Article 1 
1. The European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation (Eurojust) is hereby established. 2. Eurojust as established by this Regulation shall replace and succeed Eurojust as established by Decision 2002/187/JHA. 3. Eurojust shall have legal personality.
Article 2 
1. Eurojust shall support and strengthen coordination and cooperation between national investigating and prosecuting authorities in relation to serious crime which Eurojust is competent to deal with in accordance with Article 3(1) and (3), where that crime affects two or more Member States, or requires prosecution on common bases, on the basis of operations conducted and information supplied by the Member States’ authorities, by Europol, by the EPPO and by OLAF. 2. In carrying out its tasks, Eurojust shall: (a) take into account any request emanating from a competent authority of a Member State, any information provided by Union authorities, institutions, bodies, offices and agencies competent by virtue of provisions adopted within the framework of the Treaties and any information collected by Eurojust itself; (b) facilitate the execution of requests for, and decisions on, judicial cooperation, including requests and decisions based on instruments that give effect to the principle of mutual recognition. 3. Eurojust shall carry out its tasks at the request of the competent authorities of the Member States, on its own initiative or at the request of the EPPO within the limits of the EPPO’s competence.
Article 3 
1. Eurojust shall be competent with respect to the forms of serious crime listed in Annex I. However, as of the date on which the EPPO assumes its investigative and prosecutorial tasks in accordance with Article 120(2) of Regulation (EU) 2017/1939, Eurojust shall not exercise its competence with regard to crimes for which the EPPO exercises its competence, except in those cases where Member States which do not participate in enhanced cooperation on the establishment of the EPPO are also involved and at the request of those Member States or at the request of the EPPO. 2. Eurojust shall exercise its competence for crimes affecting the financial interests of the Union in cases involving Member States which participate in enhanced cooperation on the establishment of the EPPO but in respect of which the EPPO does not have competence or decides not to exercise its competence. Eurojust, the EPPO and the Member States concerned shall consult and cooperate with each other to facilitate Eurojust’s exercise of competence under this paragraph. The practical details of its exercise of competence under this paragraph shall be governed by a working arrangement as referred to in Article 47(3). 3. As regards forms of crime other than those listed in Annex I, Eurojust may also, in accordance with its tasks, assist with investigations and prosecutions where requested by a competent authority of a Member State. 5. At the request of a Member State’s competent authority, Eurojust may also assist with investigations and prosecutions that only affect that Member State and a third country, provided that a cooperation agreement or arrangement establishing cooperation pursuant to Article 52 has been concluded with that third country or provided that in a specific case there is an essential interest in providing such assistance. 6. At the request of either the competent authority of a Member State or the Commission, Eurojust may assist in investigations and prosecutions that only affect that Member State but which have repercussions at Union level. Before acting at the request of the Commission, Eurojust shall consult the competent authority of the Member State concerned. That competent authority may, within a deadline set by Eurojust, oppose the execution of the request by Eurojust, justifying its position in every case.
Amendment rationale: CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL Reasons for and objectives of the proposal The European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation (Eurojust) coordinates investigations and prosecutions of serious cross-border crime in Europe and beyond. As the European Union’s hub for judicial cooperation in criminal matters, Eurojust supports national investigating and prosecuting authorities in relation to serious crime with which Eurojust is competent to deal in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2018/1727 (‘Eurojust Regulation’). Among others, genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes (also collectively referred to as ‘core international crimes’) are crimes Eurojust is competent to deal with. On 24 February 2022, Russia began a military aggression against Ukraine . There is a reasonable ground to believe that war crimes and crimes against humanity have been and are being committed in Ukraine . On 2 March 2022, the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court announced he had proceeded to open an investigation into the situation in Ukraine 1 . The p rosecution services in several Member States as well as in Ukraine have also started investigati ons of core international crimes , which are supported and coordinated by Eurojust . Eurojust has the expertise and experience to support the investigations and prosecutions of core international crimes, including by facilitating the activities of Joint Investigation Team s (JIT s ), such as the one set up by some Member States and Ukraine in the context of the current hostilities . Eurojust also cooperates with the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court. National authorities are collecting evidence of the international crimes that may have been committed in Ukraine. Due to the ongoing hostilities, evidence cannot be stored securely in Ukraine, requiring that a back-up/storage place be urgently secured by the Union. Thus, in order to coordinate efforts currently deployed by Member States to collect evidence, it is necessary to quickly set up central storage, where evidence collected by Union agencies and bodies as well as national and international authorities or third parties such as civil society organisations could be stored. However, while the Eurojust Regulation provides that Eurojust supports Member States’ action in investigating and prosecuting serious crime, it does not explicitly allow Eurojust to collect, preserve and analyse such evidence in relation to this purpose. In order to perform its tasks, Eurojust has established a case management system, which contains non-personal data and the personal data referred to in Annex II to the Eurojust Regulation . The case management system mainly aims to support the management and coordination of investigations and prosecutions for which Eurojust provides assistance. The Eurojust Regulation restricts the set-up of the case management system to temporary work files, aiming to support the follow-up on ongoing cases, and an index 2 . Processing of personal data outside of the case management system is prohibited 3 . When coordinat ing and support ing investigations and prosecutions, Eurojust can temporarily store and exchange evidence in accordance with the rules set out in the Regulation . The Commission has already proposed to enhance the current set-up of the Eurojust’s case management system with regard to Eurojust’s activities concerning investigations and prosecutions of terrorist offences. On 1 December 2021, the Commission adopted a proposal to improve the functioning of the European Judicial Counter-Terrorism Register at Eurojust 4 . As part of that proposal, the modernisation of the case management system and the digitalisation of the information exchange between national competent authorities and Eurojust are envisaged. The recent events connected with Russia’s aggression against Ukraine have further demonstrated the urgent need to go beyond the Eurojust’s existing case management system. The current data processing architecture at Eurojust does not allow Eurojust to collect, preserve and analyse evidence relating to core international crimes, including those that are likely being committed in Ukraine, due to the scale of the events and the vast amount of evidence that needs to be stored in case of the commission of such crimes. Against this background, this proposal seeks to allow Eurojust to collect, preserve and analyse evidence in relation to genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and related criminal offences and, when necessary and appropriate, enable its exchange or otherwise make it available to the competent judicial authorities, national or international. The collection of evidence does not amount to providing Eurojust with an executive role as investigating authority, which would not be covered by Eurojust’s mandate, but is meant to ensure Eurojust can receive and centrally store the evidence from different sources. By doing so, Eurojust can support case building work in national and international investigations in a more effective way and provide additional support to the competent prosecution services. To this end, this proposal envisages the establishment of an automated data management and storage facility outside the case management system. In view of the sensitive nature of the personal data involved, their processing, including collection, preservation, analysis and exchange, must comply with the highest standards of data protection and cyber security. Crucial evidence about core international crimes is usually available in the form of, among others, audio recordings, videos and photographs. Satellite images may also prove useful to demonstrate the commission of these crimes. For this reason, this proposal also aims to extend the categories of data that Eurojust can legally process to videos and audio recordings as well as satellite images and any relevant photographs. With a view to allowing national and international judicial authorities to benefit from the fully-fledged support that Eurojust can provide in the ongoing investigations of core international crimes in the context of the aggression against Ukraine, the amendments to the Eurojust Regulation envisaged in this proposal need to be urgently enacted.
