Proposal for a REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL on enhancing police cooperation in relation to the prevention, detection and investigation of migrant smuggling and trafficking in human beings, and on enhancing Europol’s support to preventing and combating such crimes and amending Regulation (EU) 2016/794
Date: 2023-11-28
Institutions: Directorate-General for Migration and Home Affairs, European Commission
Subjects: Europol, exchange of information, fight against crime, illegal migration, migrant, operation of the Institutions, organised crime, police cooperation, trafficking in human beings

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   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 28.11.2023  COM(2023) 754 final 2023/0438 (COD)  Proposal for a REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL on enhancing police cooperation in relation to the prevention, detection and investigation of migrant smuggling and trafficking in human beings, and on enhancing Europol’s support to preventing and combating such crimes and amending Regulation (EU) 2016/794  
 
EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM  

1. 

• 

CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL 

Reasons for and objectives of the proposal 

Migrant  smuggling  is  a  criminal  activity  that  disrespects  human  life  and  strips  people  of 
dignity  in  the  pursuit  of  profit,  violating  people’s  fundamental  rights  and  undermining  the 
migration management objectives of the EU.  

Fighting  and  preventing  migrant  smuggling  and  trafficking  in  human  beings  is  one  of  the 
priorities  of  the  European  Union  and  crucial  to  addressing  irregular  migration  in  a 
comprehensive way. Criminal networks take advantage of people’s despair and use land, sea 
and air routes to facilitate irregular migration, putting people’s lives at risk and seek in every 
way to maximize their profits.  

In her State of the Union address of 13 September 2023, President von der Leyen called for 
the strengthening of all tools at the Union’s disposal to effectively counter migrant smuggling, 
by  updating  the  current,  sometimes  more  than  20-year  old  legislative  framework, 
strengthening  the  governance  on  smuggling  and  the  role  of  EU  agencies,  in  particular  of 
Europol, and intensifying cooperation between Justice and Home Affairs Agencies, Member 
States as well as with partner countries to tackle this issue globally. She also emphasised the 
need to work with partners to tackle this global challenge, which is why the Commission is 
organising  an  International  Conference,  creating  a  Global  Alliance  with  a  Call  to  Action  to 
fight people smuggling.  

Migrant  smuggling  to  and  within  the  EU  is  reaching  new  heights,  fuelled  by  increasing 
demand  due  to  emerging  and  deepening  crises,  most  notably  economic  recessions, 
environmental emergencies caused by climate change, as well as conflicts and demographic 
pressure in many third countries. Migrant smuggling drives the increase of irregular arrivals 
to the EU: in 2022, around 331 000 irregular entries were detected at the EU external borders, 
the highest level since 2016, representing a 66% increase compared to the previous year1. In 
2023, until end of September approximately 281 000 irregular border crossings were detected 
at the external borders of the EU, representing an 18% increase compared to the same period 
in  2022.  This  coincides  with  an  increase  in  the  smuggling  activities,  evidenced  by  a  new 
record with over 15 000 migrant smugglers reported to the European Border and Coast Guard 
Agency  (Frontex)  in  20222.  Taking  into  account  the  increase  in  irregular  arrivals  and  the 
various worldwide crises in  a  range of  countries  of origin and transit, consistently  high  and 
possibly increasing  migratory flows to  Europe and related smuggling criminal  activities can 
be expected. 

It is  estimated that more than 90% of the irregular migrants who reach the EU make use of 
smugglers,  mostly  organised  in  criminal  groups.  Moreover,  smuggling  networks  make 
substantial  profits  from  their  criminal  activities,  ranging  between  EUR  4.7-6  billion 
worldwide  annually3.  Providing  a  strong  and  firm  response  to  smugglers’  activities  is 
therefore  of  primary  importance  to  reducing  irregular  migration.  It  is  estimated  that  the 
activities of ruthless migrant smugglers, especially at sea, resulted in a staggering death toll of 

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Frontex Risk analysis 2023/2024. 
Frontex Risk analysis for 2023/2024. 
Global study on smuggling of migrants (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, 2018). 

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over 28 000 people4 since 2014.  
Around  half  of  the  migrant  smuggling  networks  are  also  involved  in  other  crimes5,  such  as 
trafficking  in  human  beings,  drugs  and  firearms  smuggling,  while  also  facilitating 
unauthorised movements within the EU. Law enforcement and judicial  authorities are faced 
with  multiple  and  constantly  evolving  challenges:  the  rapidly  changing  and  adapting  modi 
operandi of smugglers; the increased use of threats and violence vis-à-vis the migrants as well 
as  law  enforcement  authorities6;  the  difficulties  to  locate  and  arrest  smugglers  who  hide  in 
countries  outside  the  EU;  the  use  of  a  broad  variety  of  means  of  transport,  including 
unseaworthy, less detectable vessels (such as  fishing boats and makeshift metal boats), road 
vehicles  in  which  migrants  are  dangerously  concealed,  as  well  as  commercial  and  charter 
flights  increasingly  used  to  bring  migrants  to  countries  close  to  or  bordering  the  EU,  from 
where migrants then seek to irregularly enter the EU7; the use of digital tools at all stages of 
the  process,  with  online  advertising  of  smuggling  services,  routes  and  prices  as  well  as  for 
forging  documents;  the  use  of  crypto-currencies,  digital  money  or  other  unofficial  forms  of 
payment (e.g. hawala)8. 

Tackling migrant smuggling is essential to dismantling organised crime networks that cause 
human rights violations, and death, and to countering the increase in irregular migration to the 
EU. A comprehensive and sustainable approach to migration requires a combination of robust 
and efficient actions complementing mutually beneficial partnerships with countries of origin 
and transit, addressing the root causes of migration and in particular irregular migration, and 
at  the  same  time  fighting  organised  crime  including  migrant  smuggling  and  trafficking  in 
human  beings.  The  New  Pact  on  Migration  and  Asylum1  puts  preventing  and  countering 
migrant smuggling at the centre of its comprehensive approach to migration. 

This  proposal  for  a  Regulation  is  part  of  a  package  of  measures  aiming  to  modernise  and 
strengthen  the  existing  legal  framework  and  provide  the  Union  with  rules  which  are  fit  for 
purpose.  It  is  accompanied  by  a  proposal  for  a  Directive  on  preventing  and  countering  the 
facilitation  of  unauthorised  entry,  transit  and  stay.  That  proposal  introduces  a  modern  EU 
criminal  law  instrument  that  clearly  defines  and  effectively  sanctions  organised  criminal 
networks  responsible  for  migrant  smuggling,  harmonises  penalties  that  take  account  of  the 
seriousness  of  the  offence,  improves  the  jurisdictional  reach,  reinforces  Member  States 
resources  to  tackle  and  prevent  migrant  smuggling,  and  improves  data  collection  and 
reporting. 

This  package  is  presented  on  the  day  of  the  International  Conference  launching  “a  Global 
Alliance to counter migrant smuggling”. With this Conference, the Commission is creating a 
framework  for  strong  political  cooperation  with  international  partners  by  calling  for  shared 
commitments and actions to jointly counter migrant smuggling globally. 

These  three  initiatives  complement  existing  initiatives  in  the  area  of  countering  migrant 
smuggling  and  implement  the  renewed  EU  action  plan  against  smuggling  (2021-2025)  by 
updating  the  existing  EU  legal  framework  to  sanction  migrant  smugglers  acting  on  the 
migratory  routes  and  setting  out  a  new  modern,  legal,  operational  and  international 
cooperation framework against migrant smuggling for the years to come. 

This  proposal  for  a  Regulation  forms  part  of  a  coherent  package  also  comprising  of  the 

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IOM, Missing migrants project, https://missingmigrants.iom.int/region/mediterranean. 
Estimates by Europol. 
Europol Spotlight (2023) Criminal Networks in Migrant Smuggling. 
Frontex, Risk Analysis for 2023/2024 
Europol Spotlight (2023), Criminal Networks in Migrant Smuggling 

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abovementioned  proposal  for  a  Directive  on  preventing  and  countering  the  facilitation  of 
unauthorised  entry,  transit  and  stay.  Together,  these  proposals  seek  to  modernise  the  legal 
framework to fight the smuggling of migrants, to ensure that we have the necessary legal and 
operational  tools  to  respond  to  the  new  modus  operandi  of  smugglers,  as  set  out  in  the 
Commission work programme 2024 announced on 17 October 2023.  

Objective of the proposal 

The  overall  objective  of  this  proposal  is  to  reinforce  Europol’s  role  in  the  fight  against 
migrant  smuggling  and  trafficking  in  human  beings,  and,  in  particular,  the  role  of  the 
European Centre Against Migrant Smuggling.  

In  order  to  step  up  the  prevention,  detection  and  investigation  of  migrant  smuggling  and 
trafficking in human beings, this proposal pursues the following specific objectives. 

(1) 

Strengthening  inter-agency  cooperation  on  migrant  smuggling  and  trafficking  in 
human beings 

In  order  to  facilitate  a  more  effective,  timely  and  systematic  coordination  and  exchange  of 
information on countering migrant smuggling and trafficking in human beings between Union 
agencies,  the  European  Centre  Against  Migrant  Smuggling  at  Europol  will  be  composed  of 
Europol  staff  and  seconded  national  experts  and  involve  Member  States’,  Eurojust  and  the 
European Border and Coast Guard Agency liaison officers that should be permanently posted 
to  Europol  to  ensure  regular  exchange  of  information  and  operational  cooperation  and 
coordination. In the meantime, the Justice and Home Affairs Agencies have the opportunity to 
strengthen  their  cooperation  on  the  basis  of  their  respective  mandates  and  optimise  the 
exchange  of  information  to  counter  migrant  smuggling  and  trafficking  in  human  beings. 
Eurojust  is  a  key  actor  in  the  enhancement  of  the  judicial  response  to  migrant  smuggling, 
supporting complex cases entailing cross-border judicial coordination and Joint Investigation 
Teams relating to criminal investigations of migrant smuggling cases. 

(2) 

Strengthening  steer  and  coordination  on  countering  migrant  smuggling  and 
trafficking in human beings at EU level  

In  order  to  address  insufficient  strategic  analysis,  coordination  and  steer  at  EU  level,  the 
proposal sets out specific strategic tasks of the European Centre Against Migrant Smuggling 
with  a  view  to  providing  a  framework  for  the  implementation  of  strategic  and  operational 
priorities of the Union by monitoring trends in  migrant smuggling and trafficking in human 
beings, providing annual reports, strategic analyses, threat assessments and situational updates 
on  migratory  routes,  as  well  as  investigative  and  operational  action.  Regarding  its  strategic 
tasks, the European Centre Against Migrant  Smuggling  will meet  at  least  twice a year with 
representatives  of  each  Member  State,  Eurojust,  the  European  Border  and  Coast  Guard 
Agency, the European Multidisciplinary Platform  Against Criminal Threats  (EMPACT)  and 
the Commission to ensure effective steer and coordination. In addition, the European Centre 
Against  Migrant  Smuggling  will  support  Europol’s  Executive  Director  in  requesting  the 
initiation of criminal investigations. 

(3) 

Improving  information  sharing  on  migrant  smuggling  and  trafficking  in  human 
beings 

The  proposed  regulation  strengthens  Member  States’  obligations  to  share  information, 
including  biometrics,  on  migrant  smuggling  and  trafficking  in  human  beings  with  Europol, 
including  through  requiring  the  establishment  of  direct  connections  for  their  competent 
authorities  and  immigration  liaison  officers  to  Europol’s  Secure  Information  Exchange 
Network Application  (SIENA). The Commission  also  proposes to  task the  European Centre 
Against  Migrant  Smuggling  to  identify  cases  of  migrant  smuggling  or  trafficking  in  human 

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beings  that  may  require  cooperation  with  third  countries,  including  by  exchanging  personal 
data; this aims to support the Executive Director in deciding on the transfer of personal data to 
third  countries  on  a  case-by-case  basis  in  accordance  with  Article  25(5)  of  the  Europol 
Regulation. 

(4) 

Reinforcing Member States’ resources to prevent and combat migrant smuggling and 
trafficking in human beings 

In  order  to  help  Member  States  to  effectively  counter  migrant  smuggling  and  exchange 
relevant information with Europol, it is proposed that they designate specialised services for 
combating  migrant  smuggling  and  trafficking  in  human  beings,  provide  for  the  adequate 
resourcing of these services, connect these services to SIENA, and task the European Centre 
Against Migrant Smuggling to act as a network of specialised services. 

(5) 

Reinforcing  Europol’s  support  to  the  prevention  and  combatting  of  migrant 
smuggling  and  trafficking  in  human  beings  through  operational  task  forces  and 
Europol deployments for operational support  

It is proposed to codify and further develop the concept of operational task forces and set out 
a new tool in the form of Europol deployments for operational support, as advanced tools for 
coordination and analytical, operational, technical, and forensic support, upon request of the 
Member  States  or  proposal  by  the  Europol  Executive  Director.  The  proposal  includes  the 
creation  of  a  pool  of  experts  working  in  their  Member  States  that  can  be  placed  at  the 
immediate disposal of Europol for deployments, and it sets obligations for the Member States 
to ensure the effective implementation of these tools. Third countries may also participate in 
operational  task  forces,  and  Europol  deployments  for  operational  support  may  take  place  in 
third countries. 

To fulfill these objectives, the Commission also proposes to increase the financial and human 
resources of Europol to response to the operational needs and to address the identified gaps. 

• 

Consistency with existing provisions in the policy area 

The  present  proposal  is  consistent  with  existing  and  upcoming  policy  provisions  in  the 
domain of law enforcement cooperation, including Europol. Law enforcement cooperation is 
an  area  of  shared  competence  between  the  EU  and  the  Member  States.  In  recent  years, 
progress  was  made  to  improve  the  exchange  of  information  cooperation  between  Member 
States and to reduce as much as possible the space in which terrorists and serious criminals 
operate. Following the migration crisis of 2015, the general architecture of Justice and Home 
Affairs  (JHA)  information  systems  and  databases  was  overhauled  with  a  focus  on 
interoperability.  The  legislative  framework  on  counterterrorism  and  information  exchange 
was strengthened in  2017, in  the aftermath  of the terrorist  attacks in  Europe.  In response to 
pressing  operational  needs  to  face  the  changing  security  landscape  and  calls  by  the  co-
legislators  for  stronger  support  from  Europol,  the  regulation  on  Europol  was  reinforced  in 
2022. The new Europol mandate entered into force in June 2022, allowing Europol to step up 
its  expertise  and  operational  capabilities,  to  better  support  Member  States  in  combating 
serious  and  organised  crime  and  terrorism.  The  mandate  also  strengthens  Europol’s  data 
protection framework and the oversight of the European Data Protection Supervisor. 

The  proposal  is  also  in  line  with  the  existing  EU  legislative  framework  on  countering 
migrants smuggling, also known as Facilitators Package, composed of Directive 2002/90/EC 
establishing  a common definition of the offence of facilitation of unauthorised entry, transit 
and  residence2,  and  Framework  Decision  2002/946/JHA  on  the  strengthening  of  the  penal 
framework to  prevent  the  facilitation of unauthorised entry, transit and  residence3.  It  is  also 
coherent  with  the  renewed  EU  action  plan  against  smuggling  (2021-2025)  that  calls  for 

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strengthening  of  operational  cooperation  between  EU  Member  States’  law  enforcement 
agencies,  relevant  EU  agencies,  Europol  in  particular,  and  partner  countries,  in  the 
dismantling of migrant smuggling criminal networks as well as with the Toolbox addressing 
the use of commercial means of transport to facilitate irregular migration to the EU. The Anti-
Smuggling Operational Partnerships with key countries of origin and transit form an integral 
part  of  the  comprehensive  migration  partnerships  that  the  EU  is  developing  with  partner 
countries. Enhancing the fight against migrant smuggling is a joint interest, as origin, transit 
and  destination  countries  share  the  common  goal  to  fight  against  criminal  networks  and 
protect  people  from  possible  abuses  and  exploitation.  Migrant  smuggling  remains  a  serious 
challenge that needs to be continuously, concertedly and collectively tackled further. 

Preventing  and  fighting  migrant  smuggling  is  a  key  objective  of  the  EU  Security  Union 
Strategy,  the  EU  Strategy  to  tackle  Organised  Crime  and  the  New  Pact  on  Migration  and 
Asylum. 

• 

Consistency with other Union policies 

As  regards  Europol’s  support  to  Member  States,  this  legislative  initiative  takes  account  of 
Union’s  policies  in  the  area  of  judicial  cooperation  in  criminal  matters,  notably  the  role  of 
Eurojust9  in  supporting  and  strengthening  coordination  and  cooperation  between  national 
investigating and prosecuting authorities in relation to serious crime, and judicial cooperation 
through  Joint  Investigation  Teams10.  The  legislative  initiative  also  takes  into  account  of  the 
Union’s  external  policies,  notably  the  work  of  EU  delegations  and  security  experts  in  third 
countries and common security and defense policy missions and operations. 

This legislative initiative takes full account of the relevant EU data protection legislation (see 
section 3 below on fundamental rights). 

2. 

