretariat shall in particular:

(a) be closely and continuously involved in organising, coordinating and ensuring the coherence of the Management Board’s work. Acting under the responsibility of and in accordance with guidelines given by the Chairperson;

(b) provide the Management Board with the administrative support necessary for it to carry out its duties. [Am. 97]

5b. Each member of the Management Board shall submit a declaration of his or her interests at the beginning of his or her term of office. [Am. 98]

Article 14

Functions of the Management Board

1. The Management Board shall:

(a) adopt each year Europol’s work programme for the following year by a majority of two-thirds of members and in accordance with Article 15;

(b) adopt a multi-annual work programme, by a majority of two-thirds of members in accordance with Article 15;

(c) adopt, by a majority of two thirds of its members, the annual budget of Europol and exercise other functions in respect of Europol’s budget pursuant to Chapter XI;

(d) adopt a consolidated annual activity report on Europol’s activities and, send and present it to the Joint Parliamentary Scrutiny Group , and forward it, by 1 July of the following year, to the European Parliament, the Council, the Commission, the Court of Auditors and, the national parliaments and the European Data Supervisor by 1 July of the following year. The consolidated annual activity report shall be made public; [Am. 99]

(e) adopt the financial rules applicable to Europol in accordance with Article 63;

(f) by 31 January adopt, after taking into account the opinion of the Commission, the multiannual staff policy plan;

(g) adopt an anti-fraud strategy, proportionate to fraud risks, taking into account the costs and benefits of the measures to be implemented; [Am. 100]

(h) adopt rules for the prevention and management of conflicts of interest in respect of its members, as well as members of the Scientific Committee for Training; [Am. 101]

(i) in accordance with paragraph 2, exercise, with respect to the staff of Europol, the powers conferred by the Staff Regulations on the Appointing Authority and by the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants on the Authority Empowered to Conclude a Contract of Employment (‘the appointing authority powers’); [Am. 102]

(j) on a proposal from the Director, adopt appropriate implementing rules for giving effect to the Staff Regulations and the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants in accordance with Article 110 of the Staff Regulations; [Am. 103]

(k) appoint the Executive Director and Deputy Executive Directors and where relevant extend their term of office or remove them from the office in accordance with Articles 56 and 57;

(l) establish performance indicators and oversee the Executive Director’s performance including the implementation of Management Board decisions;

(m) appoint an Accounting Officer, subject to the Staff Regulations and the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants, who shall be functionally independent in the performance of his/her duties;

(n) appoint the members of the Scientific Committee for Training; [Am. 104]

(o) ensure adequate follow-up to findings and recommendations stemming from the internal or external audit reports and evaluations, as well as from investigations of the European Anti-fraud Office (OLAF) and from the European Data Protection Supervisor ; [Am. 105]

(p) take all decisions on the establishment of Europol’s internal structures and, where necessary, their modification; [Am. 106]

(q) adopt its rules of procedure;

(qa) appoint a Data Protection Officer, who shall be independent in its functions from the Management Board and shall be responsible for the setting up and managing of the data processing systems. [Am. 107] The Management Board may, on a recommendation from the European Data Protection Supervisor under Article 46(3)(f) and with the support a two-thirds majority of its members, impose a temporary or definitive ban on processing. [Am. 108]

2. The Management Board shall adopt, in accordance with Article 110 of the Staff Regulations, a decision based on Article 2(1) of the Staff Regulations and on Article 6 of the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants delegating the relevant appointing authority powers to the Executive Director and defining the conditions under which this delegations of powers can be suspended. The Executive Director shall be authorised to sub-delegate those powers.

Where exceptional circumstances so require, the Management Board may, by way of a decision, temporarily suspend the delegation of the appointing authority powers to the Executive Director and those sub-delegated by the latter and exercise them itself or delegate those powers to one of its members or to a staff member other than the Executive Director. [Am. 109]

Article 15

Annual work programme and multi-annual work programme

1. The Management Board shall adopt the annual work programme at the latest by 30 November each year, based on a draft put forward by the Executive Director and presented to the Joint Parliamentary Scrutiny Group , taking into account the opinion of the Commission. It shall forward it to the European Parliament Joint Parliamentary Scrutiny Group , the Council, the Commission and, national parliaments and the European Data Protection Supervisor. [Am. 110]