Revised version (Article 3 ):
1. Eurojust shall be competent with respect to the forms of serious crime listed in Annex I. However, as of the date on which the EPPO assumes its investigative and prosecutorial tasks in accordance with Article 120(2) of Regulation (EU) 2017/1939, Eurojust shall not exercise its competence with regard to crimes for which the EPPO exercises its competence, except in those cases where Member States which do not participate in enhanced cooperation on the establishment of the EPPO are also involved and at the request of those Member States or at the request of the EPPO. 2. Eurojust shall exercise its competence for crimes affecting the financial interests of the Union in cases involving Member States which participate in enhanced cooperation on the establishment of the EPPO but in respect of which the EPPO does not have competence or decides not to exercise its competence. Eurojust, the EPPO and the Member States concerned shall consult and cooperate with each other to facilitate Eurojust’s exercise of competence under this paragraph. The practical details of its exercise of competence under this paragraph shall be governed by a working arrangement as referred to in Article 47(3). 3. As regards forms of crime other than those listed in Annex I, Eurojust may also, in accordance with its tasks, assist with investigations and prosecutions where requested by a competent authority of a Member State. 5. Eurojust may also assist with investigations and prosecutions that only affect a Member State and a third country or a Member State and an international organisation, provided that a cooperation agreement or arrangement establishing cooperation pursuant to Article 52 has been concluded with that third country or that international organisation, or provided that in a specific case there is an essential interest in providing such assistance. The decision as to whether and how Member States provide judicial assistance to a third country or to an international organisation shall remain solely with the competent authority of the Member State concerned, subject to applicable national, Union or international law. 6. At the request of either the competent authority of a Member State or the Commission, Eurojust may assist in investigations and prosecutions that only affect that Member State but which have repercussions at Union level. Before acting at the request of the Commission, Eurojust shall consult the competent authority of the Member State concerned. That competent authority may, within a deadline set by Eurojust, oppose the execution of the request by Eurojust, justifying its position in every case.
Article 4 
3. Eurojust may also: (a) provide Europol with opinions based on analyses carried out by Europol; (b) supply logistical support, including translation, interpretation and the organisation of coordination meetings. 4. Where two or more Member States cannot agree as to which of them should undertake an investigation or prosecution following a request under points (a) or (b) of paragraph 2, Eurojust shall issue a written opinion on the case. Eurojust shall send the opinion to the Member States concerned immediately. 5. At the request of a competent authority, or on its own initiative, Eurojust shall issue a written opinion on recurrent refusals or difficulties concerning the execution of requests for, and decisions on, judicial cooperation, including requests and decisions based on instruments giving effect to the principle of mutual recognition, provided that it is not possible to resolve such cases through mutual agreement between the competent national authorities or through the involvement of the national members concerned. Eurojust shall send the opinion to the Member States concerned immediately. 6. The competent authorities of the Member States concerned shall respond to requests from Eurojust under paragraph 2 and to the written opinions referred to in paragraph 4 or 5 without undue delay. The competent authorities of the Member States may refuse to comply with such requests or to follow the written opinion if doing so would harm essential national security interests, would jeopardise the success of an ongoing investigation or would jeopardise the safety of an individual.
Article 5 
1. Eurojust shall act through one or more of the national members concerned when taking any of the actions referred to in Article 4(1) or (2). Without prejudice to paragraph 2 of this Article, the College shall focus on operational issues and any other issues that are directly linked to operational matters. The College shall only be involved in administrative matters to the extent necessary to ensure that its operational functions are fulfilled. 3. When it fulfils its tasks, Eurojust shall indicate whether it is acting through one or more of the national members or as a College. 4. The College may assign additional administrative tasks to the Administrative Director and the Executive Board beyond those provided for in Articles 16 and 18, in accordance with its operational needs. Where exceptional circumstances so require, the College may decide to suspend temporarily the delegation of the appointing authority powers to the Administrative Director and of those powers that have been sub-delegated by the latter, and to exercise them itself or to delegate them to one of its members or to a staff member other than the Administrative Director. 5. The College shall adopt Eurojust’s rules of procedure on the basis of a two-thirds majority of its members. In the event that agreement cannot be reached by a two-thirds majority, the decision shall be taken by simple majority. Eurojust’s rules of procedure shall be approved by the Council by means of implementing acts.
Article 6 
Eurojust shall comprise: (a) the national members; (b) the College; (c) the Executive Board; (d) the Administrative Director.
Article 7 
1. Eurojust shall have one national member seconded by each Member State in accordance with its legal system. That national member shall have his or her regular place of work at the seat of Eurojust. 2. Each national member shall be assisted by one deputy and by one Assistant. In principle, the deputy and the Assistant shall have their regular place of work at the seat of Eurojust. Each Member State may decide that the deputy or Assistant or both will have their regular place of work in their Member State. If a Member State takes such a decision, it shall notify the College. If the operational needs of Eurojust so require, the College may request the Member State to assign the deputy or Assistant or both to work at the seat of Eurojust for a specified period. The Member State shall comply with such a request from the College without undue delay. 3. Additional deputies or Assistants may assist the national member and, if necessary and with the agreement of the College, may have their regular place of work at Eurojust. Member States shall notify Eurojust and the Commission of the appointment of national members, deputies and Assistants. 4. National members and deputies shall have the status of a prosecutor, a judge or a representative of a judicial authority with competences equivalent to those of a prosecutor or judge under their national law. The Member States shall grant them at least the powers referred to in this Regulation in order to be able to fulfil their tasks. 5. The terms of office of the national members and their deputies shall be five years, renewable once. In cases where a deputy is unable to act on behalf of a national member or is unable to substitute for a national member, the national member shall remain in office upon expiry of his or her term of office until the renewal of his or her term or his or her replacement, subject to the consent of their Member State. 6. Member States shall appoint national members and deputies on the basis of a proven high level of relevant, practical experience in the field of criminal justice. 7. The deputy shall be able to act on behalf of or to substitute for the national member. An Assistant may also act on behalf of or substitute for the national member if he or she has a status referred to in paragraph 4. 8. Operational information exchange between Eurojust and Member States shall take place through the national members. 9. The salaries and emoluments of the national members, deputies and Assistants shall be borne by their Member State without prejudice to Article 12. 10. Where national members, deputies and Assistants act within the framework of Eurojust’s tasks, the relevant expenditure related to those activities shall be regarded as operational expenditure.