• 

LEGAL BASIS, SUBSIDIARITY AND PROPORTIONALITY 

Legal basis 

The  legal  bases  of  the  legislative  initiative  are  Articles  85,  87  and  88  of  the  Treaty  on  the 
Functioning  of  the  European  Union  (TFEU).  Article  85(1)  TFEU  provides  that  Eurojust's 
mission  shall  be  to  support  and  strengthen  coordination  and  cooperation  between  national 
investigating  and  prosecuting  authorities  in  relation  to  serious  crime  affecting  two  or  more 
Member  States  or  requiring  a  prosecution  on  common  bases,  on  the  basis  of  operations 
conducted and information supplied by the Member States' authorities and by Europol. Article 
87(1)  provides  that  the  Union  shall  establish  police  cooperation  involving  all  the  Member 
States' competent authorities, including police, customs and other specialised law enforcement 
services in relation to the prevention, detection and investigation of criminal offences. Article 
88(2) TFEU provides that the European Parliament and the Council, by means of regulations 
adopted  in  accordance  with  the  ordinary  legislative  procedure,  shall  determine  Europol's 
structure,  operation,  field  of  action  and  tasks.  These  tasks  may  include:  (a)  the  collection, 
storage, processing, analysis and exchange of information, in particular that forwarded by the 
authorities  of  the  Member  States  or  third  countries  or  bodies;  and  (b)  the  coordination, 
organisation  and  implementation  of  investigative  and  operational  action  carried  out  jointly 

9 

Regulation (EU) 2018/1727 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 November 2018 on the 
European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation (Eurojust), and replacing and repealing Council 
Decision 2002/187/JHA, PE/37/2018/REV/1, OJ L 295, 21.11.2018, p. 138–183.  

10  Council Framework Decision of 13 June 2002 on joint investigation teams, OJ L 162, 20.6.2002, p. 1–3.  

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with the Member States' competent authorities or in the context of joint investigative teams, 
where appropriate in liaison with Eurojust. 

• 

Subsidiarity (for non-exclusive competence)  

According to the principle of subsidiarity laid down in Article 5(3) TEU, action at EU level 
should  be  taken  only  when  the  aims  envisaged  cannot  be  achieved  sufficiently  by  Member 
States  alone  and  can  therefore,  by  reason  of  the  scale  or  effects  of  the  proposed  action,  be 
better achieved by the EU. 

Member States are responsible for the maintenance of law and order and the safeguarding of 
internal  security11  and  the  Union  shall  respect  Member  States’  essential  state  functions, 
including  maintaining  law  and  order  and  safeguarding  national  security12. As  serious  crime 
and terrorism are often of a transnational nature, action at national level alone cannot counter 
them  effectively.  In  particular  criminal  networks  involved  in  migrant  smuggling  are 
characterised by their global, collaborative and agile nature13. This is the reason why Member 
States  choose  to  work  closely  together  within  the  framework  of  the  EU.  They  seek  to 
coordinate  their  law  enforcement  action  and  cooperate  in  addressing  shared  security 
challenges. They decide to pool resources at EU level and share expertise. As the EU agency 
for  law  enforcement  cooperation,  Europol  is  a  strong  expression  of  this  endeavour  by  the 
Member States to keep their citizens safe by working together.  

Europol provides a robust framework and a sophisticated crime-fighting toolbox for Member 
States  to  coordinate  their  law  enforcement  action.  In  particular,  Europol  serves  as  the  EU 
criminal  information  hub  minimising  criminal  intelligence  gaps  and  focusing  on  data  from 
live, complex investigations. Europol provides agile and real-time operational support ranging 
from operational analysis to operational coordination and brings together relevant partners for 
joint action. Member States use their liaison officers at Europol and the information exchange 
channel  the  agency  provides  to  exchange  information  and  cooperate  in  their  criminal 
investigations. Member States pool resources by tasking Europol to process their information 
in its databases and provide joint analysis. This has put Europol at the heart of the European 
security architecture. 

Evolving security threats, in particular migrant smuggling, call for effective EU level support 
to  the  work  of  national  law  enforcement  authorities.  While  there  are  differences  in  the  way 
Member States counter specific types of crime, their law enforcement authorities can choose 
where  to  seek  EU-level  support  from  Europol  and  what  joint  initiatives  to  participate  in. 
Besides,  law  enforcement  authorities  across  all  Member  States  face  the  same  evolving 
security threats. Consequently, there is a need for EU action to step up the support to Member 
States in fighting serious crime and terrorism to keep pace with these threats. 

Consequently, Member States alone would not be able to effectively tackle all the challenges 
addressed by this proposal. 

• 

Proportionality 

According to the principle of proportionality laid down in Article 5(4) TEU, there is a need to 
match  the  nature  and  intensity  of  a  given  measure  to  the  identified  problem.  All  problems 
addressed  in  this  legislative  initiative  call,  in  one  way  or  another,  for EU-level  support for 
Member States to tackle these problems effectively: 

11  Article 72 TFEU.  
12  Article 4(2) TFEU.  
13  Europol (2023), Criminal networks in migrant smuggling, Europol Spotlight Report series, Publications 

Office of the European Union, Luxembourg. 

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Inter-agency  cooperation  and  coordination  on  countering  migrant  smuggling  and  trafficking 
in  human  beings  at  EU  level  needs  to  be  strengthened  and  intensified:  By  strengthening 
cooperation  and  coordination  between  Europol,  the  European  Border  and  Coast  Guard 
Agency and Eurojust, and by establishing the European Centre Against Migrant Smuggling, 
and by setting its tasks and composition, the EU agencies will be better placed to ensure that 
migrant  smuggling  and  trafficking  in  human  beings  can  be  tackled  more  effectively  and 
efficiently at EU level than at national level.  

Strategic steer and coordination on these crimes at EU level needs to be stepped up to allow 
for targeted strategic analysis, steer, and coordination of investigative and operational action 
at  EU  level  and  among  Member  States.  Establishing  the  European  Centre  Against  Migrant 
Smuggling,  and  setting  its  tasks  and  composition,  will  also  contribute  to  fighting  against 
migrant  smuggling  and  trafficking  of  human  beings  more  effectively  and  efficiently  at  EU 
level than at national level.  

Information  sharing  on  migrant  smuggling  and  trafficking  in  human  beings  among  the 
Member States and with Europol, but also with third countries needs to become stronger and 
more  systematic  to  ensure  that  migrant  smuggling  can  be  tackled  more  effectively  and 
efficiently  at  EU  level,  notably,  by  explicitly  referring  to  the  two  crimes  when  it  comes  to 
Member  States’  general  obligation  on  information  sharing,  by  tasking  Europol  to  process 
biometric data effectively and efficiently in support of Member States, in accordance with the 
existing  safeguards  on  the  processing  of  biometrics,  and  by  establishing  the  Secure 
Information Exchange Network Application (SIENA).  

As  regards  national  structures  to  combat  migrant  smuggling,  as  already  underlined  in  the 
renewed  EU  action  plan  against  smuggling  (2021-2025),  not  all  Member  States  have  the 
necessary  structures  at  national  level  to  combat  migrant  smuggling,  and  to  cooperate 
effectively with Europol. This gap can be tackled more effectively and efficiently at EU level 
than at national level, by providing that Member States should designate specialised services 
for combating migrant smuggling, connect these specialised services to SIENA and by tasking 
the European Centre Against Migrant Smuggling to act as a network of specialised services.  

Europol’s on the ground support to Member States to counter migrant smuggling needs to be 
enhanced.  This  need  can  be  addressed  more  effectively  and  efficiently  at  EU  level  than  at 
national  level,  by  establishing  the  operational  task  forces  and  Europol  deployment  for 
operational support.  

As the EU agency for law enforcement cooperation, Europol is well positioned to provide this 
EU-level  support.  Indeed,  Europol  has  proven  very  effective  in  supporting  national  law 
enforcement  authorities  in  countering  serious  crime  and  terrorism  and  specifically  migrant 
smuggling. There are clear synergies and economies of scale for Member States resulting, for 
example, from the use of the reserve pool and the specialised support provided by Europol, or 
from  the  expertise  that  a  specialised  centre such  as  the  European  Centre  Against  Migrant 
Smuggling  can  offer  to  Member  States.  Member  States  expect,  and  operationally  need,  the 
same  level  of  support  from  Europol  when  it  comes  to  evolving  security  threats,  such  as 
migrant smuggling. 

Law enforcement cooperation at EU-level through Europol neither replaces different national 
policies on internal security nor substitutes the work of national law enforcement authorities. 
Differences in the legal systems and traditions of the Member States, as acknowledged by the 
Treaties14, remain unaffected by this EU level support. 

14  Article 67(1) TFEU. 

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• 

Choice of the instrument 

Pursuant to Article 88(2) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and given 
that Europol’s mandate is set out in Regulation (EU) 2016/794, the strengthening of Europol’s 
mandate – which is part of this proposal – has to take the form of a regulation.  

3. 

• 

RESULTS 
CONSULTATIONS AND IMPACT ASSESSMENTS 

EX-POST 

EVALUATIONS, 

OF 

STAKEHOLDER 

Stakeholder consultations 

Migrant  smuggling poses challenges to law  enforcement, notably because of the agility and 
complexity of the involved criminal  networks and their adaptiveness  to  changes in  irregular 
migration’s dynamics and to the law enforcement response. These challenges have been well 
identified by Europol and Member States and discussed at Justice and Home Affairs Council 
and  European  Council  meetings.  The  role  of  Europol  in  countering  migrant  smuggling  has 
been  discussed  both  in  the  Council  and  in  Europol,  including  by  its  Management  Board. 
Furthermore, the European Court of Auditors special report in 2021 on Europol’s support to 
fight  migrant  smuggling  identified  the  need  to  reinforce  Europol’s  role  in  fighting  migrant 
smuggling,  notably  to  enable  Europol  to  use  all  relevant  external  sources  of  information, 
including biometric data, and to enhance data exchange with its partners15.  

Furthermore, the Commission services gathered necessary input and views on the relevance, 
effectiveness, efficiency, coherence and EU added value of this legislative initiative through a 
questionnaire disseminated to Member States to identify operational needs and gaps when it 
comes to Europol’s support on migration smuggling, as well as other needs and opportunities 
when it comes to strengthening Europol’s mandate. In addition, following the discussions in 
the Law Enforcement Working Party, the Commission  services  consulted Member States at 
expert  level,  through  a  dedicated  virtual  workshop  on  14  November  2023.  Member  States 
were  generally  supportive  of  strengthening  Europol’s  legal  mandate  in  preventing  and 
combatting migrant smuggling and trafficking in human beings.  

The  stakeholder  consultation  process  identified  that  there  are  five  areas  where  action  is 
needed  at  EU  level,  namely:  a)  the  inter-agency  cooperation  on  migrant  smuggling,  b)  the 
strategic steer and coordination on countering migrant smuggling, c) information sharing, d) 
national structures specialised in combating migrant smuggling, and e) Europol’s operational 
support on the ground. 

The results of the consultation were incorporated throughout the preparation of the legislative 
initiative. 

• 

Impact assessment 

This  legislative  proposal  is  not  supported  by  an  Impact  Assessment  considering  that  the 
Commission had little or no choice available, notably due to the urgent operational needs to 
improve Europol’s support to Member States on countering migrant smuggling. This proposal 
nevertheless builds on the evidence gathered by the European Court of Auditors special report 
in 2021 on Europol’s support to fight migrant smuggling and the feedback received during the 
stakeholder consultations. 

• 

Fundamental rights 

Processing  of  personal  data  for  law  enforcement  purposes  in  general,  and  for  the  support 

15 

Europol support to fight migrant smuggling: a valued partner, but insufficient use of data sources and result 
management. European Court of Auditors, 2021. 

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provided by Europol in particular requires ensuring full compliance with fundamental rights 
as enshrined in the Charter of Fundamental Rights, and notably the rights to the protection of 
personal data16 and to respect for private life17. This proposal takes full account of these legal 
requirements. 

4. 

BUDGETARY IMPLICATIONS 

This legislative initiative would have an impact on the budget and staff needs of Europol. It is 
estimated18  that  an  additional  budget  of  around  EUR  50  million  and  around  50  additional 
posts would be needed for the overall period of the current Multiannual Financial Framework 
2021-2027. This  will  ensure that Europol  has  the necessary resources to  carry out  fully and 
efficiently the new tasks described in articles 5 and 6 of this Regulation as well as its revised 
mandate. Europol’s  new  tasks  in  this legislative proposal  would therefore require  additional 
financial and human reinforcements compared to the resources earmarked in the Multiannual 
Financial Framework 2021-2027, which foresaw an increase of 160 Temporary Agents with 
an  associated  cost  of  EUR  114  million  and  a  total  additional  EU  contribution  of  EUR  178 
million  to  the  budget  of  Europol.  This  legislative  initiative  also  opens  the  possibility  for 
Member  States  to  contribute  directly  to  Europol’s  budget,  where  necessary  and  required  by 
existing or new tasks.  

5. 

• 

OTHER ELEMENTS 

Implementation plans and monitoring, evaluation and reporting arrangements 

The monitoring and evaluation of Europol’s reinforced mandate would largely be performed 
by the applicable mechanisms under the existing Europol Regulation. Article 68 provides for 
an  evaluation  which  assesses,  in  particular,  the  impact,  effectiveness  and  efficiency  of 
Europol  and  of  its  working  practices  and  may  address  the  possible  need  to  modify  the 
structure, operation, field of action and tasks of Europol, and the financial implications of any 
such  modification.  Further  to  this  evaluation,  the  Commission  will  gather  data  through  its 
representation in Europol’s Management Board meetings and its supervision, along with the 
Member States, of Europol’s work (Article 11). 

• 

Detailed explanation of the specific provisions of the proposal 

This legislative initiative proposes the following: 

• 

• 

Establishing  in  law  the  European  Centre  Against  Migrant  Smuggling  within 
Europol  and  a  governance  framework  to  regulate  and  support  its  activities:  the 
legislative initiative establishes the European Centre Against Migrant Smuggling as a 
Union  centre  of  specialised  expertise  for  combating  migrant  smuggling  and 
trafficking  in  human  beings.  The  European  Centre  Against  Migrant  Smuggling 
should be the focal point to support Member States in the prevention and combating 
of  migrant  smuggling  and  trafficking  in  human  beings  and,  in  this  context,  should 
perform specific strategic and operational tasks. [Article 3] 

Providing  for  the  composition  of  the  European  Centre  Against  Migrant 
Smuggling:  the  legislative  initiative  provides  for  the  composition  of  the  European 
Centre Against Migrant Smuggling and the specific entities that should be involved 

16  Article 8 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (hereinafter, ‘the Charter’). 
17  Article 8 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (hereinafter, ‘the Charter’). 
18  Based  on  Europol  2023  Establishment  Plan  and  the  resources  allocation  per  activity  in  the  Europol 

programming document 2023-2025 

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• 

• 

• 

• 

in  carrying  out  its  tasks,  both  for  the  purpose  of  strategic  analysis,  and  for  the 
purpose  of  operational  and  technical  support  to  the  prevention  and  combating  of 
migrant  smuggling  and  trafficking  in  human  beings.  The  European  Centre  Against 
Migrant  Smuggling  should  be  supported  by  all  other  relevant  Europol’s  internal 
structures. [Article 4] 

Defining  the  strategic  and  operational  tasks  of  the  European  Centre  Against 
Migrant  Smuggling:  the  legislative  initiative  provides  for  the  detailed  tasks  of  the 
Centre  for  the  purposes  of  strategic  analysis  as  well  as  operational  and  technical 
support  for  the  prevention  and  combating  of  migrant  smuggling  and  trafficking  in 
human beings. At strategic level, these tasks include providing strategic analyses and 
threat  assessments,  providing  support  to  the  operational  implementation  of  the 
strategic  and  operational  priorities,  supporting  the  coordination,  cooperation  and 
exchange  of  information,  monitoring  migrant  smuggling  and  trafficking  in  human 
beings, and preparing an annual report. In this context, the European Centre Against 
Migrant Smuggling will also hold a meeting of the entities represented in the centre 
at  least  twice  a  year  to  ensure  effective  steer  and  coordination  at  Union  level.  At 
operational  level,  the  tasks  of  the  European  Centre  Against  Migrant  Smuggling 
include  coordinating,  organising  and  implementing  investigative  and  operational 
actions to support and strengthen actions by the competent authorities of the Member 
States,  supporting  Member  States’  cross-border  information  exchange  activities, 
operations  and  investigations,  as  well  as  joint  investigation  teams  and  operational 
task  forces,  and  identifying  cases  of  migrant  smuggling  and  trafficking  in  human 
beings that may require advanced operational support. [Article 5, 6] 

Providing  for  the  designation  of  specialised  services  within  the  competent 
authorities  of  the  Member  States  to  prevent  and  combat  migrant  smuggling  and 
trafficking  in  human  beings:  the  legislative  initiative  provides  that  each  Member 
State  should  designate  one  or  more  specialised  services  to  prevent  and  combat 
migrant  smuggling  and  trafficking  in  human  beings,  including  through  criminal 
investigations,  and  ensure  that  these  services  collect  and  share  all  relevant 
information  as  soon  as  possible  through  SIENA  with  Europol  and  other  Member 
States. [Article 8] 

Providing Europol with the necessary advanced tools to support Member States in 
preventing and combating migrant smuggling and other crimes falling within the 
scope  of  Europol’s  objectives:  the  legislative  initiative  establishes  operational  task 
forces  as  coordination  mechanisms  set  up  by  Member  States  with  the  support  of 
Europol  to  conduct  joint, coordinated and prioritised criminal  intelligence activities 
and investigations notably on criminal networks and groups and individual criminal 
actors.  The  legislative  initiative  sets  out  minimum  requirements  concerning  the 
active and timely involvement of the Member States, such as providing all relevant 
information  to  Europol,  and  that  Europol  should  make  available  its  advanced 
analytical,  operational,  technical,  forensic  and  financial  support  to  these  Member 
States. Third countries may also participate in operational task forces. [Article 9]  

Providing  that  Europol  should  be  able  to  deploy  officers  in  the  territory  of  a 
Member  State,  upon  request  of  that  Member  State,  to  provide  analytical, 
operational,  technical  and  forensic  support  in  liaison  and  in  agreement  with  the 
competent authorities of that Member State: the host Member State should be able 
to ensure a minimum set of requirements such as providing all relevant information 
to Europol. Europol should be able to deploy rapidly, especially in exceptional cases 
of  urgency.  Staff  and  experts  deployed  by  Europol  should  be  able  to  carry  out 