2. The annual work programme shall comprise detailed objectives and expected results including performance indicators. It shall also contain a description of the actions to be financed and an indication of the financial and human resources allocated to each action, in accordance with the principles of activity-based budgeting and management. The annual work programme shall be coherent with subject to the multi-annual work programme referred to in paragraph 4. It shall clearly indicate tasks that have been added, changed or deleted in comparison with the previous financial year. [Am. 111]

3. The Management Board shall amend the adopted annual work programme if a new task is given to Europol.

Any substantial amendment Amendments to the annual work programme shall be adopted by the same procedure as the initial annual work programme. The Management Board may delegate the power to make non-substantial amendments to the annual work programme to the Executive Director. [Am. 112]

4. The Management Board shall also adopt the multi-annual work programme and update it by 30 November each year, taking into account the opinion of the Commission and after consulting the European Parliament and national parliaments , as well as the European Data Protection Supervisor . [Am. 114]

The adopted multi-annual work programme shall be forwarded and presented to the Joint Parliamentary Scrutiny Group, and shall be forwarded to the European Parliament, the Council, the Commission, national parliaments and the European Data Protection Supervisor . [Am. 113]

The multi-annual work programme shall set out strategic objectives and expected results including performance indicators. It shall also contain an indication of the amount and staff allocated to each objective, in line with the multiannual financial framework and the multi-annual staff policy plan. It shall include the strategy for relations with third countries or international organisations referred to in Article 29.

The multi-annual programme shall be implemented through annual work programmes and shall, where appropriate, be updated following the outcome of external and internal evaluations. The conclusion of these evaluations shall also be reflected, where appropriate, in the annual work programme for the following year.

Article 16

Chairperson of the Management Board

1. The Management Board shall elect a Chairperson and a Deputy Chairperson from among members. The Chairperson and the Deputy Chairperson shall be elected by a majority of two-thirds of the members of the Management Boards.

The Deputy Chairperson shall automatically replace the Chairperson if he/she is prevented from attending to his/her duties.

2. The terms of office of the Chairperson and of the Deputy Chairperson shall be four five years. Their term of office may be renewed once. If, however, their membership of the Management Board ends at any time during their term of office as Chairperson or Deputy Chairperson, their term of office shall automatically expire on that date. [Am. 115]

Article 17

Meetings of the Management Board

1. The Chairperson shall convene the meetings of the Management Board.

2. The Executive Director of Europol shall take part in the deliberations.

3. The Management Board shall hold at least two ordinary meetings a year. In addition, it shall meet on the initiative of its Chairperson, at the request of the Commission or at the request of at least one-third of its members.

4. The Management Board may invite any person whose opinion may be relevant for the discussion to attend its meeting as a non-voting observer.

4a. A representative of the Joint Parliamentary Scrutiny Group shall be authorised to attend meetings of the Management Board with observer status. [Am. 116]

5. Advisers or experts may assist the members of the Management Board, subject to the provisions of its Rules of Procedure.

6. Europol shall provide the secretariat for the Management Board.

Article 18

Voting rules

1. Without prejudice to Articles Article 14(1), first subparagraph, (a), (b) and (c), and Article 14(1), subparagraph 1a, Article 16(1) and Article 56(8), the Management Board shall take decisions by a majority of members. [Am. 117]

2. Each member shall have one vote. In the absence of a voting member, his/her alternate shall be entitled to exercise his/her right to vote.

3. The Chairperson shall take part in voting.

4. The Executive Director shall not take part in voting.

4a. The representative of the Joint Parliamentary Scrutiny Group shall not vote. [Am. 118]

5. The Management Board’s rules of procedure shall establish more detailed voting arrangements, in particular the circumstances in which a member may act on behalf of another member, and any quorum requirements, where necessary.

SECTION 2

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Article 19

Responsibilities of the Executive Director

1. The Executive Director shall manage Europol. He/she shall be accountable to the Management Board.

2. Without prejudice to the powers of the Commission, the Management Board or the Executive Board, the Executive Director shall be independent in the performance of his/her duties and shall neither seek nor take instructions from any government, nor from any other body.