Article 8 
2. Without prejudice to paragraph 1, Member States may grant additional powers to national members in accordance with their national law. Those Member States shall notify the Commission and the College of these powers. 3. With the agreement of the competent national authority, national members may, in accordance with their national law: (a) issue or execute any request for mutual legal assistance or mutual recognition; (b) order, request or execute investigative measures, as provided for in Directive 2014/41/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 1 ). 4. In urgent cases where it is not possible to identify or to contact the competent national authority in a timely manner, national members shall be competent to take the measures referred to in paragraph 3 in accordance with their national law, provided that they inform the competent national authority as soon as possible. 6. Member States shall ensure that, in cases referred to in paragraph 5, the proposal submitted by their national member is handled without undue delay by the competent national authority.
Article 9 
National members shall have access to, or at least be able to obtain the information contained in, the following types of registers of their Member State, in accordance with their national law: (a) criminal records; (b) registers of arrested persons; (c) investigation registers; (d) DNA registers; (e) other registers of public authorities of their Member State where such information is necessary to fulfil their tasks.
Article 10 
2. The Administrative Director shall attend the management meetings of the College, without the right to vote. 3. The College may invite any person whose opinion may be of interest to attend its meetings as an observer. 4. The members of the College may, subject to the provisions of Eurojust’s rules of procedure, be assisted by advisers or experts.
Article 11 
1. The College shall elect a President and two Vice-Presidents from among the national members by a two-thirds majority of its members. In the event that a two-thirds majority cannot be reached after the second round of election, the Vice-Presidents shall be elected by a simple majority of the members of the College, while a two-thirds majority shall continue to be necessary for the election of the President. 3. The Vice-Presidents shall exercise the functions set out in paragraph 2 which the President entrusts to them. They shall replace the President if he or she is prevented from attending to his or her duties. The President and Vice-Presidents shall be assisted in the performance of their specific duties by the administrative staff of Eurojust. 4. The term of office of the President and the Vice-Presidents shall be four years. They may be re-elected once. 5. When a national member is elected President or Vice-President of Eurojust, his or her term of office shall be extended to ensure that he or she can fulfil his or her function as President or Vice-President. 6. If the President or Vice-President no longer fulfils the conditions required for the performance of his or her duties, he or she may be dismissed by the College acting on a proposal from one third of its members. The decision shall be adopted on the basis of a two-thirds majority of the members of the College, excluding the President or Vice-President concerned. 7. When a national member is elected President of Eurojust, the Member State concerned may second another suitably qualified person to reinforce the national desk for the duration of the former’s mandate as President. A Member State which decides to second such a person shall be entitled to apply for compensation in accordance with Article 12.
Article 12 
1. By 12 December 2019, the Council shall, acting on a proposal by the Commission and by means of implementing acts, determine a mechanism for compensation, for the purpose of Article 11(7), to be made available to Member States whose national member is elected President. 2. The compensation shall be available to any Member State if: (a) its national member has been elected President; and (b) it requests compensation from the College and provides justification for the need to reinforce its national desk on grounds of an increased workload. 3. The compensation provided shall equate to 50 % of the national salary of the seconded person. Compensation for living costs and other associated expenses shall be provided on a comparable basis to that provided to Union officials or other servants seconded abroad. 4. The costs of the compensation mechanism shall be borne by Eurojust’s budget.
Article 13 
1. The President shall convene the meetings of the College. 2. The College shall hold at least one meeting per month. In addition, it shall meet on the initiative of the President, at the request of the Commission to discuss the administrative tasks of the College, or at the request of at least one third of its members. 3. Eurojust shall send the EPPO the agenda of College meetings whenever issues are discussed which are of relevance for the exercise of the tasks of the EPPO. Eurojust shall invite the EPPO to participate in such meetings, without the right to vote. When the EPPO is invited to a College meeting, Eurojust shall provide it with the relevant documents supporting the agenda.
Article 14 
1. Unless stated otherwise, and where a consensus cannot be reached, the College shall take its decisions by a majority of its members. 2. Each member shall have one vote. In the absence of a voting member, the deputy shall be entitled to exercise the right to vote subject to the conditions set out in Article 7(7). In the absence of the deputy, the Assistant shall also be entitled to exercise the right to vote subject to the conditions set out in Article 7(7).
Article 15 
1. By 30 November each year, the College shall adopt a programming document containing annual and multi-annual programming, based on a draft prepared by the Administrative Director, taking into account the opinion of the Commission. The College shall forward the programming document to the European Parliament, the Council, the Commission and the EPPO. The programming document shall become definitive after final adoption of the general budget of the Union and shall be adjusted accordingly, if necessary. 2. The annual work programme shall comprise detailed objectives and expected results including performance indicators. It shall also contain a description of the actions to be financed and an indication of the financial and human resources allocated to each action, in accordance with the principles of activity-based budgeting and management. The annual work programme shall be coherent with the multi-annual work programme referred to in paragraph 4. It shall clearly indicate which tasks have been added, changed or deleted in comparison with the previous financial year. 3. The College shall amend the adopted annual work programme when a new task is given to Eurojust. Any substantial amendment to the annual work programme shall be adopted by the same procedure as the initial annual work programme. The College may delegate to the Administrative Director the power to make non-substantial amendments to the annual work programme. 4. The multi-annual work programme shall set out overall strategic programming including objectives, the strategy for cooperation with the authorities of third countries and international organisations referred to in Article 52, expected results and performance indicators. It shall also set out resource programming including multi-annual budget and staff. The resource programming shall be updated annually. The strategic programming shall be updated where appropriate, and in particular to address the outcome of the evaluation referred to in Article 69.