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• 

• 

• 

• 

investigative  non-coercive  measures  that  relate  to  data  processing  in  liaison  and  in 
agreement  with  the  competent  authorities  of  the  Member  State  concerned,  in 
accordance  with  the  Europol  Regulation  and  that  Member  State’s  national  law. 
Moreover, Europol should set up a reserve pool of Member States’ highly qualified 
law enforcement experts with specialised profiles that can be placed at the immediate 
disposal  of  Europol  for  operational  deployment  to  provide  specialised  support. 
Europol  should  also  be  able  to  deploy  staff  and  seconded  national  experts  in  third 
countries  with  which  it  cooperates  on  the  basis  of  an  adequacy  decision,  and 
international agreement concluded between the Union and that third country pursuant 
to  Article  218  TFEU,  or  a  cooperation  agreement  between  Europol  and  that  third 
country concluded before 1 May 2017. [Article 9] 

Clarifying  the  nature  of  operational  support  that  Europol  staff  may  provide to 
Member  States’  law  enforcement  authorities on  the  ground in  operations  and 
investigations:  the  legislative  initiative  clarifies  that  Europol  staff  may  provide 
operational  support  to  the  competent  authorities  of  the  Member  States  during  the 
execution  of  investigative  measures,  at  their  request  and  in  accordance  with  their 
national  law,  including  in  the  context  of  the  implementation  of  operational  task 
forces and Europol deployment for operational support. Europol staff should be able 
to execute non-coercive investigative measures in liaison and in agreement with the 
competent  authorities  of  the  Member  State  concerned,  and  in  accordance  with  the 
Europol  Regulation  and  that  Member  State’s  national  law,  when  so  requested  by  a 
Member  State  in  accordance  with  its  national  law  and  authorised  by  the  Europol 
Executive Director. [Article 9] 

Enhancing  cooperation  between  Europol  and  third  countries:  the  legislative 
initiative  sets  out  rules  to  better  involve  Member  States’  migration  liaison  officers 
deployed in third countries in enhancing the sharing of information by third countries 
to  counter  migrant  smuggling  and  supply  this  information  to  Europol,  directly  or 
through the Europol national unit, using SIENA. [Article 8] 

Identifying cases of migrant smuggling requiring cooperation with third countries 
that may require transfers of personal data in individual cases for the purpose of 
the prevention, investigation, detection or prosecution of criminal offences, or the 
execution of criminal sanctions: the legislative initiative tasks the European Centre 
Against Migrant Smuggling to identify such cases. The transfers of personal data by 
Europol to third countries in these cases may, in the absence of an adequacy decision 
or of adequate or appropriate data protection safeguards, be carried out in accordance 
with Article 25(5) of Regulation (EU) 2016/794. [Article 6] 

Strengthening Europol’s role in the fight against criminal offences related to the 
violation  of  Union  restrictive  measures:  the  legislative  initiative  includes  these 
offences within the forms of crime  listed in Annex I of Regulation  (EU) 2016/794. 
Unrelated  to  migrant  smuggling  and  trafficking  in  human  beings,  the  proposed 
Regulation  extends  the  list  of  crimes  which  fall  within  Europol’s  competence  by 
including  in  Annex  I  to  the  Europol  Regulation  the  “violation  of  Union  restrictive 
measures”. This responds to requests by Member States to allow Europol to support 
them in the fight against violations of Union restrictive measures, which currently is 
possible only where such a violation also constitutes another form of crime contained 
in Annex I to the Europol Regulation, for example money laundering. However, not 
all violations of Union restrictive measures would fall within the crimes currently set 
out  in  Annex  I  to  the  Europol  Regulation.  The  inclusion  of  the  violation  of  Union 
restrictive  measures  in  Annex  I  to  the  Europol  Regulation  would  complement  the 

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proposed  Directive  on  the  definition  of  criminal  offences  and  penalties  for  the 
violation of Union restrictive measures.19 [Article 9] 

19  COM(2022) 684 final (2.12.2022). 

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2023/0438 (COD) 

Proposal for a 

REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL 

on enhancing police cooperation in relation to the prevention, detection and 
investigation of migrant smuggling and trafficking in human beings, and on enhancing 
Europol’s support to preventing and combating such crimes and amending Regulation 
(EU) 2016/794 

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 85(1), Article 87(2), and Article 88(2) thereof, 

Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission, 

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

Acting in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure, 

Whereas: 

(1) 

The  European  Union  Agency  for  Law  Enforcement  Cooperation  (Europol)  was 
established  by  Regulation  (EU)  2016/794  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the 
Council20 to support and strengthen action by the competent authorities of the Member 
States  and  their  mutual  cooperation  in  preventing  and  combating  serious  crime 
affecting  two  or  more  Member  States,  terrorism  and  forms  of  crime  which  affect  a 
common interest covered by a Union policy. 

(2)  Migrant  smuggling  is  a  criminal  activity  that  disrespects  human  life  and  dignity  of 
people  in  the  pursuit  of  profit,  undermining  the  fundamental  rights  of  the  people 
concerned  as  well  as  the  migration  management  objectives  of  the  Union.  The 
European Council, in its conclusions of 9 February 2023, reaffirmed the importance of 
the fight against smugglers and affirmed the willingness to step up its action to prevent 
irregular departures and loss of life, also by intensifying cooperation with countries of 
origin and transit. To this effect, it is also important to strengthen the response of law 
enforcement to migrant smuggling and trafficking in human beings by reinforcing the 
capabilities of Europol, and in particular  its Union centre of specialised expertise for 
combating migrant smuggling and trafficking in human beings.  

(3) 

A  “European  Migrant  Smuggling  Centre”  was  created  in  2016  by  the  Management 
Board  of  Europol  in  accordance  with  Article  11(1),  point  (s),  of  Regulation  (EU) 
2016/794 as such a Union centre of specialised expertise. It has continuously evolved 
since its inception and has expanded its range of activities in order to provide the best 
support to the Member States as a dynamic platform for operational cooperation, the 
exchange  of  information,  and  coordination  between  the  Member  States  and  partners 

20  Regulation (EU) 2016/794 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 May 2016 on the European 
Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol) and replacing and repealing Council Decisions 
2009/371/JHA, 2009/934/JHA, 2009/935/JHA, 2009/936/JHA and 2009/968/JHA (OJ L 135 24.5.2016, p. 
53, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2016/794/oj. 

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(4) 

(5) 

(6) 

engaged in  the fight  against migrant  smuggling and  the trafficking in  human beings. 
The increases in irregular arrivals in the Union and in unauthorised movements within 
the  Union,  the  rapid  adaptability  of  criminal  organised  groups,  the  development  of 
new  modi  operandi  and  sophisticated  methods  urgently  require  a  significant 
reinforcement  of  the  role  of  Europol’s  Union  centre  of  specialised  expertise  for 
combating migrant smuggling and trafficking in human beings by establishing it as a 
permanent structure within Europol and  by strengthening the level of its engagement 
in  supporting  the  Member  States  in  the  prevention  and  combating  of  migrant 
smuggling  and  trafficking  in  human  beings.  Its  name  should  be  “European  Centre 
Against Migrant Smuggling”. 

The  European  Centre  Against  Migrant  Smuggling  should  provide  strategic, 
operational  and  technical  support  to  Member  States  to  prevent  and  combat  migrant 
smuggling  and  trafficking  in  human  beings.  As  part  of  its  strategic  tasks,  it  should 
provide a framework for the implementation of strategic and operational priorities of 
the Union by monitoring trends in migrant smuggling and trafficking in human beings. 
To that end it should provide annual reports, strategic analyses, threat assessments and 
situational updates on migratory routes and modi operandi, including indications that 
private parties may be used for migrant smuggling and trafficking in human beings. In 
the  context  of  fulfilling  its  strategic  and  operational  tasks,  the  European  Centre 
Against  Migrant  Smuggling  should  cooperate  with  the  European  External  Action 
Service  and  Common  Security  and  Defense  Policy  missions  and  operations,  where 
appropriate  and  relevant,  in  line  with  their  respective  mandates  and  competences,  as 
well as in accordance with Europol’s mandate.  

In order to strengthen inter-agency cooperation on migrant smuggling and trafficking 
in  human beings,  the  European Centre Against  Migrant  Smuggling  should  provide a 
means  to  enhance  cooperation  and  coordination  between  Europol  and  other  Union 
agencies, notably with Eurojust and the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, in 
line with  their  respective legal  frameworks, including  through working  arrangements 
between the Union agencies. 

In  order  to  support  its  strategic  analysis  in  the  prevention  and  combating  of  migrant 
smuggling  and  trafficking  in  human  beings,  the  European  Centre  Against  Migrant 
Smuggling  should,  for  strategic  tasks,  be  supported  by  a  cooperation  framework 
composed  of  Europol  staff  and  involve  representatives  of  the  Commission,  Member 
States’  specialised  services,  the  European  Union  Agency  for  Criminal  Justice 
Cooperation  (Eurojust)  and  the  European  Border  and  Coast  Guard  Agency.  The 
European  Centre  Against  Migrant  Smuggling  should  hold  a  meeting  of  the  entities 
represented in the centre at least twice a year to ensure effective steer and coordination 
at Union level. To enable that centre to fulfil its tasks, other relevant internal structures 
of  Europol  should  provide  it  with  all  necessary  support.  In  order  to  maximise  the 
effectiveness of the European Centre Against Migrant Smuggling, Europol should be 
able to invite, in particular, the main actors of the European Multidisciplinary Platform 
Against  Criminal  Threats  (‘EMPACT’)  as  well  as  other  relevant  Union  bodies  or 
agencies when needed.  

(7) 

As  part  of  the  operational  and  technical  support  to  Member  States,  the  European 
Centre  Against  Migrant  Smuggling  should  ensure  coordination  of  investigative  and 
operational  actions  of  the  Member  States,  including  through  supporting  Member 
States’ cross-border information exchange, operations and investigations, in particular 
in the framework of EMPACT, including by providing operational, technical, forensic 
and financial support. Furthermore, Europol should provide support to Member States 

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(8) 

(9) 

in  identifying  cases  of  migrant  smuggling  and  trafficking  in  human  beings  where 
investigations  would  need  to  be  initiated,  where  needed  in  liaison  with  Eurojust,  in 
cases  that  require  setting  up  of  operational  task  forces  or  Europol  deployments  for 
operational  support,  and  cases  that  may  require  cooperation  with  third  countries, 
including by exchanging personal data.  

The transfer of personal data by Europol to third countries may, in the absence of an 
adequacy decision or of adequate or appropriate data protection safeguards, be carried 
out in accordance with Article 25(5) of Regulation (EU) 2016/794. In particular, cases 
of migrant smuggling identified by the European  Centre Against Migrant Smuggling 
that require cooperation with third countries could require transfers of personal data in 
individual cases for the purpose of prevention, investigation, detection or prosecution 
of criminal offences, or execution of criminal sanctions. 

For the purpose of strengthening operational and technical support to  preventing and 
combating  migrant  smuggling  and  trafficking  in  human  beings,  the  European  Centre 
Against Migrant Smuggling should, for operational tasks, involve liaison officers from 
the  Member  States,  Eurojust  and  the  European  Border  and  Coast  Guard  Agency  to 
ensure  an  effective, timely  and systematic coordination and exchange of information 
on  countering  migrant  smuggling  and  trafficking  in  human  beings  at  Union  level, 
ensuring a stronger inter-agency cooperation within their respective competences and 
with Member States. Other relevant internal structures of Europol should also provide 
all  necessary  support.  Liaison  officers  from  Eurojust  and  the  European  Border  and 
Coast Guard Agency liaison officers should be posted as permanent representatives to 
Europol  for  this  purpose.  Europol  should  be  able  to  involve  other  relevant  Union 
bodies  or  agencies  to  draw  on  the  expertise  falling  within  their  competencies  where 
relevant. 

(10)  EMPACT  brings  together  a  wide  range  of  competent  authorities  in  a  partnership 
approach  and  constitutes  both  the  framework  for  a  coordinated  response  against 
organised  and  serious  international  crime  and  a  catalyst  to  operationalise  the  Union 
security policies and strategies. To increase a multidisciplinary, holistic, and consistent 
response  to  prevent  and  combat  migrant  smuggling  and  the  trafficking  in  human 
beings, as well as related crimes and enabling factors, Europol and all key stakeholders 
should increase their connections within EMPACT and the operational support to the 
activities developed by that platform. 

(11)  To ensure the appropriate involvement of judicial authorities in criminal investigations 
for offences relating to migrant smuggling and trafficking in human beings, the need 
to strengthen the mandate of Eurojust in relation to migrant smuggling and in relation 
to  the  amendments  in  the  Europol  mandate  should  be  evaluated  as  part  of  the 
evaluation in accordance with Article 69 (1) Regulation (EU) 2018/1727. 

(12)  Europol should be the Union criminal information hub and act as a service provider, in 
particular by providing a secure network for the exchange of data, such as the secure 
information exchange network application (SIENA), aimed at facilitating the exchange 
of information  between  Member States, Europol, other Union bodies, third countries 
and international  organisations. SIENA should enable swift, secure and  user-friendly 
communication  and  exchange  of  operational  and  strategic  crime-related  information 
and  intelligence  and  have  a  strong  focus  on  interoperability  with  other  systems  at 
Europol and other cooperating states and organisations. 

(13)  Active engagement of the Member States and sharing of information with Europol is 
key  to  ensuring  a  comprehensive  and  coordinated  Union  approach  to  countering 

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migrant smuggling. With a view to strengthening Member States’ capacities, Member 
States  should  designate  specialised  services  for  countering  migrant  smuggling, 
ensuring that they are adequately resourced to prevent and combat migrant smuggling 
and  can  share  information  on  criminal  investigations  with  Europol  efficiently  and 
effectively.  In  order  to  harmonise  the  sharing  of  information  between  the  Member 
States  and  Europol  on  migrant  smuggling,  Member  States  should  ensure  that  their 
designated services for countering migrant smuggling are directly connected to SIENA 
to facilitate the sharing of information. This is in line with Directive (EU) 2023/977 of 
the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council of  10 May  2023  on  the  exchange  of 
information between the law enforcement authorities of Member States and repealing 
Council  Framework  Decision 2006/960/JHA.  Member  States’  immigration  liaison 
officers posted in third countries should also share information with Europol; for this 
purpose, they should also be connected to SIENA in order to ensure that they can carry 
out the sharing of information referred to in paragraph 1 in an efficient and effective 
manner. 

In order to ensure efficient sharing of information related to migrant smuggling among 
Member  States  and  with  Europol,  especially  in  case  of  large  criminal  networks 
involving  numerous  suspects,  Member  States  should  employ  the  most  appropriate 
supporting tools provided by Europol such as dedicated data loaders. Conversely, and 
so as to access and make the best use of all information and intelligence available at 
Union  level  on  the  corresponding  cases,  and  in  full  respect  of  the  appropriate  data 
protection  safeguards,  Member  States  and  Union  agencies  should  systematically 
consult Europol information in the course of ongoing investigations related to migrant 
smuggling,  including  by  using  the  hit/no  hit  tools  provided  by  Europol  such  as  the 
Querying Europol Systems (QUEST+) technical system interface. 

(14) 

(15)  To prevent, detect and investigate cross-border serious organised crime and terrorism, 
coordination  and  concerted  action  is  necessary.  In  addition  to  the  possibility  of  the 
Member  State  to  set  up  a  joint  investigation  team  in  accordance  with  Council 
Framework  Decision  of  13  June  2002,  Member  States  should  be  able  to  set  up  an 
operational  task  force  to  reinforce  law  enforcement  cooperation  with  the  support  of 
Europol. This coordination mechanism among Member States’ police authorities and 
other  law  enforcement  services  should,  with  the  support  of  Europol,  enable  them  to 
conduct  joint,  coordinated  and  prioritised  criminal  intelligence  activities  and 
investigations notably on criminal networks and groups as well as individual criminal 
actors, including  persons whose criminal  activities fall within the forms  of crime for 
which  Europol  is  competent  and  who  constitute  a  high  risk  for  security.  In  order  to 
ensure  the  well-functioning  and  the  effectiveness  of  that  mechanism,  Member  States 
setting  up, participating  in,  or supporting  an operational  task force should be able to 
ensure a minimum set of requirements concerning their active and timely involvement, 
such as providing all relevant information to Europol, and Europol should be able to 
make  available  its  advanced  analytical,  operational,  technical,  forensic  and  financial 
support  to  those  Member  States.  Third  countries  should  be  able  to  participate  in  or 
support an operational task force.  

(16)  Where the criminal intelligence activities carried out in an operational task force result 
in  the  opening  of  criminal  investigations  in  one  or  more  Member  States  that  may 
benefit from setting up a joint investigation team, or where the criminal investigations 
supported  by  an  operational  task  force  may  benefit  from  setting  up  a  joint 
investigation team, Europol should propose the setting up of a joint investigation team 
to the Member States concerned and take measures to assist them in accordance with 

EN 

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Article  5  of  Regulation  (EU)  2016/794.  In  such  cases,  Europol  should  closely  liaise 
with Eurojust, where appropriate. 

