Council Decision of 14 December 2000 setting up a Provisional Judicial Cooperation Unit
Date: 2000-12-14
Institutions: Council of the European Union
Subjects: EU Member State, cooperation policy, information network, judicial cooperation, legal system

L 324/2

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

21.12.2000

(Acts adopted pursuant to Title VI of the Treaty on European Union)

COUNCIL DECISION

of 14 December 2000

setting up a Provisional Judicial Cooperation Unit

(2000/799/JHA)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty on European Union, and in partic-
ular Articles 31 and 34(2)(c) thereof,

(5)

Experience gained with the Provisional Unit will serve as
a basis for drawing up the instrument establishing Euro-
just,

Having regard to the initiative of
the Federal Republic of
Germany and also to that of the Portuguese Republic, the
French Republic, the Kingdom of Belgium and the Kingdom of
Sweden (1),

HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:

Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament (2),

Article 1

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

Articles 29 and 31 of the Treaty call in particular for
closer cooperation within the European Union between
the competent authorities in the fight against organised
crime. In order to improve judicial cooperation between
Member States, structural measures to facilitate the coor-
dination of investigations and prosecutions relating to
serious crime, particularly when it is organised, covering
the territory of several Member States, need to be
adopted at Union level without delay, and in particular a
to be
Provisional
established.

Judicial Cooperation Unit needs

The Council has adopted Joint Action 98/428/JHA of 29
June 1998 concerning the creation of a European Judi-
cial Network (3).

The conclusions of the European Council meeting in
in particular
Tampere on 15 and 16 October 1999,
paragraph 46 thereof, concern the setting up, before the
end of 2001, of a unit (Eurojust) composed of prosecu-
tors, judges or police officers of equivalent competence,
to reinforce the fight against serious organised crime.

The meetings of such a Provisional Unit should be
supported by the infrastructure of the Council, as its
experience would be of value in drawing up the instru-
ment establishing Eurojust.

(1) OJ C 243, 24.8.2000, p. 21.
(2) Opinion of the European Parliament of 14 November 2000 (not yet

published in the Official Journal).

(3) OJ L 191, 7.7.1998, p. 4.

A formation shall be established known as the Provisional
Judicial Cooperation Unit, located in Brussels and supported by
the infrastructure of the Council.

Article 2

1.

The objectives of the Provisional Unit are as follows:

(a) to improve cooperation between the competent national
authorities with regard to investigations and prosecutions
in relation to serious crime, particularly when it is orga-
nised,

involving two or more Member States;

(b) in the same framework,

to stimulate and improve the
coordination of
investigations and prosecutions in the
Member States, taking into account any request emanating
from a competent national authority and any information
provided by any body competent by virtue of provisions
adopted within the framework of the Treaties.

2.
The Provisional Unit shall provide its expertise to the
Member States and to the Council, where necessary, with a
view to the negotiation and the adoption by the Council of the
instrument establishing Eurojust.

Article 3

1.
Each Member State shall assign to the formation referred
to in Article 1 a prosecutor, judge or police officer of equiva-
lent competence, to perform the liaison duties necessary to
accomplish the objectives referred to in Article 2 and tasks
referred to in paragraph 3 of this Article.

21.12.2000

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

L 324/3

These members may, for the purposes of fulfilling their tasks,
organise missions in a Member State whose authorities are
involved in a specific investigation or prosecution and may
meet as necessary in any other place.

2. Within the scope of each Member State's national legisla-
tion,
in cooperation with any body competent by virtue of
provisions adopted within the framework of the Treaties and
within the limit of their respective powers, the members of the
Provisional Unit shall contribute to the proper coordination
judicial cooperation between competent
and facilitation of
national authorities, in actions relating to the investigation and
prosecution of serious crime, particularly when it is organised,
insofar as two or more Member States are concerned.

The coordination may, in particular, contribute to the consid-
eration of arrangements for the opening and development of
investigations and prosecutions.

In particular, the members of the Provisional Unit should,
for the coordination and
where possible, provide support
operation of joint investigative teams.

Article 4

The Commission shall be fully associated with the work of the
Provisional Unit, in accordance with Article 36(2) of the Treaty.

Article 5

This Decision shall take effect on the day of its adoption.

It shall cease to apply on the date on which the instrument
establishing Eurojust takes effect. That instrument is to be
adopted before the end of 2001.

Done at Brussels, 14 December 2000.

For the Council

The President

D. GILLOT