Article 16 
1. The College shall be assisted by an Executive Board. The Executive Board shall be responsible for taking administrative decisions to ensure the proper functioning of Eurojust. It shall oversee the necessary preparatory work of the Administrative Director on other administrative matters for adoption by the College. It shall not be involved in the operational functions of Eurojust referred to in Articles 4 and 5. 2. The Executive Board may consult the College when carrying out its tasks. 4. The Executive Board shall be composed of the President and Vice-Presidents of Eurojust, one representative of the Commission and two other members of the College designated on a two-year rotation system in accordance with Eurojust’s rules of procedure. The Administrative Director shall attend the meetings of the Executive Board without the right to vote. 5. The President of Eurojust shall be the chairperson of the Executive Board. The Executive Board shall take its decisions by a majority of its members. Each member shall have one vote. In the event of a tied vote, the President of Eurojust shall have a casting vote. 6. The term of office of members of the Executive Board shall end when their term as national members, President or Vice-President ends. 7. The Executive Board shall meet at least once a month. In addition, it shall meet on the initiative of its chairperson or at the request of the Commission or of at least two of its other members. 8. Eurojust shall send to the EPPO the agenda of the Executive Board meetings and consult with the EPPO on the need to participate in those meetings. Eurojust shall invite the EPPO to participate, without the right to vote, whenever issues are discussed which are of relevance for the functioning of the EPPO. When the EPPO is invited to an Executive Board meeting, Eurojust shall provide it with the relevant documents supporting the agenda.
Article 17 
1. The Administrative Director shall be engaged as a temporary agent of Eurojust under point (a) of Article 2 of the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants. 2. The Administrative Director shall be appointed by the College from a list of candidates proposed by the Executive Board, following an open and transparent selection procedure in accordance with Eurojust’s rules of procedure. For the purpose of concluding the employment contract with the Administrative Director, Eurojust shall be represented by the President of Eurojust. 3. The term of office of the Administrative Director shall be four years. By the end of that period, the Executive Board shall undertake an assessment that takes into account an evaluation of the performance of the Administrative Director. 4. The College, acting on a proposal from the Executive Board that takes into account the assessment referred to in paragraph 3, may extend the term of office of the Administrative Director once and for no more than four years. 5. An Administrative Director whose term of office has been extended shall not participate in another selection procedure for the same post at the end of the overall period. 6. The Administrative Director shall be accountable to the College. 7. The Administrative Director may be removed from the office only pursuant to a decision of the College acting on a proposal from the Executive Board.
Article 18 
1. For administrative purposes, Eurojust shall be managed by its Administrative Director. 2. Without prejudice to the powers of the College or the Executive Board, the Administrative Director shall be independent in the performance of his or her duties and shall neither seek nor take instructions from any government or any other body. 3. The Administrative Director shall be the legal representative of Eurojust.
Article 19 
1. In order to fulfil its tasks in urgent cases, Eurojust shall operate an on-call coordination mechanism (‘OCC’) able to receive and process at all times the requests referred to it. The OCC shall be contactable 24 hours a day, seven days a week. 2. The OCC shall rely on one OCC representative per Member State who may be either the national member, his or her deputy, an Assistant entitled to replace the national member, or a seconded national expert. The OCC representative shall be available to act 24 hours a day, seven days a week. 3. The OCC representatives shall act efficiently and without delay in relation to the execution of a request in their Member State.
Article 20 
1. Each Member State shall appoint one or more national correspondents for Eurojust. 2. All national correspondents appointed by the Member States under paragraph 1 shall have the skills and experience necessary for them to carry out their duties. 4. The persons referred to in paragraphs 1 and 3 shall retain their position and status under national law, without this having a significant impact on the performance of their duties under this Regulation. 5. The national correspondents for Eurojust shall be responsible for the functioning of their Eurojust national coordination system. Where several correspondents for Eurojust are appointed, one of them shall be responsible for the functioning of their Eurojust national coordination system. 6. The national members shall be informed of all meetings of their Eurojust national coordination system where casework-related matters are discussed. The national members may attend such meetings as necessary. 8. In order to meet the objectives referred to in paragraph 7, the persons referred to in paragraph 1 and in points (a), (b) and (c) of paragraph 3 shall, and the persons or authorities referred to in points (d) and (e) of paragraph 3 may be connected to the case management system in accordance with this Article and with Articles 23, 24, 25 and 34. The cost of connection to the case management system shall be borne by the general budget of the Union. 9. The setting up of the Eurojust national coordination system and the appointment of national correspondents shall not prevent direct contacts between the national member and the competent authorities of his or her Member State.