(17)  Europol  should  be  able  to  deploy  staff  including  seconded  national  experts  in 
accordance  with  Regulation  (EU)  2016/794  in  the  territory  of  a  Member  State  upon 
request of that Member State, to provide analytical, operational, technical and forensic 
support  in  liaison  and  in  agreement  with  the  competent  authorities  of  that  Member 
State. These deployments should notably take place in the context of complex, large-
scale  and  high-profile  investigations,  including  in  the  context  of  joint  investigation 
teams,  in  liaison  with  Eurojust  where  appropriate,  or  operational  task  forces.  These 
deployments  should  also  support  further  security  checks  against  Europol  or  national 
databases in order to facilitate rapid information exchange to strengthen controls at the 
Union’s  external  borders  (secondary  security  checks),  or  migration  management 
support  teams  in  accordance  with  Regulation  (EU)  2019/1896  of  the  European 
Parliament and of the Council21. Europol should also make use of these deployments 
to  support  Member  States  in  relation  to  major  international  events.  Europol  should 
also be able to deploy staff and seconded national experts in third countries with which 
it  cooperates  on  the  basis  of  an  adequacy  decision,  an  international  agreement 
concluded between the Union and that third country pursuant to Article 218 TFEU, or 
a  cooperation  agreement  between  Europol  and  that  third  country  concluded  before  1 
May 2017.  

(18) 

In order to ensure that Europol can provide effective support by way of deployment, 
the host Member State should be able to ensure a minimum set of requirements such 
as  providing  all  relevant  information  to  Europol.  Europol  should  be  able  to  deploy 
staff and seconded national experts rapidly, even in exceptional cases of urgency. The 
deployed  Europol  staff  and  seconded  national  experts  should  be  able  to  carry  out 
investigative  non-coercive  measures  that  relate  to  data  processing  in  liaison  and  in 
agreement  with  the  competent  authorities  of  the  Member  State  concerned,  and  in 
accordance with Regulation (EU) 2016/794 and that Member State’s national law.  

(19)  Furthermore, in the context of Europol deployments for operational support, Europol 
should  set  up  a  reserve  pool  of  Member  States’  highly  qualified  law  enforcement 
experts  with  specialised  profiles  that  can  be  placed  at  the  immediate  disposal  of 
Europol  for  operational  deployment  to  provide  specialised  support.  The  experts’ 
reserve  pool  should  include  specialists  in  criminal  analysis,  forensics,  investigation, 
languages  and  coordination.  The  Member  States  should  ensure  that  their  experts  are 
available  to  take  part,  as  seconded  national  experts,  in  Europol  deployments  for 
operational  support,  at  the  request  of  Europol.  That  obligation  should  not  apply  to 
third  countries  where  Europol  deploys  staff  and  seconded  national  experts  for 
operational support. 

(20)  The  reinforcement  of  Europol’s  legal  framework  provides  an  opportunity  to  clarify 
that  Europol’s  objectives  should  also  expressly  cover  violations  of  Union  restrictive 
measures.  Union  restrictive  measures  are  an  essential  tool  for  safeguarding  the 
Union’s  values,  security,  independence  and  integrity,  consolidating  and  supporting 
democracy, the rule of law, human rights  and the principles of international  law and 

21  Regulation (EU) 2019/1896 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 November 2019 on the 
European Border and Coast Guard and repealing Regulations (EU) No 1052/2013 and (EU) 2016/1624 (OJ 
L 295, 14.11.2019, p. 1, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2019/1896/oj).  

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maintaining  international  peace,  preventing  conflicts  and  strengthening  international 
security in line with the aims and principles of the United Nations Charter. Violations 
of  Union  restrictive  measures  therefore  constitute  a  form  of  crime  which  affects  a 
common  interest  covered  by  Union  policy,  and  in  relation  to  which  Europol  should 
have  competence  to  act  in  order  to  support  and  strengthen  action  by  the  Member 
States.    

[In  accordance  with  Article  3  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 Treaty on European Union and the Treaty on the Functioning of the European 
Union, Ireland has notified its wish to take part in the adoption and application of this 
Regulation.] OR  

[In accordance with Articles 1 and 2 of 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 Treaty on European Union and to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European 
Union, and without prejudice to Article 4 of that Protocol, Ireland is not taking part in 
the adoption of this Regulation and is not bound by it or subject to its application.] 

In  accordance  with  Articles  1  and  2  of  Protocol  No  22  on  the  position  of  Denmark, 
annexed to the Treaty on European Union and to the Treaty on the Functioning of the 
European Union, Denmark is not taking part in the adoption of this Regulation and is 
not bound by it or subject to its application. 

(21) 

(22) 

(23) 

(24) 

[The European Data Protection Supervisor was consulted, in accordance with Article 
42(1) of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the Council22, 
and has delivered an opinion on […]23. 

(25)  Since  the  objectives  of  this  Regulation  to  reinforce  the  prevention,  detection  and 
investigation  of  migrant  smuggling  and  trafficking  in  human  beings  cannot  be 
sufficiently achieved by the Member States acting alone given the cross-border nature 
of these crimes, but can rather, by reason of the effects of cooperation and information 
sharing,  be  better  achieved  at  Union  level,  the  Union  may  adopt  measures,  in 
accordance  with  the  principle  of  subsidiarity  as  set  out  in  Article  5  of  the  Treaty  on 
European Union. In accordance with the principle of proportionality, as set out in that 
Article, this Regulation does not go beyond what is necessary in order to achieve those 
objectives. 

(26)  This Regulation fully respects the fundamental rights and safeguards, and observes the 
principles  recognised  in  particular  by  the  Charter  of  Fundamental  Rights  of  the 
European Union (‘the Charter’), in particular the right to respect for private and family 
life and the right to the protection of personal data as provided for by Articles 7 and 8 
of  the  Charter,  as  well  as  by  Article  16  of  the  Treaty  on  the  Functioning  of  the 
European Union. 

(27)  Regulation (EU) 2016/794 should therefore be amended accordingly, 

22 

23 

EN 

Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of the European  Parliament and of  the Council of 23 October 2018 on the 
protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data by the Union institutions, 
bodies, offices and agencies and on  the  free  movement of  such data, and repealing Regulation  (EC) 
No 
39, 
ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2018/1725/oj). 
OJ C … 

and  Decision  No 

1247/2002/EC 

21.11.2018, 

(OJ  L 

45/2001 

295, 

p. 

18 

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HAVE ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: 

Chapter I 

GENERAL PROVISIONS 

Article 1 

Subject matter and scope  

This  Regulation  lays  down  rules  to  enhance  police  cooperation  and  the  support  of  the 
European  Union  Agency  for  Law  Enforcement  Cooperation  (Europol)  in  preventing  and 
combating migrant smuggling and trafficking in human beings, by:  

(a) 

(b) 

(c) 

(d) 

establishing  a  European  Centre  Against  Migrant  Smuggling  within  Europol  and  a 
governance framework to regulate and support its activities; 

enhancing  cooperation  and  coordination  between  the  Member  States,  Europol  and 
other Union agencies; 

reinforcing the exchange of information between the Member States and with Europol;  

providing  Europol  with  the  necessary  tools  to  support  and  strengthen  actions  by  the 
competent authorities of the Member States and their mutual cooperation in preventing 
and combating criminal offences falling within Europol’s objectives;  

(e) 

enhancing cooperation between Europol and third countries.  

For the purposes of this Regulation, the following definitions apply: 

Article 2 

Definitions 

(1) 

(2) 

(4) 

(5) 

24 
25 

‘migrant  smuggling’ means  any of the activities  referred to  in  Articles  3, 4  and 5  of 
Directive [XXX] [ laying down minimum rules to prevent and counter the facilitation 
of unauthorised entry, transit and stay in the Union, and replacing Council Directive 
2002/90/EC and Council Framework Decision 2002/946 JHA]24; 

‘trafficking in human beings’ means any of the activities referred to in Articles 2 and 3 
of Directive 2011/36/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council25;  

‘competent authorities’ means the competent authorities of the Member States defined 
in Article 2, point (a), of Regulation (EU) 2016/794; 

‘immigration liaison officer’ means a liaison officer deployed in a third country by the 
competent authorities of a Member State, in accordance with its national law, to deal 
with  immigration-related  issues,  including  when  those  issues  are  only  a  part  of  the 
liaison officer’s duties. 

[please add the title and the publication reference] 
Directive 2011/36/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 April 2011 on preventing and 
combating  trafficking  in  human  beings  and  protecting  its  victims,  and  replacing  Council  Framework 
Decision 2002/629/JHA (OJ L 101, 15.4.2011, p. 1, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/dir/2011/36/oj). 

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Chapter II 

GOVERNANCE FRAMEWORK OF THE EUROPEAN CENTRE AGAINST 
MIGRANT SMUGGLING 

Article 3 

European Centre Against Migrant Smuggling 

The  European  Centre  Against  Migrant  Smuggling  is  established  within  Europol  as  a  Union 
centre  of  specialised  expertise  as  referred  to  in  Article  4(1),  point  (l),  of  Regulation  (EU) 
2016/794.  It  shall  support  Member  States  in  the  prevention  and  combating  of  migrant 
smuggling and trafficking in  human beings  and shall perform the tasks set  out  in Articles 5 
and 6. 

Composition of the European Centre Against Migrant Smuggling 

Article 4 

1.  

The European Centre Against Migrant Smuggling shall be composed of Europol staff 
and involve representatives of the following entities in carrying out the strategic tasks 
referred to in Article 5: 

(a) 

a  representative  of  each  Member  State,  from  a  national  specialised  service 
referred to in Article 7; 

(b) 

a representative of Eurojust; 

(c) 

(d) 

a representative of the European Border and Coast Guard Agency; 

at the discretion of Europol and, after consultation of the Member States, one 
or  more  representatives  involved  in  the  operational  implementation  of  the 
strategic  and  operational  priorities  of  the  Union  for  combating  migrant 
smuggling  and  trafficking  in  human  beings,  in  particular  in  the  European 
Multidisciplinary Platform Against Criminal Threats (EMPACT). 

The European Centre Against Migrant Smuggling shall hold a meeting of the entities 
referred  to  in  points  (a)  to  (d)  at  least  twice  a  year  and  the  Commission  shall 
participate in such meeting.  

Europol may invite other entities to be involved in carrying out the activities referred 
to in Article 5, including other relevant Union bodies or agencies. 

2. 

The European Centre Against Migrant Smuggling shall be composed of Europol staff 
and  involve  representatives  of  the  following  entities  in  carrying  out  the  operational 
tasks referred to in Article 6: 

for each Member State a liaison officer referred to in Article 8 of Regulation 

(a) 
(EU) 2016/794 specifically designated to deal with migrant smuggling; 

(b) 

a liaison officer of Eurojust as a permanent representative at Europol; 

a  liaison  officer  of  the  European  Border  and  Coast  Guard  Agency  as  a 

(c) 
permanent representative at Europol. 

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3. 

4. 

5. 

Europol may invite other entities to be involved in carrying out the activities referred 
to in Article 6, including other relevant Union bodies or agencies. 

For  the  purpose  of  paragraph  2  of  this  Article,  and  in  accordance  with  Article  4(1), 
point  (g),  of  Regulation  (EU)  2018/1727  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the 
Council26,  Eurojust  shall  deploy  a  liaison  officer,  acting  in  accordance  with  that 
Regulation, to the European Centre Against Migrant Smuggling. 

For  the  purposes  of  paragraph  2  of  this  Article  as  well  as  Article  68(1),  point  (b), 
Article  87(1),  point  (d)  and  Article  90  of  Regulation  (EU)  2019/1896,  and  in 
accordance  with  Article  68(2)  and  (5)  of  that  Regulation,  the  European  Border  and 
Coast  Guard  Agency  shall  deploy  a  liaison  officer,  acting  in  accordance  with  that 
Regulation, to the European Centre Against Migrant Smuggling. 

For the purposes of paragraphs 1 and 2, and to facilitate the fulfilment of the strategic 
and  operational  tasks  set  out  in  Articles  5  and  6  of  this  Regulation,  the  European 
Centre Against Migrant Smuggling shall be provided with the necessary support by all 
other relevant parts of Europol’s internal structures. 

Strategic tasks of the European Centre Against Migrant Smuggling  

Article 5 

The strategic tasks of the European Centre Against Migrant Smuggling shall be the following: 

(a) 

(b) 

(c) 

(d) 

26 

providing  strategic  analyses  and  threat  assessments  to  assist  the  Council  and  the 
Commission in laying down strategic and operational priorities of the Union for the 
prevention and combating of migrant smuggling and trafficking in human beings, in 
accordance with Article 4(2) of Regulation (EU) 2016/794; 

providing a framework to support the operational implementation of the strategic and 
operational  priorities  of  the  Union  for  the  prevention  and  combating  of  migrant 
smuggling  and  trafficking  in  human  beings,  in  particular  in  the  framework  of  the 
EMPACT, in accordance with Article 4(2) of Regulation (EU) 2016/794; 

supporting  the  coordination,  cooperation  and  exchange  of  information  on  migrant 
smuggling  and  trafficking  in  human  beings  between  Union  agencies,  notably  with 
the  European  Border  and  Coast  Guard  Agency,  Eurojust  and,  where  appropriate, 
other  relevant  Union  bodies  or  agencies,  in  line  with  their  respective  legal 
frameworks, including  through working  arrangements between  them, in  accordance 
with Article 4(1), point (j), of Regulation (EU) 2016/794; 

monitoring  migrant  smuggling  and  trafficking  in  human  beings  taking  place  in  the 
Union  and  in  third  countries,  in  cooperation  with  Member  States,  relevant  Union 
bodies or agencies and, where appropriate, third countries, in accordance with Article 
4(1), point (f), of Regulation (EU) 2016/794, and regularly providing information to 

Regulation (EU) 2018/1727 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 November 2018 on 
the  European Union Agency for Criminal Justice  Cooperation (Eurojust), and replacing and repealing 
138, 
Council 
ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2018/1727/oj).  

2002/187/JHA 

21.11.2018, 

Decision 

295, 

(OJ 

p. 

L 

EN 

21 

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(e) 

(f) 

(g) 

(h) 

(i) 

the  Member  States  and  the  Commission,  including  aggregated  statistical  data  and 
situational updates derived from information shared by Member States; 

providing strategic analyses and threat assessments to support the implementation of 
operational  task  forces  referred  to  in  Article  5a  of  Regulation  (EU)  2016/794  and 
Europol deployments for operational support referred to in Article 5b of Regulation 
(EU)  2016/794,  in  accordance  with  Article  4(1),  point  (f),  of  Regulation  (EU) 
2016/794; 

providing strategic analyses and threat assessments to support the implementation of 
Article  6(1) of Regulation (EU) 2016/794  on  requesting the initiation of a criminal 
investigation into migrant smuggling and trafficking in human beings, in accordance 
with Article 4(1), point (f), of Regulation (EU) 2016/794; 

providing  strategic  analyses  and  threat  assessments  to  Member  States  and  the 
Commission  as  well  as  relevant  Union  agencies  or  bodies,  where  appropriate,  on 
routes  and  modi  operandi  of  migrant  smuggling  and  trafficking  in  human  beings, 
including on indications that private parties may be used for migrant smuggling and 
trafficking in human beings, in accordance with Article 4(1), point (f), of Regulation 
(EU) 2016/794; 

providing  strategic  analyses  and  threat  assessments  to  Member  States  and  the 
Commission as well as relevant Union agencies or bodies, where appropriate, on the 
prevention and combating of migrant smuggling and trafficking in human beings, in 
accordance with Article 4(1), point (f), of Regulation (EU) 2016/794; 

preparing an annual report on migrant smuggling and on trafficking in human beings, 
identifying the main operational priorities and possible related actions at Union level, 
in accordance with Article 4(1), point (f), of Regulation (EU) 2016/794. 

Article 6 

Operational tasks of the European Centre Against Migrant Smuggling 

The  operational  tasks  of  the  European  Centre  Against  Migrant  Smuggling  shall  be  the 
following: 

(a)  

(b) 

(c) 

coordinating,  organising  and  implementing  investigative  and  operational  actions  to 
support and strengthen actions by the competent authorities of the Member States in 
preventing  and  combating  migrant  smuggling  and  trafficking  in  human  beings, 
including when these crimes are facilitated, promoted or committed using the internet, 
including  social  media,  and  including  in  the  context  of  Europol  deployments  for 
operational support, in accordance with Article 4(1), points (c) and (m), of Regulation 
(EU) 2016/794; 

supporting  Member  States’  cross-border  information  exchange  activities,  operations 
and investigations, as well as joint investigation teams and operational task forces, on 
migrant smuggling and trafficking in human beings, including by providing analytical, 
operational, technical, forensic and financial support, in accordance with Article 4(1), 
point (h), of Regulation (EU) 2016/794; 

providing  administrative,  logistical,  financial  and  operational  support  to  operational 
activities  led  by  Member  States,  in  particular  in  the  framework  of  EMPACT,  in 
accordance with Article 4(2) of Regulation (EU) 2016/794; 

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(d) 

(e) 

(f) 

(g) 

supporting  the  Europol  Executive  Director  in  evaluating,  in  accordance  with  Article 
5b(3)  of  Regulation  (EU)  2016/794,  requests  made  by  Member  States  for  Europol 
deployments  for  operational  support  related  to  migrant  smuggling  and  trafficking  in 
human  beings,  including  in  the  prioritisation  of  such  requests  based  on  operational 
needs; 

identifying  cases  of  migrant  smuggling  and  trafficking  in  human  beings  that  may 
require  the  setting  up  of  an  operational  task  force  in  accordance  with  Article  5a  of 
Regulation  (EU)  2016/794,  and  informing  the  Europol  Executive  Director  of  such 
cases; 

identifying  cases  of  migrant  smuggling  and  trafficking  in  human  beings  that  may 
require Europol deployments for operational support in accordance with Article 5b of 
Regulation  (EU)  2016/794,  and  informing  the  Europol  Executive  Director  of  such 
cases; 

identifying  cases  of  migrant  smuggling  and  trafficking  in  human  beings  that  may 
require  the  application  of  Article  6  of  Regulation  (EU)  2016/794  on  requests  by 
Europol  for  the  initiation  of  a  criminal  investigation  and  informing  the  Europol 
Executive Director of such cases;  

(h) 

identifying  cases  of  migrant  smuggling  and  trafficking  in  human  beings  that  may 
require cooperation with third countries, including by exchanging personal data.  