3. The Executive Director shall appear and report regularly to the European Parliament Joint Parliamentary Scrutiny Group on the performance of his/her duties when invited to do so. The Council may invite the Executive Director to report on the performance of his/her duties. [Am. 119]

4. The Executive Director shall be the legal representative of Europol.

5. The Executive Director shall be responsible for the implementation of the tasks assigned to Europol by this Regulation. In particular, the Executive Director shall be responsible for:

(a) the day-to-day administration of Europol;

(b) implementing decisions adopted by the Management Board;

(c) preparing the annual work programme and the multi-annual work programme and submitting them to the Management Board after consulting , taking into account the opinion of the Commission; [Am. 120]

(d) implementing the annual work programme and the multi-annual work programme and reporting to the Management Board on their implementation;

(e) preparing the consolidated annual report on Europol’s activities and presenting it to the Management Board for approval;

(f) preparing an action plan following up conclusions of internal or external audit reports and evaluations, as well as investigation reports and recommendations from investigations by the (OLAF) and reporting on progress twice a year to the Commission and regularly to the Management Board;

(g) protecting the financial interests of the Union by applying preventive measures against fraud, corruption and any other illegal activities and, without prejudice to the investigative competence of OLAF, by effective checks and, if irregularities are detected, by recovering amounts wrongly paid and, where appropriate, by effective, proportionate and dissuasive administrative and financial penalties;

(h) preparing an anti-fraud strategy strategic analysis and a strategy to prevent and manage conflicts of interests for Europol and presenting it to the Management Board for approval; [Am. 121]

(i) preparing draft financial rules applicable to Europol;

(j) preparing Europol’s draft statement of estimates of revenue and expenditure and implementing its budget;

(k) preparing a draft multi-annual staff policy plan and submitting it to the Management Board after consultation taking into account the opinion of the Commission; [Am. 122]

(ka) exercising with respect to Europol staff those powers conferred by the Staff Regulations of Officials of the European Communities on the Appointing Authority and by the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the Communities on the Authority empowered to Conclude contracts of Employment (‘powers of the Appointing Authority’), without prejudice to Article 14(1)(j); [Am. 123]

(kb) taking all decisions on the establishment of Europol’s internal structures and, where necessary, their modification; [Am. 124]

(l) supporting the Chair of the Management Board in preparing Management Board meetings;

(m) informing the Management Board on a regular basis regarding the implementation of Union strategic and operational priorities for fighting crime.

SECTION 3

SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE FOR TRAINING

Article 20

The Scientific Committee for Training

1. The Scientific Committee for Training shall be an independent advisory body guaranteeing and guiding the scientific quality of Europol’s work on training. For that purpose, the Executive Director shall involve the Scientific Committee for Training early on in the preparation of all documents referred to in Article 14 as far as they concern training.

2. The Scientific Committee for Training shall be composed of 11 persons of the highest academic or professional standing in the subjects covered by Chapter III of this Regulation. The Management Board shall appoint the members following a transparent call for applications and selection procedure to be published in the Official Journal of the European Union. The members of the Management Board shall not be members of the Scientific Committee for Training. The members of the Scientific Committee for Training shall be independent. They shall neither seek nor take instructions from any government, nor from any other body.

3. The list of members of the Scientific Committee for Training shall be made public and shall be updated by Europol on its website.

4. The term of office of the members of the Scientific Committee for Training shall be five years. It shall not be renewable and its members can be removed from office if they do not meet the criteria of independence.

5. The Scientific Committee for Training shall elect its Chairperson and Deputy Chairperson for a term of office of five years. It shall adopt positions by simple majority. It shall be convened by its Chairperson up to four times per year. If necessary, the Chairperson shall convene extraordinary meetings on his/her own initiative or at the request of at least four members of the Committee.

6. The Executive Director, Deputy Executive Director for Training or their respective representative shall be invited to the meetings as a non-voting observer.

7. The Scientific Committee for Training shall be assisted by a secretary who shall be a Europol staff member designated by the Committee and appointed by the Executive Director.

8. The Scientific Committee for Training shall, in particular:

(a) advise the Executive Director and the Deputy Executive Director for Training in drafting the annual work programme and other strategic documents, to ensure their scientific quality and their coherence with relevant Union sector policies and priorities;

(b) provide independent opinion and advice to the Management Board on matters pertaining to its remit;

(c) provide independent opinion and advice on the quality of curricula, applied learning methods, learning options and scientific developments;

(d) perform any other advisory task pertaining to the scientific aspects of Europol’s work relating to training at the request of the Management Board or by the Executive Director or the Deputy Executive Director for Training.

9. The annual budget of the Scientific Committee for Training shall be allocated to an individual budget line of Europol. [Am. 125]

SECTION 4

EXECUTIVE BOARD

Article 21

Establishment

The Management Board may establish an Executive Board.