Amendment rationale: CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL Reasons for and objectives of the proposal The European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation (Eurojust) coordinates investigations and prosecutions of serious cross-border crime in Europe and beyond. As the European Union’s hub for judicial cooperation in criminal matters, Eurojust supports national investigating and prosecuting authorities in relation to serious crime with which Eurojust is competent to deal in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2018/1727 (‘Eurojust Regulation’). Among others, genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes (also collectively referred to as ‘core international crimes’) are crimes Eurojust is competent to deal with. On 24 February 2022, Russia began a military aggression against Ukraine . There is a reasonable ground to believe that war crimes and crimes against humanity have been and are being committed in Ukraine . On 2 March 2022, the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court announced he had proceeded to open an investigation into the situation in Ukraine 1 . The p rosecution services in several Member States as well as in Ukraine have also started investigati ons of core international crimes , which are supported and coordinated by Eurojust . Eurojust has the expertise and experience to support the investigations and prosecutions of core international crimes, including by facilitating the activities of Joint Investigation Team s (JIT s ), such as the one set up by some Member States and Ukraine in the context of the current hostilities . Eurojust also cooperates with the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court. National authorities are collecting evidence of the international crimes that may have been committed in Ukraine. Due to the ongoing hostilities, evidence cannot be stored securely in Ukraine, requiring that a back-up/storage place be urgently secured by the Union. Thus, in order to coordinate efforts currently deployed by Member States to collect evidence, it is necessary to quickly set up central storage, where evidence collected by Union agencies and bodies as well as national and international authorities or third parties such as civil society organisations could be stored. However, while the Eurojust Regulation provides that Eurojust supports Member States’ action in investigating and prosecuting serious crime, it does not explicitly allow Eurojust to collect, preserve and analyse such evidence in relation to this purpose. In order to perform its tasks, Eurojust has established a case management system, which contains non-personal data and the personal data referred to in Annex II to the Eurojust Regulation . The case management system mainly aims to support the management and coordination of investigations and prosecutions for which Eurojust provides assistance. The Eurojust Regulation restricts the set-up of the case management system to temporary work files, aiming to support the follow-up on ongoing cases, and an index 2 . Processing of personal data outside of the case management system is prohibited 3 . When coordinat ing and support ing investigations and prosecutions, Eurojust can temporarily store and exchange evidence in accordance with the rules set out in the Regulation . The Commission has already proposed to enhance the current set-up of the Eurojust’s case management system with regard to Eurojust’s activities concerning investigations and prosecutions of terrorist offences. On 1 December 2021, the Commission adopted a proposal to improve the functioning of the European Judicial Counter-Terrorism Register at Eurojust 4 . As part of that proposal, the modernisation of the case management system and the digitalisation of the information exchange between national competent authorities and Eurojust are envisaged. The recent events connected with Russia’s aggression against Ukraine have further demonstrated the urgent need to go beyond the Eurojust’s existing case management system. The current data processing architecture at Eurojust does not allow Eurojust to collect, preserve and analyse evidence relating to core international crimes, including those that are likely being committed in Ukraine, due to the scale of the events and the vast amount of evidence that needs to be stored in case of the commission of such crimes. Against this background, this proposal seeks to allow Eurojust to collect, preserve and analyse evidence in relation to genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and related criminal offences and, when necessary and appropriate, enable its exchange or otherwise make it available to the competent judicial authorities, national or international. The collection of evidence does not amount to providing Eurojust with an executive role as investigating authority, which would not be covered by Eurojust’s mandate, but is meant to ensure Eurojust can receive and centrally store the evidence from different sources. By doing so, Eurojust can support case building work in national and international investigations in a more effective way and provide additional support to the competent prosecution services. To this end, this proposal envisages the establishment of an automated data management and storage facility outside the case management system. In view of the sensitive nature of the personal data involved, their processing, including collection, preservation, analysis and exchange, must comply with the highest standards of data protection and cyber security. Crucial evidence about core international crimes is usually available in the form of, among others, audio recordings, videos and photographs. Satellite images may also prove useful to demonstrate the commission of these crimes. For this reason, this proposal also aims to extend the categories of data that Eurojust can legally process to videos and audio recordings as well as satellite images and any relevant photographs. With a view to allowing national and international judicial authorities to benefit from the fully-fledged support that Eurojust can provide in the ongoing investigations of core international crimes in the context of the aggression against Ukraine, the amendments to the Eurojust Regulation envisaged in this proposal need to be urgently enacted.
Revised version (Article 20 ):
1. Each Member State shall appoint one or more national correspondents for Eurojust. 2. All national correspondents appointed by the Member States under paragraph 1 shall have the skills and experience necessary for them to carry out their duties. 2a. Each Member State shall designate a competent national authority as Eurojust national correspondent for terrorism matters. That national correspondent for terrorism matters shall be a judicial or other competent authority. Where the national legal system so requires, it shall be possible for a Member State to designate more than one competent national authority as Eurojust national correspondent for terrorism matters. The national correspondent for terrorism matters shall have access to all relevant information in accordance with Article 21a(1). It shall be competent to collect such information and to send it to Eurojust, in compliance with national and Union law, in particular national criminal procedural law and applicable data protection rules. 4. The persons referred to in paragraphs 1 and 3 shall retain their position and status under national law, without this having a significant impact on the performance of their duties under this Regulation. 5. The national correspondents for Eurojust shall be responsible for the functioning of their Eurojust national coordination system. Where several correspondents for Eurojust are appointed, one of them shall be responsible for the functioning of their Eurojust national coordination system. 6. The national members shall be informed of all meetings of their Eurojust national coordination system where casework-related matters are discussed. The national members may attend such meetings as necessary. 8. In order to meet the objectives referred to in paragraph 7 of this Article, the persons referred to in paragraph 3, points (a), (b) and (c), of this Article shall be connected to the case management system in accordance with this Article and with Articles 23, 24, 25 and 34. The cost of connection to the case management system shall be borne by the general budget of the Union. 9. The setting up of the Eurojust national coordination system and the appointment of national correspondents shall not prevent direct contacts between the national member and the competent authorities of his or her Member State.
Article 21 
1. The competent authorities of the Member States shall exchange with Eurojust all information necessary for the performance of its tasks under Articles 2 and 4 in accordance with the applicable data protection rules. This shall at least include the information referred to in paragraphs 4, 5 and 6 of this Article. 2. The transmission of information to Eurojust shall only be interpreted as a request for the assistance of Eurojust in the case concerned if so specified by a competent authority. 3. The national members shall exchange all information necessary for the performance of Eurojust’s tasks among themselves or with their competent national authorities, without prior authorisation. In particular, the competent national authorities shall promptly inform their national members of a case which concerns them. 4. The competent national authorities shall inform their national members of the setting up of joint investigation teams and of the results of the work of such teams. 7. The competent national authorities shall not be obliged to supply information in a particular case if doing so would harm essential national security interests or jeopardise the safety of individuals. 8. This Article is without prejudice to conditions set out in bilateral or multilateral agreements or arrangements between Member States and third countries, including any conditions set by third countries concerning the use of information once supplied. 9. This Article is without prejudice to other obligations regarding the transmission of information to Eurojust, including Council Decision 2005/671/JHA ( 3 ). 10. Information referred to in this Article shall be provided in a structured way determined by Eurojust. The competent national authority shall not be obliged to provide such information where it has already been transmitted to Eurojust in accordance with other provisions of this Regulation.