Chapter III 

COOPERATION BETWEEN MEMBER STATES AND EUROPOL ON 
PREVENTING AND COMBATING MIGRANT SMUGGLING AND TRAFFICKING 
IN HUMAN BEINGS 

Article 7 

National specialised services to prevent and combat migrant smuggling and trafficking 
in human beings 

1. 

2. 

3. 

Each  Member  State  shall  designate,  one  year  after  the  entry  into  force  of  this 
Regulation  at  the  latest,  one  or  more  specialised  services  within  its  competent 
authorities, in accordance with national law, to prevent and combat migrant smuggling 
and  trafficking  in  human  beings,  including  through  criminal  investigations.  Each 
Member  State  shall  immediately  after  such  designation  inform  the  Commission 
thereof. 

Each Member State shall ensure that its specialised services designated in accordance 
with  paragraph  1  of  this  Article  collect  all  relevant  information  concerning  and 
resulting  from  criminal  investigations  into  migrant  smuggling  and  trafficking  in 
human beings and share such information as soon as possible with Europol and other 
Member States in accordance with Article 8. 

Each Member State shall connect, one year after the entry into force of this Regulation 
at the latest, its specialised services designated in accordance with paragraph 1 of this 
Article  directly  to  Europol’s  Secure  Information  Exchange  Network  Application 
(SIENA)  referred  to  in  Article  2,  point  (w),  of  Regulation  (EU)  2016/794.  Each 
Member  State  shall  immediately  after  such  connection  inform  the  Commission 
thereof. 

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23 

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4. 

5. 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

Each  Member  State  shall  provide  its  specialised  services  designated  in  accordance 
with paragraph 1 with adequate resources to ensure that those specialised services are 
equipped  to  prevent  and  combat  effectively  migrant  smuggling  and  trafficking  in 
human beings, and to collect and share information in accordance with paragraph 2 in 
an effective and efficient manner. 

Each Member State shall make available an appropriate number of staff members of 
the specialised services designated in accordance with paragraph 1 of this Article for 
the reserve pool referred to in Article 5b(6) of Regulation (EU) 2016/794, so that those 
staff  members  can  participate  in  Europol  deployments  for  operational  support  as 
seconded national experts. 

Provision of information concerning criminal offences on migrant smuggling and 
trafficking in human beings to Europol and the Member States  

Article 8 

Each  Member  State  shall,  in  accordance  with  Regulation  (EU)  2016/794,  provide 
Europol  with  information  held  by  its  competent  authorities  and  relating  to  criminal 
offences on migrant smuggling and trafficking in human beings. 

Each  Member  State  shall  provide  the  information  referred  to  in  paragraph  1  of  this 
Article to Europol in a timely manner. 

Each Member State shall provide other Member States and, at the same time, Europol 
with information held by its competent authorities and relating to criminal offences on 
migrant smuggling and trafficking in human beings where there are objective reasons 
to believe that such information could be relevant to those other Member States for the 
purpose  of  preventing,  detecting  or  investigating  such  criminal  offences  in  those 
Member States. 

Each  Member  State  shall  use  SIENA  to  provide  the  information  referred  to  in 
paragraph  3  of  this  Article  to  other  Member  States  and  Europol,  in  accordance  with 
Article 8(4) and Article 18(2), point (d), of Regulation (EU) 2016/794.  

Each Member State shall connect its immigration liaison officers to SIENA. Where it 
is not possible to connect an immigration liaison officer to SIENA due to imperative 
technical  reasons  related  to  the  situation  in  the  third  country  of  deployment,  that 
immigration liaison officer shall submit the information referred to in paragraph 1 to a 
national competent authority through other secure channels. That competent authority 
shall provide the information to Europol, directly or through the Europol national unit, 
using SIENA. 

Chapter IV 

ENHANCING EUROPOL’S SUPPORT TO COMBATING MIGRANT SMUGGLING 
AND TRAFFICKING IN HUMAN BEINGS 

Article 9 

Amendments to Regulation (EU) 2016/794  

Regulation (EU) 2016/794 is amended as follows: 

(1) 

in Article 2, the following points (w), (x) and (y) are added: 

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‘SIENA’  means  the  secure  information  exchange  network  application,  managed  by 

‘(w) 
Europol, aimed at facilitating the exchange of information;  

(x) 
‘operational  task  force’  means  a  coordination  mechanism  set  up  by  Member  States 
among their competent authorities with the support of Europol to conduct joint, coordinated 
and  prioritised  criminal  intelligence  activities  and  investigations  into  a  crime  falling  within 
the scope of Europol’s objectives that requires coordinated and concerted action; 

(y) 
‘Europol deployment for operational support’ means the deployment of Europol staff 
or seconded national experts in the territory of a Member State, upon request of that Member 
State,  to  provide  analytical,  operational,  technical  and  forensic  support  in  liaison  and  in 
agreement with the competent authorities of that Member State.’; 

(2)   Article 4 is amended as follows: 

(a) paragraph 1 is amended as follows:  

(i) point (c) is replaced by the following:  

coordinate,  organise  and  implement  investigative  and  operational  actions  to  support 
‘(c) 
and strengthen actions by the competent authorities of the Member States, that are carried out: 

(i) jointly with the competent authorities of the Member States; 

(ii)  in  the  context  of  joint  investigation  teams  in  accordance  with  Article 5  and,  where 
appropriate, in liaison with Eurojust;  

(iii) in the context of operational task forces in accordance with Article 5a;  

(iv) in the context of Europol deployments for operational support in accordance with Article 
5b;’; 

(ii) point (h) is replaced by the following: 

‘(h) 
support  Member  States'  cross-border  information  exchange  activities,  operations  and 
investigations,  as well  as  joint  investigation teams  and operational  task  forces, including  by 
providing analytical, operational, technical, forensic and financial support;’; 

(iii) point (l) is replaced by the following: 

‘(l) 
develop  Union  centres  of  specialised  expertise  for  combating  certain  types  of  crime 
falling  within  the  scope  of  Europol's  objectives,  including  the  European  Cybercrime  Centre 
and,  in  accordance  with  Regulation  (EU)  …/…  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the 
Council*  [Regulation  on  Combating  Migrant  Smuggling],  the  European  Centre  Against 
Migrant Smuggling; 

_________ 

* Regulation (EU) …/… of the European Parliament and of the Council of … on enhancing 
police  cooperation  in  relation  to  the  prevention,  detection  and  investigation  of  migrant 
smuggling  and  trafficking  in  human  beings,  and  on  enhancing  Europol’s  support  to 
preventing  and  combating  such  crimes  and  amending  Regulation  (EU)  2016/794  (OJ  L  …, 
ELI: …)’; 

(iv) point (s) is replaced by the following:  

joint,  coordinated  and  prioritised  criminal 

‘(s)  facilitate 
intelligence  activities  and 
investigations, including with regard to persons referred to in point (r), and including through 
operational task forces and Europol deployments for operational support;’; 

(v) the following point (za) is added: 

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‘(za) 

support Member States with the effective and efficient processing of biometric data.’; 

(b) paragraph 5 is replaced by the following:  

‘5. Europol shall not apply coercive measures in carrying out its tasks. 

Europol  staff  may  provide  operational  support  to  the  competent  authorities  of  the  Member 
States during the execution of investigative measures by those authorities, at their request and 
in  accordance  with  their  national  law,  including  in  the  context  of  the  implementation  of 
operational  task  forces  and  Europol  deployment  for  operational  support,  in  particular  by 
facilitating cross-border information exchange, by providing analytical, operational, technical 
and forensic support, and by being present during the execution of those measures.  

Europol staff shall have the power to execute non-coercive investigative measures themselves 
provided that Europol has been requested to do so by a Member State in accordance with its 
national law and the Executive Director has authorised Europol staff to execute the requested 
non-coercive investigative measures.  

Europol  staff  shall  carry  out  such  non-coercive  investigative  measures  in  liaison  and  in 
agreement with the competent authorities of the Member State concerned, and in accordance 
with this Regulation and the national law of that Member State.’; 

(3) 

the following Articles 5a and 5b are inserted:  

‘Article 5a 

Operational task forces 

1.   Member  States  may  set  up  an  operational  task  force  for  the  duration  of  certain 
dedicated criminal intelligence activities or investigations. Europol shall facilitate the 
setting up and support the implementation of an operational task force.  

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

6. 

The  Member  States  setting  up  an  operational  task  force  shall  agree  with  Europol  on 
the  planning,  coordination  and  implementation  of  the  criminal  intelligence  activities 
and investigations of the operational task force. 

The  Member  States  setting  up  an  operational  task  force  shall  ensure  coherence  and 
synergies  with  the  framework  of  the  European  Multidisciplinary  Platform  Against 
Criminal Threats (EMPACT). 

The  Member  States  setting  up  an  operational  task  force  may  decide  to  invite  other 
Member  States,  third  countries  and  other  partners  referred  to  in  Article  23  to 
participate in or support the operational task force. The participation of third countries 
and other partners in the operational task force shall take place in accordance with this 
Regulation. 

To  support  the  implementation  of  an  operational  task  force,  Europol  shall  make 
available the analytical, operational, technical, forensic and financial support provided 
for by this Regulation, in accordance with paragraph 2.  

Each  Member  State  setting  up,  or  participating  in,  or  supporting  an  operational  task 
force shall, in accordance with the planning, coordination and implementation referred 
to in paragraph 2:  

(a) 
provide  all  relevant  information  without  delay  to  Europol  and  to  the  other 
Member States setting up, participating in, or supporting the operational  task force, 
using  SIENA  and,  where  appropriate,  make  information  directly  accessible  in 
accordance with Article 20(2a); 

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(b)  make  use  of  the  analytical,  operational,  technical,  forensic  and  financial 
support provided by Europol; 

(c) 
initiate  certain  dedicated  criminal  intelligence  activities  and  investigations  in 
accordance  with  national  law  where  required  to  address  the  crime  to  which  the 
operational task force relates; 

initiate parallel financial investigations in accordance with national and Union 

(d) 
law to identify and seize criminal assets;  

engage its liaison officers deployed in third countries where criminal activities 
(e) 
are  investigated  in  the  context  of  the  operational  task  force  to  enhance  cooperation 
and  information  sharing,  and  provide  Europol  with  the  information  obtained,  in 
accordance with Union and national law.  

The  Executive  Director may  propose  setting  up  an  operational  task  force  to  the 
competent  authorities  of  the  Member States  concerned  via  their  national  units  where 
the  Executive  Director  considers  it  would  add  value  to  combating  a  crime  falling 
within the scope of Europol’s objectives. 

The  Management  Board  shall  adopt  implementing  rules  for  the  setting  up  and 
implementation of operational task forces. 

Article 5b 

Europol deployment for operational support 

A  Member  State  may  request,  in  accordance  with  its  national  law,  Europol 
deployment  for  operational  support  on  its  territory  to  make  use  of  the  analytical, 
operational,  technical,  forensic and financial support provided by Europol  to  prevent 
and combat crimes falling within Europol’s objectives.  

Europol deployment for operational support shall take place in the context of complex 
and large-scale investigations requiring Europol’s support, including in the context of 
joint  investigation  teams  or  operational  task  forces,  or  to  support  checks  against 
relevant databases to strengthen controls at the Union’s external borders, or migration 
management  support  teams  in  accordance  with  Regulation  (EU)  2019/1896  of  the 
European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  or  to  provide  support  to  Member  States  in 
major international events.  

The  Executive  Director  shall  evaluate  the  request  made  by  a  Member  State  in 
accordance with paragraph 1 and may approve the Europol deployment for operational 
support for a limited period of time that can be renewed, considering the operational 
needs  and  its  available  resources.  The  decision  of  the  Executive  Director  shall  be 
based on a risk assessment. 

Once  the  Executive  Director  has  approved  the  request  made  by  a  Member  State  in 
accordance with paragraph 1, that Member State and Europol shall jointly agree on the 
modalities  of  the  Europol  deployment  for  operational  support.  Europol  staff  and 
seconded national  experts deployed in  the Member State shall operate in  accordance 
with this Regulation, notably Article 4(5), and in accordance with the national law of 
the Member State in whose territory the deployment takes place. 

In  exceptional  cases  of  urgency  requiring  immediate  Europol  deployment  for 
operational  support  in  the  territory  of  a  Member  State,  that  Member  State  and  the 
Executive  Director  shall  ensure  that  the  steps  set  out  in  paragraphs  1,  3  and  4  take 
place within a period of 72 hours. 

7. 

8. 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

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6. 

Europol  shall  set  up  a  reserve  pool  of  Member  States’  experts  for  the  purpose  of 
Europol  deployments  for  operational  support.  The  reserve  pool  shall  constitute  a 
reserve of experts working in their Member States that can be placed at the immediate 
disposal of Europol for that purpose. The Member States shall ensure that their experts 
are  available  to  take  part,  as  seconded  national  experts,  in  Europol  deployments  for 
operational support at the request of Europol. 

7. 

The Member State in whose territory the Europol deployment for operational support 
takes place shall, in accordance with the agreed modalities referred to in paragraph 4:  

(a) 
provide  all  relevant  information  without  delay  to  Europol,  where  possible  by 
making information in national databases directly accessible to the Europol staff and 
seconded  national  experts  deployed  in  its  territory  in  accordance  with  its  national 
law; 

(b)  make use of the analytical, operational, technical and forensic support provided 
by the Europol staff deployed in its territory;  

enable the Europol staff and seconded national experts deployed in its territory 

(c) 
to be present during the execution of investigative measures. 

8. 

9. 

The Executive Director may propose the Europol deployment for operational support 
in the territory of a Member State  to the competent authorities of that Member State 
via  its  national  unit  where  the  Executive  Director  considers  it  would  add  value  to 
preventing or combating a crime falling within the scope of Europol’s objectives. 

The  Management  Board  shall  adopt  implementing  rules  for  the  preparation  and 
implementation  of  Europol  deployments  for  operational  support,  including  on  the 
number and profiles of experts to be included in the reserve pool and any subsequent 
changes thereto.  

10. 

This  Article shall apply  mutatis  mutandis where Europol  deployment  for operational 
support takes place in a third country as referred to in Article 25(1), point (a), (b) or 
(c). 

___________ 

*    Regulation  (EU)  2019/1896  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  13 
November 2019 on the European Border and Coast Guard and repealing Regulations 
(EU)  No  1052/2013  and  (EU)  2016/1624  (OJ  L  295,  14.11.2019,  p.  1, 
ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2019/1896/oj).’; 

(5) 

in Article 18(2), point (d) is replaced by the following: 

facilitating, including through SIENA, the exchange of information between Member 
‘(d) 
States,  Europol,  other  Union  bodies,  third  countries,  international  organisations  and  private 
parties;’; 

(6)   Annex I is amended as follows: 

(a) the sixth indent  (“immigrant smuggling”) is replaced by the following: 

‘- migrant smuggling’; 

(b) the following  indent is added: 

‘- violation of Union restrictive measures’. 

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Chapter V 

FINAL PROVISIONS 

Article 10 

Entry into force and applicability 

This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in 
the Official Journal of the European Union. 

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in the Member States in 
accordance with the Treaties. 

Done at Brussels, 

For the European Parliament 
The President 

For the Council 
The President 

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LEGISLATIVE FINANCIAL STATEMENT 'AGENCIES' 

EN 

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1. 

1.1. 

1.2. 

1.3. 

1.4. 

FRAMEWORK OF THE PROPOSAL/INITIATIVE  3 

Title of the proposal/initiative 

3 

Policy area(s) concerned  3 

The proposal relates to 

3 

Objective(s) 3 

1.4.1.  General objective(s) 3 

1.4.2. 

Specific objective(s)  4 

1.4.3.  Expected result(s) and impact 

9 

1.4.4. 

Indicators of performance  9 

1.5. 

Grounds for the proposal/initiative 

11 

1.5.1.  Requirement(s) to be met in the short or long term including a detailed timeline for roll-out of 

the implementation of the initiative  11 

1.5.2.  Added  value  of  Union  involvement  (it  may  result  from  different  factors,  e.g.  coordination 
gains,  legal  certainty,  greater  effectiveness  or  complementarities).  For  the  purposes  of  this 
point 'added value of Union involvement' is the value resulting from Union intervention which 
is  additional  to  the  value  that  would  have  been  otherwise  created  by  Member  States  alone.

12 

1.5.3.  Lessons learned from similar experiences in the past 

12 

1.5.4.  Compatibility  with  the  Multiannual  Financial  Framework  and  possible  synergies  with  other 

appropriate instruments 

13 

1.5.5.  Assessment  of  the  different  available  financing  options,  including  scope  for  redeployment

14 

1.6. 

Duration and financial impact of the proposal/initiative 

15 

1.7.  Management mode(s) planned 

15 

2. 

MANAGEMENT MEASURES  16 

2.1.  Monitoring and reporting rules  16 

2.2.  Management and control system(s) 

17 

2.2.1. 

2.2.2. 

Justification  of  the  management  mode(s),  the  funding  implementation  mechanism(s),  the 
payment modalities and the control strategy proposed 

17 

Information  concerning  the  risks  identified  and  the  internal  control  system(s)  set  up  to 
mitigate them 

17 

2.2.3.  Estimation and justification of the cost-effectiveness of the controls (ratio of "control costs ÷ 
value of the related funds managed"), and assessment of the expected levels of risk of error (at 
payment & at closure) 

18 

2.3.  Measures to prevent fraud and irregularities 

19 

3. 

ESTIMATED FINANCIAL IMPACT OF THE PROPOSAL/INITIATIVE  19 

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3.1. 

Heading(s)  of  the  multiannual  financial  framework  and  expenditure  budget  line(s) 
affected 

19 

3.2. 

Estimated impact on expenditure 20 

3.2.1. 