Article 22

Functions and organisation

1. The Executive Board shall assist the Management Board.

2. The Executive Board shall have the following functions:

(a) preparing decisions to be adopted by the Management Board;

(b) ensuring, together with the Management Board, adequate follow-up to the findings and recommendations stemming from the internal or external audit reports and evaluations, as well as on the investigation reports and recommendations from investigations of the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF);

(c) without prejudice to the functions of the Executive Director, as set out in Article 19, assisting and advising the Executive Director in the implementation of the decisions of the Management Board, with a view to reinforcing supervision of administrative management.

3. When necessary, because of urgency, the Executive Board may take certain provisional decisions on behalf of the Management Board, in particular on administrative management matters, including the suspension of the delegation of the appointing authority powers.

4. The Executive Board shall be composed of the Chairperson of the Management Board, one representative of the Commission to the Management Board and three other members appointed by the Management Board from among its members. The Chairperson of the Management Board shall also be the Chairperson of the Executive Board. The Executive Director shall take part in the meetings of the Executive Board, but shall not have the right to vote.

5. The term of office of members of the Executive Board shall be four years. The term of office of members of the Executive Board shall end when their membership of the Management Board ends.

6. The Executive Board shall hold at least one ordinary meeting every three months. In addition, it shall meet on the initiative of its Chairperson or at the request of its members.

7. The Executive Board shall comply with the rules of procedure laid down by the Management Board. [Am. 126]

Chapter V

PROCESSING OF INFORMATION

Article 23

Sources of information

1. Europol shall only process information that has been provided to it:

(a) by Member States in accordance with their national law;

(b) by Union bodies, third countries and international organisations in accordance with Chapter VI;

(c) by private parties in accordance with Article 29(2).

2. Europol may directly retrieve and process information, including personal data, from publicly available sources, such as the media, including the internet and public data.

3. Europol may retrieve and process information, including personal data, from information systems, of a national, Union or international nature, including by means of computerised access, in so far as authorised by Union, international or national legal instruments and where the necessity and proportionality of such access for the performance of a task falling under Europol's mandate can be demonstrated . The applicable provisions of such Union, international or national legal instruments shall govern the access to and use of that information by Europol insofar as they provide for stricter rules on access and use than those of this Regulation.

They shall lay down the objectives, the categories of personal data and the purposes, means and the procedure to be followed for the retrieval and processing of the information, respecting the applicable data protection legislation and principles. The access to such information systems shall be granted only to duly authorised staff of Europol as far as this is strictly necessary and proportionate for the performance of their tasks. [Am. 127]

Article 24

Purposes of information processing activities

1. In so far as necessary for the achievement of its objectives as laid down in Article 3(1) and (2), Europol shall may process information, including personal data.

Personal data may be processed only for the purposes of:

(a) cross-checking aimed at identifying connections or other relevant links between information limited to : (i) persons who are suspected of having committed or having taken part in a criminal offence in respect of which Europol is competent, or who have been convicted for such an offence, (ii) persons regarding whom there are factual indications or reasonable grounds that they will commit criminal offences;

(b) analyses of a strategic or thematic nature;

(c) operational analyses in specific cases.

The execution of these tasks shall be performed under the following criteria:

— the checks under point (a) shall be carried out in accordance with the necessary data protection guarantees, and shall, especially, provide sufficient justification for the data request and its purpose. The necessary measures shall also be taken to ensure that only those authorities that are initially responsible for collecting the data may subsequently change them;

— for each operational analysis case referred to in point (c) the following specific safeguards shall apply: (i) a specified purpose shall be defined; personal data may only be processed where they are relevant for this specific purpose; (ii) all cross-matching operations by Europol staff shall be specifically motivated; the retrieval of data following a consultation shall be limited to the strict minimum required and specifically motivated; (iii) only authorized staff in charge of the purpose for which the data were initially collected may modify that data.

Europol shall duly document these operations. The documentation shall be made available, at request, to the Data Protection Officer and to the European Data Protection Supervisor for the purpose of verifying the lawfulness of the processing operation.

2. Categories of personal data and categories of data subjects whose data may be collected for each specific purpose referred to under paragraph1 are listed in Annex 2.