Amendment rationale: CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL Reasons for and objectives of the proposal The European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation (Eurojust) coordinates investigations and prosecutions of serious cross-border crime in Europe and beyond. As the European Union’s hub for judicial cooperation in criminal matters, Eurojust supports national investigating and prosecuting authorities in relation to serious crime with which Eurojust is competent to deal in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2018/1727 (‘Eurojust Regulation’). Among others, genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes (also collectively referred to as ‘core international crimes’) are crimes Eurojust is competent to deal with. On 24 February 2022, Russia began a military aggression against Ukraine . There is a reasonable ground to believe that war crimes and crimes against humanity have been and are being committed in Ukraine . On 2 March 2022, the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court announced he had proceeded to open an investigation into the situation in Ukraine 1 . The p rosecution services in several Member States as well as in Ukraine have also started investigati ons of core international crimes , which are supported and coordinated by Eurojust . Eurojust has the expertise and experience to support the investigations and prosecutions of core international crimes, including by facilitating the activities of Joint Investigation Team s (JIT s ), such as the one set up by some Member States and Ukraine in the context of the current hostilities . Eurojust also cooperates with the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court. National authorities are collecting evidence of the international crimes that may have been committed in Ukraine. Due to the ongoing hostilities, evidence cannot be stored securely in Ukraine, requiring that a back-up/storage place be urgently secured by the Union. Thus, in order to coordinate efforts currently deployed by Member States to collect evidence, it is necessary to quickly set up central storage, where evidence collected by Union agencies and bodies as well as national and international authorities or third parties such as civil society organisations could be stored. However, while the Eurojust Regulation provides that Eurojust supports Member States’ action in investigating and prosecuting serious crime, it does not explicitly allow Eurojust to collect, preserve and analyse such evidence in relation to this purpose. In order to perform its tasks, Eurojust has established a case management system, which contains non-personal data and the personal data referred to in Annex II to the Eurojust Regulation . The case management system mainly aims to support the management and coordination of investigations and prosecutions for which Eurojust provides assistance. The Eurojust Regulation restricts the set-up of the case management system to temporary work files, aiming to support the follow-up on ongoing cases, and an index 2 . Processing of personal data outside of the case management system is prohibited 3 . When coordinat ing and support ing investigations and prosecutions, Eurojust can temporarily store and exchange evidence in accordance with the rules set out in the Regulation . The Commission has already proposed to enhance the current set-up of the Eurojust’s case management system with regard to Eurojust’s activities concerning investigations and prosecutions of terrorist offences. On 1 December 2021, the Commission adopted a proposal to improve the functioning of the European Judicial Counter-Terrorism Register at Eurojust 4 . As part of that proposal, the modernisation of the case management system and the digitalisation of the information exchange between national competent authorities and Eurojust are envisaged. The recent events connected with Russia’s aggression against Ukraine have further demonstrated the urgent need to go beyond the Eurojust’s existing case management system. The current data processing architecture at Eurojust does not allow Eurojust to collect, preserve and analyse evidence relating to core international crimes, including those that are likely being committed in Ukraine, due to the scale of the events and the vast amount of evidence that needs to be stored in case of the commission of such crimes. Against this background, this proposal seeks to allow Eurojust to collect, preserve and analyse evidence in relation to genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and related criminal offences and, when necessary and appropriate, enable its exchange or otherwise make it available to the competent judicial authorities, national or international. The collection of evidence does not amount to providing Eurojust with an executive role as investigating authority, which would not be covered by Eurojust’s mandate, but is meant to ensure Eurojust can receive and centrally store the evidence from different sources. By doing so, Eurojust can support case building work in national and international investigations in a more effective way and provide additional support to the competent prosecution services. To this end, this proposal envisages the establishment of an automated data management and storage facility outside the case management system. In view of the sensitive nature of the personal data involved, their processing, including collection, preservation, analysis and exchange, must comply with the highest standards of data protection and cyber security. Crucial evidence about core international crimes is usually available in the form of, among others, audio recordings, videos and photographs. Satellite images may also prove useful to demonstrate the commission of these crimes. For this reason, this proposal also aims to extend the categories of data that Eurojust can legally process to videos and audio recordings as well as satellite images and any relevant photographs. With a view to allowing national and international judicial authorities to benefit from the fully-fledged support that Eurojust can provide in the ongoing investigations of core international crimes in the context of the aggression against Ukraine, the amendments to the Eurojust Regulation envisaged in this proposal need to be urgently enacted.
Revised version (Article 21 ):
1. The competent authorities of the Member States shall exchange with Eurojust all information necessary for the performance of its tasks under Articles 2 and 4 in accordance with the applicable data protection rules. This shall at least include the information referred to in paragraphs 4, 5 and 6 of this Article. 2. The transmission of information to Eurojust shall only be interpreted as a request for the assistance of Eurojust in the case concerned if so specified by a competent authority. 3. The national members shall exchange all information necessary for the performance of Eurojust’s tasks among themselves or with their competent national authorities, without prior authorisation. In particular, the competent national authorities shall promptly inform their national members of a case which concerns them. 4. The competent national authorities shall inform their national members of the setting up of joint investigation teams and of the results of the work of such teams. 7. The competent national authorities shall not be obliged to supply information in a particular case if doing so would harm essential national security interests or jeopardise the safety of individuals. 8. This Article is without prejudice to conditions set out in bilateral or multilateral agreements or arrangements between Member States and third countries, including any conditions set by third countries concerning the use of information once supplied. 9. This Article shall not affect other obligations regarding the transmission of information to Eurojust. 10. The competent national authorities shall not be obliged to provide information as referred to in this Article where such information has already been transmitted to Eurojust in accordance with other provisions of this Regulation.
Article 22 
1. Eurojust shall provide competent national authorities with information on the results of the processing of information, including the existence of links with cases already stored in the case management system, without undue delay. That information may include personal data. 2. Where a competent national authority requests that Eurojust provide it with information within a certain timeframe, Eurojust shall transmit that information within that timeframe.
Article 23 
1. Eurojust shall establish a case management system composed of temporary work files and of an index which contain the personal data referred to in Annex II and non-personal data. 3. The case management system may be linked to the secure telecommunications connection referred to in Article 9 of Council Decision 2008/976/JHA ( 4 ). 4. The index shall contain references to temporary work files processed within the framework of Eurojust and may not contain any personal data other than those referred to in points (1)(a) to (i), (k) and (m) and (2) of Annex II. 5. In the performance of their duties, national members may process data on the individual cases on which they are working in a temporary work file. They shall allow the Data Protection Officer to have access to the temporary work file. The Data Protection Officer shall be informed by the national member concerned of the opening of each new temporary work file that contains personal data. 6. For the processing of operational personal data, Eurojust may not establish any automated data file other than the case management system. The national member may, however, temporarily store and analyse personal data for the purpose of determining whether such data are relevant to Eurojust’s tasks and can be included in the case management system. That data may be held for up to three months.