Summary of estimated impact on expenditure 

3.2.2.  Estimated impact on [body]'s appropriations 

3.2.3.  Estimated impact on [body]'s human resources 

20 

21 

23 

3.2.4.  Compatibility with the current multiannual financial framework  27 

3.2.5.  Third-party contributions  27 

3.3. 

Estimated impact on revenue 

28 

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LEGISLATIVE FINANCIAL STATEMENT 'AGENCIES' 

1. 

FRAMEWORK OF THE PROPOSAL/INITIATIVE  

1.1. 

Title of the proposal/initiative 

Proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on enhancing police 
cooperation in relation to the prevention, detection and investigation of migrant smuggling and 
trafficking in human beings, and on enhancing Europol’s support to preventing and combating 
such crime, and amending Regulation (EU) 2016/794  

This  proposal  for  a  Regulation  on  combating  Migrant  smuggling  and  trafficking  in  human 
beings  forms  part  of  a  coherent  package  also  comprising  a  proposal  for  a  Directive  on 
preventing  and  countering  the  facilitation  of  unauthorised  entry,  transit  and  stay.  Together, 
these proposals seek “to modernise the legal framework to fight the smuggling of migrants, to 
ensure  that  we  have  the  necessary  legal  and  operational  tools  to  respond  to  the  new  modus 
operandi of smugglers”, as set out in the Commission work programme 2024 announced last 
17 October. 

1.2. 

Policy area(s) concerned 

Policy area: Home Affairs 

Activity: Security 

12 10 01 : Europol  

1.3. 

The proposal relates to  

 a new action  

 a new action following a pilot project/preparatory action27  

the extension of an existing action  

 a merger of one or more actions towards another/a new action  

1.4. 

Objective(s) 

1.4.1.  General objective(s)  

In response to pressing operational needs and the identification of gaps when it comes countering 
migrant smuggling, the Commission work programme for 2024 announced that it will “propose to 
modernise  the  legal  framework  to  fight  the  smuggling  of  migrants,  to  ensure  that  we  have  the 
necessary  legal  and  operational  tools  to  respond to  the  new  modus  operandi  of  smugglers”  (see 
COM(2023) 638 final). This  followed up on related announcements made by President Von der 
Leyen in  the State of the Union 2023. The legislative initiative is expected to  improve the fight  
against  migrant  smuggling  and  trafficking  in  human  beings,  notably  by  enhancing  Europol’s 
support  to  help  Member  States  on  combating  Migrant  Smuggling,  Trafficking  in  human  beings 
and other related forms of crime falling into Europol’s mandate.  

27 

As referred to in Article 58(2)(a) or (b) of the Financial Regulation. 

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The general objectives of this legislative initiative result from the Treaty-based goals:  

1.    for  Europol  to  support  and  strengthen  action  by  the  Member  States’  law  enforcement 
authorities and their mutual cooperation in preventing and combating serious crime affecting two 
or more Member States, terrorism and forms of crime which affect a common interest covered by 
a Union policy28. 

2.  To  enhance  police  cooperation  involving  all  the  Member  States'  competent  authorities, 
including  police,  customs  and  other  specialised  law  enforcement  services  in  relation  to  the 
prevention, detection and investigation of criminal offences29. 

1.4.2. 

Specific objective(s)  

The  specific  objectives  derive  from  the  general  objectives  outlined  above  and  reflect  the 
subject matter and scope as described in article 1 of this Regulation : 

Specific  objective  n°1:  strengthening  Europol  and  its  European  Centre  Against  Migrant 
Smuggling as the Centre of gravity for EU-level investigative and operational action as well as 
strategic analysis; 

Specific objective n°2:  enhancing  cooperation and coordination between the Member States, 
Europol and other Union agencies; 

Specific  objective  n°3:  reinforcing  Europol  as  the  EU  criminal  information  hub  on  migrant 
smuggling and trafficking in human beings and fully developing the exchange of information 
between the Member States, Europol, other EU agencies as well as third countries; 

Specific  objective  n°4:  providing  Europol  with  the  necessary  tools  to  prevent  and  combat 
migrant smuggling and other crimes falling within the scope of Europol’s objectives. 

Specific objective n°1: strengthening Europol and its European Centre Against Migrant 
Smuggling  (EMSC)  as  the  Centre  of  gravity  for  EU-level  investigative  and  operational 
action as well as strategic analysis  

The aim is to reinforce Europol and its EMSC as the Centre of gravity for identifying EU-level 
strategical and operational actions in the fight against migrant smuggling. EU-wide strategical 
analysis and threat assessments with the participation of other EU agencies including Frontex 
and Eurojust will help more efficiently support Council and Agencies priorities in that domain, 
notably  in  the  framework  of  the  European  Multidisciplinary  Platform  Against  Criminal 
Threats (EMPACT), whereas investigative and operational actions led by Member States will 
benefit  from  regional,  targeted  analysis  based  on  more  information  and  intelligence  from 
Member States and Agencies contributions.   

Under  this  objective,  additional  resources  are  required  to  fulfil  the  new  strategic  and 
operational tasks referred to respectively in articles 5 and 6 of this Regulation:  

28 
29 

Article 88 TFUE 
Article 87 TFUE 

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To  increase  the  number  of  investigative  specialists  and  data  analysts,  notably,  in  the 
European Centre Against  Migrant  Smuggling in order to increase the number of Europol-
supported Operational Task Forces (OTFs)30 and other investigations on organised migrant 
smuggling  and  THB  and  the  related  accessory  and  predicate  offenses,  as  well  as  on-site 
operational  support  services  in  countries  of  origin,  transit  and  destination.  Complex 
investigations  against  migrant  smuggling  and  THB  networks  must  cover  all  aspects  of 
the criminal activities: logistics, financial or digital. Europol should also bring its operational 
services closer to national investigative teams and ensure that it has the capabilities to support 
Member States' authorities on the spot during the implementation of investigative measures. 

To increase the number of OSINT/Social Media Monitoring Specialists to provide open 
source and social media monitoring, social network analysis and related operational expert 
services  to  support  Member  States’  investigations  and  preventive  measures  concerning 
organised  migrant  smuggling  and  THB  affecting  the  countries  of  origin,  transit  and/or 
destination.  Europol  should  have  capacities  to  promote  the  real-time  and  high-quality 
processing of the collected online information during the implementation of Member States 
investigative measures. 

To  increase  the  number  of  Forensics,  Decryption  and  Data  Specialists  to  ensure 
extraction  and  processing  large  and  complex  data  sets  collected  from  the  countries  of 
origin, transit and destination, including both member States and Third Countries. Real-time 
and high-quality data access and processing as well as the related data science expertise 
needs to be ensured to ensure the use of lawfully collected biometric data and to create new 
models for analysing complex data, which more often than before originate from outside the 
EU. Europol should also bring these operational services closer to national investigative teams 
and  ensure  that  it  has  the  capabilities  to  support  Member  States'  authorities  with  Forensics, 
Decryption and Data Specialists during the implementation of investigative measures. 

 Specific  objective  n°2:  enhancing  cooperation  and  coordination  between  the  Member 
States, Europol and other Union agencies 

Responding  to  the  gaps  identified  on  the  insufficient  inter-agency  cooperation  and  on  the 
insufficient steer and coordination on countering migrant smuggling at EU level, the aim is to 
establish  a  governance  structure  for  effective  inter-agency  cooperation,  steer  and 
coordination,  both  at  strategic  and  operational  level.  Migrant  smuggling  and  THB  cases 
being  of  a  high  cross-border  nature  and  being  notably  supported  by  other  types  of  serious 
crimes  such  as  money  laundering  or  document  counterfeiting,  Europol’s  unique  capacity  to 
enrich  the  criminal  picture  by  cross-checking  existing  information  and  intelligence  coming 
from  Member  States,  third  countries  and  relevant  international  organisations,  or  other  EU 
agencies  on  behalf  of  Member  States,  will  be  strengthened,  so  as  to  better  support  Member 
States’ effort against migrant smuggling. 

Under  this  objective,  additional  resources  are  required  to  fulfil  the  new  strategic  and 
operational tasks referred to respectively in articles 5 and 6 of this Regulation :  

30 

In  2022,  Europol  supported  a  total  of  195  priority  investigations  on migrant  smuggling,  including  9  Operational 
Task Forces. Related services were mainly provided by 34 EMSC staff, who worked primarily at the agency's HQ. 
Additional resources are required to allow the increase of the number of supported migrant smuggling and human 
trafficking  investigations,  including  the  regional  OTFs.  From  an  overall  perspective,  OTFs  are  a  flexible 
instrument  and  their  duration  and  size  varie  considerably.  OTFs  are  a  long-lasting  and  resource  intensive 
engagement (ranging from 4 to 150 staff involved, subject to case-specific conditions and threat (e.g. reacting to 
threat-to-live situations). 

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Asset  Tracing  and  Financial  Investigation  Specialists  and  Analysts:  to  provide  asset–
tracing,  financial  expertise  and  related  analysis  services  to  support  Member  States’ 
investigations concerning organised migrant smuggling, human trafficking and related crimes 
and  to  enhance  seizing  and  confiscation  of  proceeds  of  crime  in  the  countries  of  origin, 
transit and destination, including both Member States and third parties31.  

Strategic  Analysts  and  Data  Specialists:  to  support  Member  States’  investigations, 
strategic  and  operational  prioritisation,  crime  prevention  and  crime  trend  monitoring 
concerning  organised  migrant  smuggling  and  related  crimes  by  providing  strategic  analysis 
services covering the countries of origin, transit and destination, including both Member States 
and  Third  Countries.  Europol  should  have  capabilities  to  support  Member  States'  authorities 
with  Threat  Assessments,  Early  Warning  Detection  and  signal  and  detection  Analysis,  Risk 
Assessments and other strategic analysis reports. 

Specific  objective  n°3:  reinforcing  Europol  as  the  EU  criminal  information  hub  on 
migrant smuggling and THB and fully developing the exchange of information between 
the Member States, Europol, other EU agencies as well as third countries. 

Responding to the gap identified on the insufficient information sharing on migrant smuggling 
between the MS and Europol, the aim is to reinforce Europol as the EU criminal information 
hub  on  migrant  smuggling.  In  that  way  and  in  line  with  Directive  (EU)  2023/977  of  the 
European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  10  May  2023  on  the  exchange  of  information 
between the law enforcement authorities of Member States and repealing Council Framework 
Decision  2006/960/JHA,  Europol  will  provide  effective  technical  support  to  Member 
States to use SIENA as the default channel of communication. Within its mandate and in 
accordance  with  the  existing  safeguards  as  well  as  in  the  context  of  the  EU  interoperability 
framework,  Europol  will  more  consistently  and  exhaustively  consult  information  both 
held internally or held in external databases, such as large scale IT systems from the JHA 
domain.  Europol  coordination  and  contribution  to  Member  States’  operation  will  be  made 
more efficient and targeted by making use of the biometric information.   

To support this objective, Europol would need to:  

Regarding SIENA,  

support the implementation of SIENA Web Services in the Member States and other relevant 
operational  third  party  cooperation  partners;  ensure  high  availability  (99.9%)  of  SIENA 
services;  

support  the  intake  and  impact  on  upstream  services  (e.g.  translation,  entity  extraction, 
Universal  Messaging  Format  (UMF)  services)  and  downstream  services  (e.g.  Data  Analysis 
Platform, Joint Operational Analysis Concept); 

 further  exploit  SIENA  reach  out  by  integration  in  a  holistic  information  architecture 
(e.g.  leverage  SIENA  data  into  EIS  (Europol  Information  System)  and  the  supporting 
biometric  tooling)  and  create  a  dedicated  support  for  the  needs  of  the  expanded  user 

31 

- 
Currently,  less  than  2%  of  the  proceeds  of  crime  is  confiscated  in  the  EU  and  migrant  smuggling  is 
becoming one of the most lucrative illegal activities for organised crime groups. Parallel financial investigations 
should be made the rule instead of an exception in the investigation of organised crime. Therefore, Europol should 
have  capabilities  to  support  Member  States'  authorities  with  asset  tracing  and  financial  investigation  services 
during the implementation of investigative measures. 

EN 

6 

  EN 

 
 
community  (national  units  in  charge  of  migrant  smuggling)  and  offer  proper  support  to  MS 
and relevant operational third parties.  

For these purposes, additional staff (incl. a limited number of contractors) would be needed, in 
particular  to  work  on  requirements,  architecture,  security,  data  protection,  development, 
project management and maintenance of the new capabilities. 

Regarding Biometrics,  

Significant upgrade/procuring new Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) 
(performance, functionalities, scalability) in support of migrant smuggling and THB initiative 
(in addition to EU Interoperability); 

performance  and  functionality  improvements  in  new  face  recognition  solution  (FACE),  full 
integration of AFIS and new FACE in Europol data management workflows; 

improve  existing  biometric  workflows  to  make  the  full  use  of  the  biometric  data  and 
reduce manual work; 

develop the capability to process DNA profiles; 

 revise EIS, SIENA and data intake functionalities on biometric data;  

develop  the  functionalities  to  search  biometric  data  in  EIS  and  via  Querying  Europol’s 
systems (QUEST);  

update  Data  Analysis  Portal  (DAP)  for  biometric  data;  revise/include  data  review  and 
retention requirements on biometrics data across solutions. 

For these purposes, 

 additional  staff    are  necessary,  in  particular  to  work  on  requirements,  architecture,  security, 
data  protection,  development,  project  management  and  maintenance  (both  functional  and 
infrastructure) of the new capabilities. 

Funding  (budget  appropriations)  are  necessary  to  fund  the  procurement  of  hardware  and 
software and the hiring of limited number of contractors as relates to the upgrade SIENA and 
the development of biometrics capabilities; after development a maintenance budget is needed 
for  maintaining  infrastructure  and  software  (e.g.  licences)  and  supporting  expert  contractors 
especially in the field of biometric performance that shall be maintained over time.  

Funding (budget appropriations) to provide financial support to MS for connection/integration 
of SIENA web-services. 

Specific objective n°4: providing Member States with the necessary tools to prevent and 
combat migrant smuggling and THB as well as other crimes falling within the scope of 
Europol’s objectives. 

The  aim  is  to  strengthen  Europol’s  capacity  to  provide  immediate  and  operational, 
including technical, support to the Member States to combat migrant smuggling and THB. 
In  that  way,  the  Member  States  will  make  full  use  of  the  newly  established  concepts  of 
Operational  Task  Forces,    Europol  deployment  for  operational  support  as  well  as  
technical, forensic and financial support provided by Europol.  

To support this objective, additional resouces are required to  

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allow for the recruitment of short-term Seconded National Experts32 to support Member 
States’  investigations  within  the  framework  of  the  OTFs  concerning  organised  migrant 
smuggling,  and  related  crimes  from  Europol  HQ  and  in  countries  of  origin,  transit  and 
destination, including both Member States and Third Countries. 

Increase  the  deployment  budget  to  allow  the  deployment  of  Europol  staff  and  Guest 
Officers for operational support.  
Increase the OTF Grant budget33.   

Increase  the  EMPACT  budget,  within  Europol’s  budget,  to  allow  for  reinforced  support 
made  available  through  High  Value  Grants  (HVG),  Low  Value  Grants  (LVG)34  and  the 
funding  of  strategic  and  operational  meetings  related  to  activities  carried  out  under  the 
EMPACT Operational Action Plans (OAPs) adopted by the Council to fight and disrupt (high-
risk) criminal networks involved in migrant smuggling and in the trafficking in human beings, 
and other relevant crime areas and enabling crimes. 

With specialised anti-migrant smuggling units in each MS and direct connections to SIENA, it is expected that the 

32 
The tasks of the national experts depend on the operational needs and they are defined in the Operational Plans. 
However,  they  may  include  expertise  in  relevant  languages,  strategic  and  operational  analysis,  OSINT  monitoring,  asset 
tracing/financial investigations, cybercrimes, IT forensics, surveillance and undercover operations, document frauds and in 
other  specified  areas  which  are  considered  relevant  for  the  national  investigative  teams  and  to  support  Member  States' 
authorities during the implementation of investigative measures on the spot or at Europol HQ. 
33 
volume of contributions could more than double as well as the number of operations and OTFs.  
34 
To enhance the flexibility of assistance to Member States within EMPACT, Europol introduced a funding scheme 
based on two types of grants.  (I) High-value grants (HVGs) are awarded following a traditional call for proposals with a 
fixed  deadline  for  submission  of  applications  to  finance  targeted  activities  as  laid  down  in  the  Operational  Action  Plans 
(OAPs)  and  (II)  low-value  grants  (LVGs)  with  an  open-ended  procedure  to  provide  shorter-term  financing  for  the  OAPs 
activities  that  are  of  distinctly  operational  nature.  Over  the  past  years,  EMPACT  grants  became  extremely  popular,  and 
Member States increasingly resorted to them, praising their usefulness to support the fight against organised crime and to 
obtain results. Last year, the  LVG envelope was exhausted in November 2022 and this year, it was exhausted already in 
September 2023, creating in both cases a void and harming the capacity of Europol to support Member States and of the 
latter to perform their investigations. 

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1.4.3.  Expected result(s) and impact 

Specify the effects which the proposal/initiative should have on the beneficiaries/groups targeted. 

By  contributing  to  the  disruption  of  criminal  businesses  and  organised  crime  structures,  this 
proposal will prevent loss of life of migrants, reduce unsafe and irregular migration and will 
facilitate the the establishment of a sustainable EU migration policy, as well as preventing the 
explotation of people.  

The proposal will also benefit individuals and society at large by improving Europol’s ability 
to support Member States in countering crime and protecting EU citizens.  

The  proposal  will  create  economies  of  scale  for  administrations  as  it  will  shift  the  resource 
implications of the targeted activities from the national level to the EU level. Public authorities 
in Member States will directly benefit from the proposal thanks to economies of scale leading 
to savings in administrative costs.  