2a. Europol may temporarily, in exceptional cases, process data for the purpose of determining whether such data are relevant to its tasks and for which of the purposes referred to under paragraph 1. The Management Board, acting on a proposal from the Director and after consulting the European Data Protection Supervisor, shall determine the conditions relating to the processing of such data, in particular with respect to access to and the use of the data, as well as time limits for the storage and deletion of the data that may not exceed six months, having due regard to the principles referred to in Article 34.

2b. The European Data Protection Supervisor will draft guidelines specifying the purposes listed in points (a), (b) and (c) of paragraph 1. [Am. 128]

Article 25

Determination of the purpose of information processing activities

1. A Member State, a Union body, a third country or an international organisation providing information to Europol determines the specific and well defined purpose for which it shall be processed as referred to in Article 24. If it has not done so, Europol shall determine relevance of such information as well as the purpose for which it shall be processed. Europol may process information for a different specific and explicit purpose than the one for which information has been provided only if explicitly authorised by the data provider , in accordance with the applicable law . [Am. 129]

2. Member States, Union bodies, third countries and international organisations may indicate, at the moment of transferring information, any restriction on access or use, in general or specific terms, including as regards erasure or destruction. Where the need for such restrictions becomes apparent after the transfer, they shall inform Europol accordingly. Europol shall comply with such restrictions.

3. Europol may assign any restriction to access or use by Member States, Union bodies, third countries and international organisations of information retrieved from publicly-available sources.

Article 25a

Data Protection impact assessment

1. Prior to any set of processing of personal data, Europol shall carry out an assessment of the impact of the envisaged processing systems and procedures on the protection of personal data and notify it to the European Data Protection Supervisor.

2. The assessment shall contain at least a general description of the envisaged processing operations, an assessment of the risks to the rights and freedoms of data subjects, the measures envisaged to address those risks, safeguards, security measures and mechanisms to ensure the protection of personal data and to demonstrate the compliance with the provisions in this Regulation, taking into account the rights and legitimate interests of the data subjects and other persons concerned. [Am. 130]

Article 26

Access by Member States’ and Europol’s staff to information stored by Europol

1. Member States, where they can justify the need for the legitimate performance of their tasks, shall have access to and be able to search all information which has been provided for the purposes of Article 24(1)(a) and (b), without prejudice to the right for Member States, Union bodies and third countries and international organisations to indicate restrictions on access and use of such data. Member States shall designate these competent authorities allowed to perform such a search.

2. Member States shall have indirect access on the basis of a hit/no hit system to information provided for the purposes of a specific purpose under Article 24(1)(c), without prejudice to any restrictions indicated by the Member States, Union bodies and third countries or international organisations providing the information, in accordance with Article 25(2). In the case of a hit, Europol shall inform the provider of the information and initiate the procedure by which the information that generated the hit may be shared, in accordance with the decision of the Member State that provided the information to Europol provider of the information to Europol and to the extent necessary for the legitimate performance of the task of the Member State concerned .

3. Europol staff duly empowered by the Executive Director shall have access to information processed by Europol to the extent required for the performance of their duties.

3a. Europol shall keep detailed records of all hits and information accessed in accordance with Article 43. [Am. 131]

Article 27

Access to Europol information for Eurojust and OLAF

1. Europol shall take all appropriate measures to enable Eurojust and the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) within their respective mandates, its mandate to have access to and be able to search all information that has been provided for the purposes of Article 24(1)(a) and (b), without prejudice to the right for Member States, Union bodies and third countries and international organisations to indicate restrictions to the access and use of such data. Europol shall be informed where a search by Eurojust or OLAF reveals the existence of a match with information processed by Europol.

2. Europol shall take all appropriate measures to enable Eurojust and OLAF, within their respective mandates its mandate , to have indirect access on the basis of a hit/no hit system to information provided for the purposes a specific purpose under Article 24(1)(c), without prejudice to any restrictions indicated by the providing Member States, Union bodies and third countries or international organisations, in accordance with Article 25(2). In case of a hit, Europol shall initiate the procedure by which the information that generated the hit may be shared, in accordance with the decision of the Member State, Union body, third country or international organisation that provided the information to Europol. In case of a hit, Eurojust shall specify which data it needs and Europol may share the data only to the extent that the data generating the hit are necessary for the legitimate performance of its tasks. Europol shall log which information has been accessed.

3. Searches of information in accordance with paragraphs 1 and 2 shall be made only for the purpose of identifying whether information available at Eurojust or OLAF, respectively, matches with information processed at Europol.