Amendment rationale: CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL Reasons for and objectives of the proposal The European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation (Eurojust) coordinates investigations and prosecutions of serious cross-border crime in Europe and beyond. As the European Union’s hub for judicial cooperation in criminal matters, Eurojust supports national investigating and prosecuting authorities in relation to serious crime with which Eurojust is competent to deal in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2018/1727 (‘Eurojust Regulation’). Among others, genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes (also collectively referred to as ‘core international crimes’) are crimes Eurojust is competent to deal with. On 24 February 2022, Russia began a military aggression against Ukraine . There is a reasonable ground to believe that war crimes and crimes against humanity have been and are being committed in Ukraine . On 2 March 2022, the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court announced he had proceeded to open an investigation into the situation in Ukraine 1 . The p rosecution services in several Member States as well as in Ukraine have also started investigati ons of core international crimes , which are supported and coordinated by Eurojust . Eurojust has the expertise and experience to support the investigations and prosecutions of core international crimes, including by facilitating the activities of Joint Investigation Team s (JIT s ), such as the one set up by some Member States and Ukraine in the context of the current hostilities . Eurojust also cooperates with the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court. National authorities are collecting evidence of the international crimes that may have been committed in Ukraine. Due to the ongoing hostilities, evidence cannot be stored securely in Ukraine, requiring that a back-up/storage place be urgently secured by the Union. Thus, in order to coordinate efforts currently deployed by Member States to collect evidence, it is necessary to quickly set up central storage, where evidence collected by Union agencies and bodies as well as national and international authorities or third parties such as civil society organisations could be stored. However, while the Eurojust Regulation provides that Eurojust supports Member States’ action in investigating and prosecuting serious crime, it does not explicitly allow Eurojust to collect, preserve and analyse such evidence in relation to this purpose. In order to perform its tasks, Eurojust has established a case management system, which contains non-personal data and the personal data referred to in Annex II to the Eurojust Regulation . The case management system mainly aims to support the management and coordination of investigations and prosecutions for which Eurojust provides assistance. The Eurojust Regulation restricts the set-up of the case management system to temporary work files, aiming to support the follow-up on ongoing cases, and an index 2 . Processing of personal data outside of the case management system is prohibited 3 . When coordinat ing and support ing investigations and prosecutions, Eurojust can temporarily store and exchange evidence in accordance with the rules set out in the Regulation . The Commission has already proposed to enhance the current set-up of the Eurojust’s case management system with regard to Eurojust’s activities concerning investigations and prosecutions of terrorist offences. On 1 December 2021, the Commission adopted a proposal to improve the functioning of the European Judicial Counter-Terrorism Register at Eurojust 4 . As part of that proposal, the modernisation of the case management system and the digitalisation of the information exchange between national competent authorities and Eurojust are envisaged. The recent events connected with Russia’s aggression against Ukraine have further demonstrated the urgent need to go beyond the Eurojust’s existing case management system. The current data processing architecture at Eurojust does not allow Eurojust to collect, preserve and analyse evidence relating to core international crimes, including those that are likely being committed in Ukraine, due to the scale of the events and the vast amount of evidence that needs to be stored in case of the commission of such crimes. Against this background, this proposal seeks to allow Eurojust to collect, preserve and analyse evidence in relation to genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and related criminal offences and, when necessary and appropriate, enable its exchange or otherwise make it available to the competent judicial authorities, national or international. The collection of evidence does not amount to providing Eurojust with an executive role as investigating authority, which would not be covered by Eurojust’s mandate, but is meant to ensure Eurojust can receive and centrally store the evidence from different sources. By doing so, Eurojust can support case building work in national and international investigations in a more effective way and provide additional support to the competent prosecution services. To this end, this proposal envisages the establishment of an automated data management and storage facility outside the case management system. In view of the sensitive nature of the personal data involved, their processing, including collection, preservation, analysis and exchange, must comply with the highest standards of data protection and cyber security. Crucial evidence about core international crimes is usually available in the form of, among others, audio recordings, videos and photographs. Satellite images may also prove useful to demonstrate the commission of these crimes. For this reason, this proposal also aims to extend the categories of data that Eurojust can legally process to videos and audio recordings as well as satellite images and any relevant photographs. With a view to allowing national and international judicial authorities to benefit from the fully-fledged support that Eurojust can provide in the ongoing investigations of core international crimes in the context of the aggression against Ukraine, the amendments to the Eurojust Regulation envisaged in this proposal need to be urgently enacted.
Revised version (Article 23 Case management system):
1. Eurojust shall establish a case management system for the processing of operational personal data listed in Annex II, data listed in Annex III and non-personal data. 3. The case management system may be linked to the secure telecommunications connection referred to in Article 9 of Council Decision 2008/976/JHA ( 6 ) and other secure communication channels in accordance with applicable Union law. 4. Where Eurojust has been granted access to data in or from other Union information systems established under other Union legal acts, it may use the case management system to access data in or to connect to such information systems for the purpose of retrieving and processing information, including personal data, provided that it is necessary for the performance of its tasks and is in line with the Union legal acts establishing such information systems. 5. Paragraphs 3 and 4 do not extend the access rights granted to Eurojust to other Union information systems under the Union legal acts establishing those systems. 6. For the processing of operational personal data, Eurojust shall not establish any automated data file other than the case management system. The national members may temporarily store and analyse personal data for the purpose of determining whether such data are relevant to Eurojust’s tasks and can be included in the case management system. Those data may be held for up to three months. 7. In the performance of their duties, national members may process personal data on the individual cases on which they are working, in accordance with this Regulation or other applicable instruments. They shall allow the Data Protection Officer to have access to the personal data processed in the case management system.
Article 24 
1. A temporary work file shall be opened by the national member concerned for every case with respect to which information is transmitted to him or her in so far as that transmission is in accordance with this Regulation or other applicable legal instruments. The national member shall be responsible for the management of the temporary work files opened by that national member. 2. The national member who has opened a temporary work file shall decide, on a case-by-case basis, whether to keep the temporary work file restricted or to give access to it or to parts of it to other national members, to authorised Eurojust staff or to any other person working on behalf of Eurojust who has received the necessary authorisation from the Administrative Director. 3. The national member who has opened a temporary work file shall decide which information related to that temporary work file shall be introduced in the index in accordance with Article 23(4).