1.4.4. 

Indicators of performance  

Specify the indicators for monitoring progress and achievements. 

Specific objective n°1: strengthening Europol and its European Centre Against Migrant 
Smuggling as the Centre of gravity for EU-level investigative and operational action as 
well as strategic analysis: 

Number/Proportion of joint strategical reports on migrant smuggling with other EU agencies 
[target 90%] 

Number/Proportion of joint operational reports on migrant smuggling, with other EU agencies 
[target 70%] 

Number of Operational Reports delivered by EMSC 

Number of operations supported by EMSC 

Specific  objective  n°2:  enhancing  cooperation  and  coordination  between  the  Member 
States, Europol and other Union agencies 

Number of investigations into migrant smuggling for which a parallel financial investigation 
was supported by Europol  

Number of Early warning notifications in relation to migrant smuggling 

Number of investigations on migrant smuggling coordinated by Eurojust where searches have 
been conducted by Eurojust into Europol information when legally possible [baseline 0, target 
100%] 

Proportion  of  investigations  on  migrant  smuggling  coordinated  by  Europol  where  searches 
have been conducted by Europol into information provided to Eurojust, when legally possible 
[baseline 0, target 100%] 

Number  of  SIENA  messages  exchanged  between  Europol  and  Frontex  related  to  migrant 
smuggling 

Number  of  SIENA  messages  exchanged  between  Europol  and  Eurojust  related  to  migrant 
smuggling 

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Number of new JITs on migrant smuggling supported by Europol  

Specific  objective  n°3  :  reinforcing  Europol  as  the  EU  criminal  information  hub  on 
migrnat  smuggling  and  fully  developing  the  exchange  of  information  between  the 
Member States, Europo, other EU agencies as well as third countries  

Number of national specialized services connected to SIENA [target 27]  

Proportion  of  immigration  liaison  officers  in  third  countries  connected  to  SIENA  [  target 
100%] 

Proportion of SIENA messages received from immigration liaison officers in third countries c 
[ target 100%] 

Proportion  of  SIENA  messages  related  to  migrant  smuggling  and  to  personal  entities  for 
which biometric data is linked [no target ] 

Proportion of SIENA messages between Member States related to migrant smuggling where 
Europol was provided with a copy of [baseline 2019 : 48%, target : 90%] 

Proportion  of  SIENA  messages  between  Member  States  received  by  Europol  related  to 
migrant smuggling that have been cross-checked by Europol [target 100%] 

Proportion  of  SIENA  messages  between  Member  States  received  by  Europol  related  to 
migrant smuggling that have been cross-checked by Europol and that led to establish a link. 
[no target] 

Proportion  of  SIENA  messages  between  Member  States  received  by  Europol  related  to 
migrant  smuggling  containing  biometric  information  that  was  used  by  Europol  for  cross-
checks [target 100%] 

Proportion  of  SIENA  messages  between  Member  States  received  by  Europol  related  to 
migrant  smuggling  containing  biometric  information  that  was  used  by  Europol  for  cross-
checks and that led to establish a link [no target] 

Number  of  new  personal  entities  related  to  migrant  smuggling  loaded  by  Member  States 
within the Europol information system. Share of those personal entities loaded with biometric 
information.  

Number of new cases of migrant smuggling [baseline 2022 : 4889 ; no target] 

Number of new suspects of migrant smuggling [baseline 2019 : 10989 ; no target]  

Number of requests by Europol to initiate an investigation on migrant smuggling [no target] 

Specific  objective  n°4:  Provide  Member  States  with  the  necessary  tools  to  prevent  and 
combat  migrant  smuggling  and  other  crimes  falling  within  the  scope  of  Europol’s 
objectives 

Number of (Joint) Action Days coordinated/supported by EMSC 

Number of operational task forces set up related to migrant smuggling 

Number of operational task forces set up related to THB 

Number of active HVT identified [baseline 2022 : 24; no target]/ Number of HVT arrested or 
disrupted, for migrant smuggling and trafficking in human beings  

EN 

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Number of Member States taking part of a task force dedicated to migrant smuggling or THB 

Number of deployments of Guest Officers (Number of deployment months) 

Number of short-term SNEs selected 

Number  of  requests  and  number  of  deployments  of  operational  support  related  to  migrant 
smuggling and THB 

Volume of content assessed by EU IRU related to migrant smuggling, THB and other related 
crimes 

Number of OTF grant applications received for migrant smuggling and trafficking in human 
beings 

Number  of  operational  actions  (OAs)  developed  and  supported  in  the  framework  of  the 
relevant operational action plans (OAPs) of EMPACT 

Number  of  EMPACT  grants’  applications  (HVG  and  LVG)  submitted,  processed  and 
awarded, with detail of the amount committed in the area of migrant smuggling and trafficking 
in human beings 

In line with Article 28 of the FFR and to ensure sound financial management, Europol already 
monitors  progress  in  the  achievement  of  its  objectives  with  performance  indicators.  The 
agency currently has 18 Key Performance Indicators, further complemented by 56 Corporate 
Performance  Indicators.  These  indicators  are  reported  in  Europol’s  Consolidated  Annual 
Activity  Report,  which  include  a  clear  monitoring  of  the  target  by  end  of  year  as  well  as 
comparison  with  the  previous  year.  These  indicators  will  be  adapted  as  needed  following 
adoption of the proposal. 

1.5. 

Grounds for the proposal/initiative  

1.5.1.  Requirement(s) to be met in the short or long term including a detailed timeline for roll-out of 

the implementation of the initiative 

The  roll-out  of  the  implementation  of  the  legislative  initiative,  notably  on  the  specific 
objecitve  n°3,  requires  technical  and  procedural  measures  at  EU  and  national  level,  which 
should start when the revised legislation enters into force : 

(i) Member States shall by 12 December 2024 have met obligations set under the Directive on 
information  exchange  on  the  full  interoperability  of  their  criminal  information  exchange 
platforms  revolving  around  their  national  Single  Point  of  Contact  (SPOCs)  and  the  smooth 
operation of their Case management systems (CMS) 

(ii)During  the  2025-2027  period,  Member  States  will  progressively  update  their  internal 
operational  processes,  and  accordingly  deploy  communication  means  (SIENA  connections) 
and tools (data loaders and QUEST tool) both at the central level (SPOC, specialized national 
units) and on the field (immigration officers in third countries) so as to improve the efficiency 
of information exchange on migrant smuggling, and the ability to provide information both in 
bulk and on along ongoing investigation to Europol, and to consult Europol information in that 
matter. Such updates and upgrades would more specifically focus on biometric data. 

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Europol shall upgrade its technical capabilities in both domains of biometrics and information 
exchange (see specific actions under SO n°3 ) 

(iii) by 2026 : upgrade AFIS and FACE and DNA capabilities 

(iv) by 2027 : automate biometric workflows, biometric data intake including through SIENA, 
DAP and QUEST 

The relevant resources – in particular human resources - should be scaled up over time in line 
with the increase in demand for Europol’s services.  

Following  entry  into  application,  the  implementation  of  the  activities  will  be  rolled-out  in  a 
gradual  timeline,  to  follow  the  expected  gradual  increase  of  demands  on  Europol’s  services 
and activities, as well as necessary time for absorption of new resources. 

1.5.2.  Added  value  of  Union  involvement  (it  may  result  from  different  factors,  e.g.  coordination 
gains,  legal  certainty,  greater  effectiveness  or  complementarities).  For  the  purposes  of  this 
point 'added value of Union involvement' is the value resulting from Union intervention which 
is additional to the value that would have been otherwise created by Member States alone. 

Organised crime structures capable of carrying out sophisticated operations that cover the full 
range  of  migrant  smuggling  and  THB  services  constitute  a  high  risk  to  Europe’s  security. 
According  to  the  EU  Serious  and  Organised  Crime  Threat  Assessment  (EU  SOCTA), 
approximately  50%  of  the  networks  involved  in  migrant  smuggling  are  polycriminal, 
involved  also  in  trafficking  in  human  beings,  drug  trafficking,  excise  fraud,  firearms 
trafficking and money laundering. And these criminal activities are of a transnational nature. 
Therefore, action at national level alone cannot counter them effectively. This is why Member 
States choose to work together within the framework of the EU, notably through the European 
Multidisciplinary Platform Against Criminal Threats (EMPACT)35, to tackle the threats posed 
by these forms of serious crime. 

Moreover, evolving security threats, driven by the way these criminals exploit the advantages 
that the digital transformation, globalisation and mobility bring about, also call for effective 
EU level support to the work of national law enforcement authorities. EU action provides 
for an effective and efficient way to step up the support to Member States in fighting migrant 
smuggling which remains a serious challenge that needs to be continuously, concertedly and 
collectively tackled further. 

The proposal will create significant economies of scale at an EU level, as it will shift tasks and 
services,  which can be performed more efficiently at an EU level,  from the national level to 
Europol.  The  proposal  therefore  provides  for  efficient  solutions  to  challenges  to  challenges 
which cannot be addressed at the national level at all in view of their transnational nature. 

1.5.3.  Lessons learned from similar experiences in the past 

The  proposal  builds  on  the  need  to  address  Migrant  smuggling  as  a  dynamic,  agile  and 
increasingly complex criminal activity that affects the EU’s internal security.  

The  market  for  migrant  smuggling  services  to  and  within  the  EU  is  reaching  new  heights, 
fuelled by emerging and deepening  crises, most notably economic recessions, environmental 

35 

https://www.europol.europa.eu/crime-areas-and-statistics/empact  

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emergencies caused by climate change, as well as conflicts and demographic pressure in many 
origin countries.  

Migrant  smuggling  is  a  worldwide  crime  that  puts  at  risk  the  lives  of  migrants  and 
challenges the integrity of international borders. This is a profitable type of criminal activity 
for organised criminal groups and has posed a major humanitarian and security challenge for 
the EU in recent years. 

These evolving security threats call for effective EU level support to the work of national law 
enforcement authorities.  

This proposal also builds on the lessons learned and progress achieved since the renewed EU 
action  plan  against  migrant  smuggling  (2021-2025)  which  strengthens  further  operational 
cooperation  and  information  exchange  among  EU  Member  States  and  EU  law  enforcement 
agencies to investigate, and prosecute migrant smuggling networks.  

Moreover,  the  proposal  takes  into  account  the  recommendations  provided  by  the  European 
Court of Auditors in its 2021 special report on “Europol support to fight migrant smuggling”.   

Previous  reviews  of  Europol’s  mandate  and  the  growing  demand  for  services  by  Member 
States as well as the pivotal role played by Europol in the EU’s internal security architecture 
has also clearly shown that Europol’s tasks need to be backed by adequate financial and 
human resources. 

1.5.4.  Compatibility  with  the  Multiannual  Financial  Framework  and  possible  synergies  with  other 

appropriate instruments 

The proposal responds to the fast changing security landscape as it will equip Europol with the 
necessary  capabilities  and  tools  to  support  Member  States  effectively  in  countering  migrant 
smuggling, Trafficking in Human beings as well as other forms of serious crime. The proposal 
is fully in line with what was announced by President von der Leyen in her 2023 State of the 
Union address “new legislation and a new governance structure” to fight against migrant 
smugglers.  It  is  also  fully  in  line  with  Commission  Work  Programme  for  2024  which 
announced  a  legislative  initiative  by  the  end  of  2023  “to  modernise  the  legal  framework  to 
fight  the  smuggling  of  migrants,  to  ensure  that  we  have  the  necessary  legal  and  operational 
tools to respond to the new modus operandi of smugglers”. It is finally fully in line with the 
letter  sent  to  all  Heads  of  State  or  Government  ahead  of  the  European  Council  (26-27 
October)  where  President  von  der  Leyen  announced  that  “the  Commission  will  be  making 
proposals  at  the  end  of  next  month  [November]  to  update  our  legislative  framework  to 
strengthen our collective action on smuggling of migrants, with a strong focus on maximising 
the impact of Europol”.  

This proposal is also fully in line with the MFF as it supports some anti-smuggling activities 
planned in the Work Programme of the Thematic Facily under the Internal Security Fund for 
2023, 2024 and 2025. In 2025 a call aiming at enhancing prevention and fight against migrant 
smuggling  by  establishing  Common  Operational  Partnerships  will  be  launched  by  the 
Commission.  This  activity  will  reinforce  structured  cooperation  between  law  enforcement, 
judicial authorities and other releveant  services of the participating  Member States and third 
countries. 

By  contributing  to  the  disruption  of  criminal  businesses,  this  proposal  also  supports  the 
objectives of the EU Security Union Strategy, as well as the EU Strategies to tackle Organised 

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Crime  2021-2025  and  on  Combating  Trafficking  in  Human  Beings  2021-2025  that  will  be 
implemented in full synergy. 

Providing a strong European response to migrant smuggling inside and outside the EU is also 
an  essential  part  of  the  comprehensive  approach  to  migration,  set  out  in  the  New  Pact  on 
Migration and Asylum. 

The proposal  will also  create  synergies with the activities of Union agencies, notably with 
the  European  Border  and  Coast  Guard  Agency,  Eurojust  and,  where  appropriate,  other 
relevant  Union  bodies  or  agencies,  strenghtening  overall  cooperation  with  Europol,  in  line 
with their  respective mandates and competences. 

1.5.5.  Assessment of the different available financing options, including scope for redeployment 

Since  2022  and  the  last  revision  of  Europol’s  mandate,  the  trend  has  been  towards  an 
exponential  growth  of the agency’s data flows and of the demand on its  services notably on 
migrant smuggling, leading to yearly budget and staff reinforcements above the levels initially 
programmed. Since the proposal will introduce important new tasks in Europol Regulation and 
will  also  clarify,  codify  and  detail  other  tasks  and  tools,  hereby  extending  Europol’s 
capabilities within the context of the treaties, it therefore cannot be covered by a stable level of 
resources. The proposal needs to be backed by financial and human reinforcements. 

The  budgetary  impact  of  the  additional  financial  resources  will  be  made  available  partially 
through the margin and via budgetary offsetting against BMVI and ISF programmes. 

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1.6. 

Duration and financial impact of the proposal/initiative 

 limited duration  

–    Proposal/initiative in effect from [DD/MM]YYYY to [DD/MM]YYYY  

–    Financial impact from YYYY to YYYY 

 unlimited duration 

–  Implementation with a start-up period from 2025 to 2027, 

–  followed by full-scale operation. 

1.7.  Method(s) of budget implementation planned36  

 Direct management by the Commission through 

–    executive agencies  

 Shared management with the Member States  

 Indirect management by entrusting budget implementation tasks to: 

 international organisations and their agencies (to be specified); 

the EIB and the European Investment Fund; 

 bodies referred to in Articles 70 and 71; 

 public law bodies; 

  bodies  governed  by  private  law  with  a  public  service  mission  to  the  extent  that  they  are 
provided with adequate financial guarantees; 

  bodies  governed  by  the  private  law  of  a  Member  State  that  are  entrusted  with  the 
implementation  of a public-private partnership and that are provided with  adequate financial 
guarantees; 

  bodies  or  persons  entrusted  with  the  implementation  of  specific  actions  in  the  CFSP 
pursuant to Title V of the TEU, and identified in the relevant basic act. 

Comments 

36 

Details  of  budget  implementation  methods  and  references  to  the  Financial  Regulation  may  be  found  on  the 
https://myintracomm.ec.europa.eu/corp/budget/financial-rules/budget-
BUDGpedia 
implementation/Pages/implementation-methods.aspx 

site: 

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2. 

MANAGEMENT MEASURES  

2.1.  Monitoring and reporting rules  

Specify frequency and conditions. 

The monitoring and reporting of the proposal will follow the principles outlined in Europol’s 
Regulation37, Financial Regulation38 and in line with the Common Approach on decentralised 
agencies39.  

Europol  must  notably  send  each  year  to  the  Commission,  the  European  Parliament  and  the 
Council  a  Single  Programming  Document  containing  multi-annual  and  annual  work 
programmes  and  resources  programming.  The  Document  sets  out  the  objectives,  expected 
results  and  performance  indicators  to  monitor  the  achievement  of  the  objectives  and  the 
results. Europol must also submit a Consolidated Annual Activity Report to the management 
board.  This  report  notably  includes  information  on  the  achievement  of  the  objectives  and 
results  set  out  in  the  Single  Programming  Document.  The  report  must  also  be  sent  to  the 
Commission, the European Parliament and the Council.  

Moreover,  as  outlined  in  Article  68  of  Europol’s  Regulation,  the  Commission  must 
commission  an  evaluation  of  Europol  by  29  June  2027  and  every  five  years  after  that.  This 
evaluation will assess, in particular, the impact, effectiveness and efficiency of Europol and of 
its  working  practices.  The  evaluation  reports  must  be  submitted  to  the  specialised  Joint 
Parliamentary Scrutiny Group, which politically monitors Europol’s activities in fulfilling its 
mission,  including  as  regards  the  impact  of  those  activities  on  the  fundamental  rights  and 
freedoms  of  natural  persons.  The  reports  are  also  submitted  to  the  Council,  the  national 
parliaments  and  Europol’s  Management  Board.  Where  appropriate,  the  main  findings  of  the 
evaluation reports are made public.  

To  regularly  monitor  the  provision  of  information  by  the  Member  States,  Europol  will  also 
report  annually  to  the  Commission,  European  Parliament,  the  Council  and  national 
parliaments  on  the  information  provided  by  each  Member  State  as  concerns  the  information 
Europol  needs  to  fulfil  its  objectives,  including  information  relating  to  forms  of  crime  the 
prevention or combating of which is considered a priority by the Union. The reports are drawn 
up  on  the  basis  of  the  quantitative  and  qualitative  evaluation  criteria  defined  by  Europol’s 
Management Board.  