4. Europol shall allow searches in accordance with paragraphs 1 and 2 only after obtaining from Eurojust information about which National Members, Deputies, Assistants, as well as Eurojust staff members , and from OLAF information about which staff members, have been designated as authorised to perform such searches.

5. If during Europol’s information processing activities in respect of an individual investigation, Europol or a Member State identifies the necessity for coordination, cooperation or support in accordance with the mandate of Eurojust or OLAF, Europol shall notify them thereof and shall initiate the procedure for sharing the information, in accordance with the decision of the Member State providing the information. In such a case Eurojust or OLAF shall consult with Europol.

6. Eurojust, including the College, the National Members, Deputies, Assistants, as well as Eurojust staff members, and OLAF, shall respect any restriction to access or use, in general or specific terms, indicated by Member States, Union bodies, third countries and international organisations in accordance with Article 25(2).

6a. Europol and Eurojust shall inform each other if, after consultation of each other's data, there are indications that data may be incorrect or conflicting with other data. [Am. 132]

Article 28

Duty to notify Member States

1. If Europol, in accordance with its task pursuant to Article 4(1)(b), needs to inform a Member State about information concerning it, and that information is subject to access restrictions pursuant to Article 25(2), that would prohibit sharing it, Europol shall consult with the data provider stipulating the access restriction and seek ask for authorisation for sharing.

Without such an explicit authorisation, the information shall not be shared.

In cases where the information is not subject to access restrictions pursuant to Article 25, Europol shall nevertheless inform the Member State which provided the information that it has been passed on. [Am. 133]

2. Irrespective of any access restrictions, Europol shall inform a Member State about information concerning it if:

(a) this is absolutely necessary in the interest of preventing imminent danger associated with serious crime or terrorist offences; or

(b) this is essential for the prevention of an immediate and serious threat to public security of that Member State.

In such a case, Europol shall inform the data provider of sharing this information as soon as possible and justify its analysis of the situation.

Chapter VI

RELATION WITH PARTNERS

SECTION 1

COMMON PROVISIONS

Article 29

Common provisions

1. In so far as necessary for the performance of its tasks, Europol may establish and maintain cooperative relations with the Union bodies in accordance with the objectives of those bodies, the law enforcement authorities of third countries, law enforcement training institutes of third countries, international organisations and private parties.

2. In so far as relevant to the performance of its tasks and subject to any restriction stipulated pursuant to Article 25(2), Europol may directly exchange all information, with the exception of personal data, with entities referred to in paragraph 1.

3. Europol may receive and process personal data from held by entities referred to in paragraph 1 except from private parties, in so far as it is strictly necessary and proportionate for the legitimate performance of its tasks and subject to the provisions of this Chapter.

4. Without prejudice to Article 36(4) (5) , personal data shall only be transferred by Europol to Union bodies, third countries and international organisations, if this is necessary for preventing and combating crime that falls under Europol’s objectives tasks and in accordance with this Chapter and if the recipient gives an explicit undertaking that the data will be used solely for the purpose for which they were transmitted . If the data to be transferred have been provided by a Member State, Europol shall seek that Member State’s prior and explicit consent, unless:

(a) the authorisation can be assumed as the Member State has not expressly limited the possibility of onward transfers; or

(b) the Member State has granted its prior authorisation to such onward transfer, either in general terms or subject to specific conditions. Such consent may be withdrawn any moment.

5. Onward transfers of personal data by Member States, Union bodies, third countries and international organizations shall be prohibited unless Europol has given its prior explicit consent and if the recipient gives an explicit undertaking that the data shall be used solely for the purpose for which they were transmitted .

5a. Europol shall ensure that detailed records of all transfers of personal data and their grounds are recorded in accordance with this Regulation.

5b. Any information which has been obtained by a third country, international organization or private party in violation of fundamental rights, as enshrined in the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, shall not be processed. [Am. 134]

SECTION 2

EXCHANGES/TRANFERS OF PERSONAL DATA

Article 30

Transfer of personal data to Union bodies

Subject to any possible restrictions stipulated pursuant to Article 25(2) or (3) , and without prejudice to Article 27, Europol may directly transfer personal data to Union bodies in so far as it is necessary for the performance of its tasks or those of the recipient Union body. Europol shall make public the list of EU institutions and bodies with whom it shares information, by posting such a list on its website. [Am. 135]

Article 31

Transfer of personal data to third countries and international organisations

1. Europol may transfer personal data to an authority of a third country or to an international organisation, in so far as this is necessar