2.2.  Management and control system(s)  

2.2.1. 

Justification  of  the  management  mode(s),  the  funding  implementation  mechanism(s),  the 
payment modalities and the control strategy proposed 

Considering that the proposal impacts the annual EU contribution to Europol, the EU budget 
will be implemented via indirect management. 

37 
38

Regulation (EU) 2016/794 

https://www.europol.europa.eu/sites/default/files/documents/decision_of_the_europol_management_board_on_the

_adoption_of_the_financial_regulation_applicable_to_europol_.pdf 
39 

https://europa.eu/european-
union/sites/europaeu/files/docs/body/joint_statement_and_common_approach_2012_en.pdf 

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Pursuant  to  the  principle  of  sound  financial  management,  the  budget  of  Europol  shall  be 
implemented  in  compliance  with  effective  and  efficient  internal  control80.  Europol  is 
therefore bound to implement an appropriate control strategy coordinated among appropriate 
actors involved in the control chain. 

Regarding ex-post controls, Europol, as a decentralised agency, is notably subject to : 

- internal audit by the Internal Audit Service of the Commission 

- annual reports by the European Court of Auditors, giving a statement of assurance as to the 
reliability of the annual accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions 

- annual discharge granted by the European Parliament 

-  possible  investigations  conducted  by  OLAF  to  ensure,  in  particular,  that  the  resources 
allocated to agencies are put to proper use. 

As partner DG to  Europol,  DG HOME will implement its Control Strategy on decentralised 
agencies to ensure reliable reporting  in the framework of its Annual Activity Report (AAR). 
While decentralised agencies have full responsibility for the implementation  of their budget, 
DG  HOME  is  responsible  for  regular  payment  of  annual  contributions  established  by  the 
Budgetary Authority. 

Finally,  the  European  Ombudsman  provides  a  further  layer  of  control  and  accountability  at 
Europol. 

2.2.2. 

Information  concerning  the  risks  identified  and  the  internal  control  system(s)  set  up  to 
mitigate them 

The following risks are identified: 

- strained operational resources due to increasing operational needs from Member States and 
constantly  evolving  criminal  activities  in  the  area  of  migrant  smuggling  and  trafficking  in 
human beings 

- fragmentation of Europol’s core business due to multiplication of tasks and requests  

- lack of adequate levels of financial and human resources to match operational needs 

- lack of ICT resources, resulting in delays in necessary core system developments and  

updates 

2.2.3.  Estimation and justification of the cost-effectiveness of the controls (ratio of "control costs ÷ 
value of the related funds managed"), and assessment of the expected levels of risk of error (at 
payment & at closure)  

The  ratio  of  “control  costs/payment  made  in  relation  to  Indirect  Management  Entrusted  Entities  and 
Decentralised Agencies, including Europol” is reported on by the Commission and is 0.12% for 2022. 

The European Court of Auditors confirmed the legality and regularity of Europol’s annual accounts for 
2022, which implies an error rate below 2%. There are no indications that the error rate will worsen in 
the coming years. 

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Moreover,  article  80  of  Europol’s  Financial  Regulation  provides  for  the possibility  for  the  agency  to 
share  an  internal  audit  capability  with  other  Union  bodies  functioning  in  the  same  policy  area  if  the 
internal audit capability of a single Union body is not cost-effective. 

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2.3.  Measures to prevent fraud and irregularities  

Specify existing or envisaged prevention and protection measures, e.g. from the Anti-Fraud Strategy. 

The  measures  related  to  combating  fraud,  corruption  and  any  other  illegal  activities  are 
outlined,  inter  alia,  in  article  66  of  Europol’s  Regulation  and  under  Title  X  of  Europol’s 
Financial Regulation. 

Europol  shall  notably  participate  in  fraud  prevention  activities  of  the  European  Anti-fraud 
Office  and  inform  the  Commission  without  delay  on  cases  of  presumed  fraud  and  other 
financial irregularities – in line with its internal anti-fraud strategy. 

The  MB  approved  the  revised  Europol  Anti-Fraud  Strategyfor  the  period  2022-2024,  at  its 
meeting in March 2022. 

Moreover,  as  partner  DG,  DG  HOME  has  developed  and  implemented  its  own  anti-fraud 
strategy  on  the  basis  of  the  methodology  provided  by  OLAF.  Decentralised  agencies, 
including Europol, fall within the scope of the strategy.  

DG HOME has developed and implemented its own anti-fraud strategy since 2013, based on 
the methodology provided by OLAF.  

Based  on  the  available  information,  DG  HOME  2022  AAR  concluted  that  the  anti-fraud 
measures in place are effective overall. 

3. 

3.1. 

ESTIMATED FINANCIAL IMPACT OF THE PROPOSAL/INITIATIVE  

Heading(s)  of  the  multiannual  financial  framework  and  expenditure  budget  line(s) 
affected  

•  Existing budget lines  

In order of multiannual financial framework headings and budget lines. 

Budget line 

Type of  
expenditure 

Contribution  

Heading of 
multiannual 
financial 
framework 

Number  

Diff./Non-
diff.40 

from 
EFTA 
countries
41 

from 
candidate 
countries 
and 
potential 
candidates
42 

From 
other 
third 
countries 

other assigned 
revenue  

5 

12 10 01 

Diff. 

YES/NO 

YES/NO 

YES/NO 

YES/NO 

40 
41 
42 

Diff. = Differentiated appropriations / Non-diff. = Non-differentiated appropriations. 
EFTA: European Free Trade Association.  
Candidate countries and, where applicable, potential candidates from the Western Balkans. 

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3.2. 

Estimated impact on expenditure  

3.2.1. 

Summary of estimated impact on expenditure  

EUR million (to three decimal places) 

Heading of multiannual financial 
framework 

Europol 

TOTAL appropriations for Europol 

Heading of multiannual financial 
framework  
DG HOME 

 Human Resources  
 Other administrative expenditure  

Commitments 

Payments 

7 

5 

Security and Defence 

2024 

2025 

2026 

2027 

TOTAL 

- 

- 

15,758 

15,758  

19,678 

19,678 

13,457 

13,457 

48,892 

48,892 

Administrative expenditure 

2024 

2025 

2026 

2027 

TOTAL 

- 

0,002 

0,002 

0,132 

0,002 

0,134 

0,435 

0,002 

0,437 

0,606 

0,002 

0,608 

1,173 

0,008 

1,181 

TOTAL DG HOME 

Appropriations  

TOTAL appropriations under 
HEADING 7 of the multiannual 
financial framework  

(Total commitments = Total payments) 

0,002 

0,134 

0,437 

0,608 

1,181 

TOTAL appropriations under 
HEADINGS 1 to 7 of the multiannual 
financial framework  

Commitments 

Payments 

2024 

2025 

2026 

2027 

TOTAL 

0,002 

15,892 

20,115 

14,065 

0,002 

15,892 

20,115 

14,065 

50,073 

50,073 

The  appropriations  required  for  human  resources  and  other  expenditure  of  an  administrative  nature  will  be  met  by  appropriations  from  the  DG  that  are  already  assigned  to 
management of the action and/or have been redeployed within the DG, together if necessary with any additional allocation which may be granted to the managing DG under the annual 
allocation procedure and in the light of budgetary constraints. 

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3.2.2.  Estimated impact on Europol’s appropriations  

–    The proposal/initiative does not require the use of operational appropriations  

–    The proposal/initiative requires the use of operational appropriations, as explained below: 

Amounts in EUR million (to three decimal places) 

Indicate objectives and outputs  

 

Type 

2024 

Cost 

2025 

Cost 

2026 

Cost 

2027 

Cost 

TOTAL 

Cost 

SPECIFIC OBJECTIVE NO 1:  strengthening Europol and its European Centre Against Migrant Smuggling as the Centre of 
gravity for EU-level investigative and operational action as well as strategic analysis 

Output 

Reinforce the ESMC and the other migrant-smuggling 
related entities  

Subtotal for specific objective N°1 

- 

- 

1,186  

1,186  

2,628  

2,628  

2,673  

2,673  

6,487  

6,487  

SPECIFIC OBJECTIVE NO 2: enhancing cooperation and coordination between the Member States, Europol and other Union 
agencies 

Output 

Establish a governance structure for effective inter-
agency cooperation, steer and coordination 

Subtotal for specific objective N°2 

- 

- 

0,075  

0,075  

0,242  

0,242  

0,410  

0,410  

0,727  

0,727  

SPECIFIC OBJECTIVE NO 3: reinforcing Europol as the EU criminal information hub on migrant smuggling and THB and fully 
developing the exchange of information between the Member States, Europol, other EU agencies as well as third countries 

- 
Output 

- 
Output 

Biometrics - development of systems & upgrade of 
SIENA (hardware, software, consultancy) 

SIENA integrations (Secure Information Exchange 
Network Application) 

Subtotal for specific objective N°3 

- 

- 

- 

8,765  

9,526  

3,372  

21,662  

1,137  

9,902  

1,345  

10,871  

0,876  

4,248  

3,358 

25,021 

SPECIFIC OBJECTIVE NO 4: providing Europol with the necessary tools to prevent and combat migrant smuggling and other 
crimes falling within the scope of Europol’s objectives 

- 
Output 
- 
Output 
- 
Output 

EMPACT grant - migrant smuggling and related crimes  

OTF Grant 

to support OTFs on migrant smuggling 

Subtotal for specific objective N°4 

TOTAL for objectives 1 to 4 

2,000  

2,000  

0,595  

4,595  

15,758  

2,000  

3,000  

0,938  

5,938  

19,678  

2,000  

3,000  

1,125  

6,125  

13,457  

6,000  

8,000  

2,658  

16,658  

48,892  

- 

- 

- 

- 

- 

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Where applicable, amounts reflect the sum of the Union contribution to the agency and other revenue of the agency (fees and charges).

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3.2.3.  Estimated impact on Europol’s human resources  

3.2.3.1.  Summary  

–    The  proposal/initiative  does  not  require  the  use  of  appropriations  of  an 

administrative nature  

–    The proposal/initiative requires the use of appropriations of an administrative 

nature, as explained below: 

EUR million (to three decimal places) Where applicable, amounts reflect the sum of the Union contribution to 
the agency and other revenue of the agency (fees and charges). 

2025 

2026 

2027 

TOTAL 

0,298 

0 

0,265 

0,595 

1,158 

1,014 

0 

1,026 

0,938 

2,978 

1,759 

0 

1,872 

1,125 

4,757 

3,072 

0 

3,162 

2,658 

8,892 

2025 

2026 

2027 

TOTAL 

3 

0 

5 

11 

19 

7 

0 

14 

17 

38 

10 

0 

20 

20 

50 

10 

0 

20 

20 

50 

Temporary agents (AD Grades) 

Temporary agents (AST grades) 

Contract staff 

Seconded National Experts 

TOTAL43 

Staff requirements (FTE):44 

Temporary agents (AD Grades) 

Temporary agents (AST grades) 

Contract staff 

Seconded National Experts 

TOTAL 

Details of the staff increase: 

Specific objective 

Additional staff 

Allocation in Europol 

Specific objective n°1  Additional 

to 

staff  needed 

support 
European  Smuggling  Centre  and 
to 
increase the number of Europol-supported 
Operational Task Forces (OTFs) and other 
investigations  on  organised  migrant 
smuggling and related crimes, to cover the 
online dimension on investigations and to 
be  able  to  provide  technical  and  forensic 
support  via  ensuring  extraction  and 

Operations Directorate  

43 Staff levels calculated on the basis of the average staff unit costs to be used for LFS, indexed to the correction 

coefficient for the Netherlands (111,8%). 

44 The Europol staff increase mentioned in the proposal will be offset with a reduction of the future reinforcement 
in FRONTEX staff. The two agencies will agree the concrete modalities for the transfer, within the respect of 
the criteria and timeline set by the co-legislators.. 

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processing  large  and  complex  data  sets 
collected  from  member  States  and  Third 
Countries. 

Estimated  FTEs  needed  –  additional  FTE 
to be hired per year (not-cumulative): 

Investigative specialists and data analysts: 

 2025: +3; 2026: +4; 2027: +4 

OSINT/media  monitoring 
2025: +1; 2026: +2; 2027: +2 

specialists:  

Forensic, decryption and data specialists: 

2025: +1; 2026: +2; 2027: +1 

concerning 

Specific objective n°2  Additional  staff  to  provide  asset–tracing, 
financial  expertise  and  related  analysis 
to  support  Member  States’ 
services 
investigations 
organised 
migrant smuggling, human trafficking and 
related  crimes.  As  well  as  to  to  support 
Member  States’  investigations,  strategic 
and  operational  prioritisation, 
crime 
prevention  and  crime  trend  monitoring 
concerning  organised  migrant  smuggling 
and  related  crimes  by  providing  strategic 
analysis services 

Estimated  FTEs  needed  –  additional  FTE 
to be hired per year (not-cumulative): 

Asset  tracing  and  Financial  Investigation 
specialists and analysts: 

 2025: +1; 2026: +1; 2027: +1 

Strategic analysis and data specialists: 

2025: +1; 2026: +2; 2027: +1 

Operations Directorate  

Specific objective n°3  Additional  staff 

to  provide  effective 
technical to Member States to use SIENA 
as the default channel of communication 

Capabilities Directorate 

Estimated  FTEs  needed  –  additional  FTE 
to be hired per year (not-cumulative): 

2025: 0; 2026: +1; 2027: 0 

additional  staff  to  work  on  requirements, 
architecture,  security,  data  protection, 
development,  project  management  and 
maintenance 
and 
the  new  biometric 
infrastructure)  of 
capabilities. 

functional 

(both 

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Estimated  FTEs  needed  –  additional  FTE 
to be hired per year (not-cumulative): 

2025: +1; 2026: +1; 2027: 0 

Specific objective n°4  Additional staff (short term costed SNEs) 
to  support  Member  States’  investigations 
within 
the  OTFs 
framework  of 
concerning  notably  organised  migrant 
,  and  related  crimes  from 
smuggling 
Europol  HQ  and  in  countries  of  origin, 
transit  and  destination,  including  both 
Member States and Third Countries.  

the 

Estimated  FTEs  needed  –  additional  FTE 
to be hired per year (not-cumulative): 

2025: +11; 2026: +6; 2027: +3 

Operations Directorate  

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3.2.3.2.  Estimated requirements of human resources for the parent DG 

–    The proposal/initiative does not require the use of human resources.  

–    The  proposal/initiative  requires  the  use  of  human  resources,  as  explained 

below: 

Estimate to be expressed in full amounts (or at most to one decimal place) 

2024 

2025 

2026 

2027 

Establishment plan posts (officials and temporary staff) 

20 01 02 01 and 20 01 02 02 
(Headquarters and Commission’s 
Representation Offices) 

20 01 02 03 (Delegations) 

External staff (in Full Time Equivalent unit: FTE) 45 

1 

3 

3 

20 02 01 (AC, END, INT from the 
‘global envelope’) 

20 02 03 (AC, AL, END, INT and JPD 
in the delegations) 

TOTAL 

1 

2 

1 

4 

1 

4 

The human resources required will be met by staff from the DG who are already assigned to 
management of the action and/or have been redeployed within the DG, together if necessary 
with any additional allocation which may be granted to the managing DG under the annual 
allocation procedure and in the light of budgetary constraints. 

Description of tasks to be carried out: 

Officials 
temporary staff 

and 

-  To implement the new measures aimed at preventing migrant smuggling, including the 
enhanced dialogue with legal entities suspected to be used for the smuggling of migrants, 
as  provided  for  by  the  proposal  for  a  Directive  on  preventing  and  countering  the 
facilitation of unauthorised entry, transit and stay in the Union. 

- 

-  To  ensure  the  service  of  the  new  governance  framework  established  in  the  European 
Centre Against Migrant Smuggling, as provided for by the proposal for a Regulation on 
combating migrant smuggling.  
to enhance the monitoring, collecting, analysing and sharing of information and data on 
the prevention, judicial and law enforcement response on migrant smuggling, to provide 
input for evidence-based policy making, as provided for by the proposal for a Directive 
on preventing and countering the facilitation of unauthorised entry, transit and stay in the 
Union and the Regulation on combating migrant smuggling. 

External staff 

To  support  the  enhanced  operational  framework  of  Europol  supporting  Member  States  on 
migrant  smuggling,  the  organisation  and  running  of  relevant  Operational  Task  Forces, 
Europol deployments for operational support, activities under the EMPACT, as provided for 
by the proposal for a Regulation on combating migrant smuggling. 

45 

AC = Contract Staff; AL = Local Staff; END = Seconded National Expert; INT = agency staff; JPD = 
Junior Professionals in Delegations.  

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3.2.4.  Compatibility with the current multiannual financial framework  

–    The proposal/initiative is compatible the current multiannual financial framework. 

–    The  proposal/initiative  will  entail  reprogramming  of  the  relevant  heading  in  the 

multiannual financial framework. 

The budgetary impact of the additional financial  resources will be made available partially through the margin 
(EUR 20 million) and via budgetary offsetting against BMVI and ISF programmes. 

–    The  proposal/initiative  requires  application  of  the  flexibility  instrument  or  revision  of 

the multiannual financial framework46. 

3.2.5.  Third-party contributions  

–  The proposal/initiative does not provide for co-financing by third parties.  

–  The proposal/initiative provides for the co-financing estimated below: 

46 

See Articles 12 and 13 of Council Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 2093/2020 of 17 December 2020 laying down the 
multiannual financial framework for the years 2021 to 2027. 

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3.3. 

Estimated impact on revenue  

–    The proposal/initiative has no financial impact on revenue. 

–    The proposal/initiative has the following financial impact: 

– 

– 

– 

 

 

on own resources  

on other revenue  

 please indicate, if the revenue is assigned to expenditure lines  

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