Amendment rationale: CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL Reasons for and objectives of the proposal The European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation (Eurojust) coordinates investigations and prosecutions of serious cross-border crime in Europe and beyond. As the European Union’s hub for judicial cooperation in criminal matters, Eurojust supports national investigating and prosecuting authorities in relation to serious crime with which Eurojust is competent to deal in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2018/1727 (‘Eurojust Regulation’). Among others, genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes (also collectively referred to as ‘core international crimes’) are crimes Eurojust is competent to deal with. On 24 February 2022, Russia began a military aggression against Ukraine . There is a reasonable ground to believe that war crimes and crimes against humanity have been and are being committed in Ukraine . On 2 March 2022, the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court announced he had proceeded to open an investigation into the situation in Ukraine 1 . The p rosecution services in several Member States as well as in Ukraine have also started investigati ons of core international crimes , which are supported and coordinated by Eurojust . Eurojust has the expertise and experience to support the investigations and prosecutions of core international crimes, including by facilitating the activities of Joint Investigation Team s (JIT s ), such as the one set up by some Member States and Ukraine in the context of the current hostilities . Eurojust also cooperates with the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court. National authorities are collecting evidence of the international crimes that may have been committed in Ukraine. Due to the ongoing hostilities, evidence cannot be stored securely in Ukraine, requiring that a back-up/storage place be urgently secured by the Union. Thus, in order to coordinate efforts currently deployed by Member States to collect evidence, it is necessary to quickly set up central storage, where evidence collected by Union agencies and bodies as well as national and international authorities or third parties such as civil society organisations could be stored. However, while the Eurojust Regulation provides that Eurojust supports Member States’ action in investigating and prosecuting serious crime, it does not explicitly allow Eurojust to collect, preserve and analyse such evidence in relation to this purpose. In order to perform its tasks, Eurojust has established a case management system, which contains non-personal data and the personal data referred to in Annex II to the Eurojust Regulation . The case management system mainly aims to support the management and coordination of investigations and prosecutions for which Eurojust provides assistance. The Eurojust Regulation restricts the set-up of the case management system to temporary work files, aiming to support the follow-up on ongoing cases, and an index 2 . Processing of personal data outside of the case management system is prohibited 3 . When coordinat ing and support ing investigations and prosecutions, Eurojust can temporarily store and exchange evidence in accordance with the rules set out in the Regulation . The Commission has already proposed to enhance the current set-up of the Eurojust’s case management system with regard to Eurojust’s activities concerning investigations and prosecutions of terrorist offences. On 1 December 2021, the Commission adopted a proposal to improve the functioning of the European Judicial Counter-Terrorism Register at Eurojust 4 . As part of that proposal, the modernisation of the case management system and the digitalisation of the information exchange between national competent authorities and Eurojust are envisaged. The recent events connected with Russia’s aggression against Ukraine have further demonstrated the urgent need to go beyond the Eurojust’s existing case management system. The current data processing architecture at Eurojust does not allow Eurojust to collect, preserve and analyse evidence relating to core international crimes, including those that are likely being committed in Ukraine, due to the scale of the events and the vast amount of evidence that needs to be stored in case of the commission of such crimes. Against this background, this proposal seeks to allow Eurojust to collect, preserve and analyse evidence in relation to genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and related criminal offences and, when necessary and appropriate, enable its exchange or otherwise make it available to the competent judicial authorities, national or international. The collection of evidence does not amount to providing Eurojust with an executive role as investigating authority, which would not be covered by Eurojust’s mandate, but is meant to ensure Eurojust can receive and centrally store the evidence from different sources. By doing so, Eurojust can support case building work in national and international investigations in a more effective way and provide additional support to the competent prosecution services. To this end, this proposal envisages the establishment of an automated data management and storage facility outside the case management system. In view of the sensitive nature of the personal data involved, their processing, including collection, preservation, analysis and exchange, must comply with the highest standards of data protection and cyber security. Crucial evidence about core international crimes is usually available in the form of, among others, audio recordings, videos and photographs. Satellite images may also prove useful to demonstrate the commission of these crimes. For this reason, this proposal also aims to extend the categories of data that Eurojust can legally process to videos and audio recordings as well as satellite images and any relevant photographs. With a view to allowing national and international judicial authorities to benefit from the fully-fledged support that Eurojust can provide in the ongoing investigations of core international crimes in the context of the aggression against Ukraine, the amendments to the Eurojust Regulation envisaged in this proposal need to be urgently enacted.
Revised version (Article 24 Management of the information in the case management system):
1. The national member shall store the information transmitted to that national member in accordance with this Regulation or other applicable instruments in the case management system. The national member shall be responsible for the management of the data processed by that national member. 2. The national member shall decide, on a case-by-case basis, whether to keep access to the information restricted or to give access to it or to parts of it to other national members, to liaison prosecutors seconded to Eurojust, to authorised Eurojust staff or to any other person working on behalf of Eurojust who has received the necessary authorisation from the Administrative Director. 3. The national member shall indicate, in consultation with the competent national authorities, in general or specific terms, any restrictions on the further handling, access and transfer of the information if a link as referred to in Article 23(2), point (c), has been identified.
Article 25 
2. The national member shall, within the limitations provided for in paragraph 1 of this Article, decide on the extent of access to the temporary work files which is granted in his or her Member State to the persons referred to in Article 20(3) in so far as they are connected to the case management system. 3. Each Member State shall decide, after consultation with its national member, on the extent of access to the index which is granted in that Member State to the persons referred to in Article 20(3) in so far as they are connected to the case management system. Member States shall notify Eurojust and the Commission of their decision regarding the implementation of this paragraph. The Commission shall inform the other Member States thereof. 4. Persons who have been granted access in accordance with paragraph 2 shall at least have access to the index to the extent necessary to access the temporary work files to which they have been granted access.
Amendment rationale: CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL Reasons for and objectives of the proposal The European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation (Eurojust) coordinates investigations and prosecutions of serious cross-border crime in Europe and beyond. As the European Union’s hub for judicial cooperation in criminal matters, Eurojust supports national investigating and prosecuting authorities in relation to serious crime with which Eurojust is competent to deal in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2018/1727 (‘Eurojust Regulation’). Among others, genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes (also collectively referred to as ‘core international crimes’) are crimes Eurojust is competent to deal with. On 24 February 2022, Russia began a military aggression against Ukraine . There is a reasonable ground to believe that war crimes and crimes against humanity have been and are being committed in Ukraine . On 2 March 2022, the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court announced he had proceeded to open an investigation into the situation in Ukraine 1 . The p rosecution services in several Member States as well as in Ukraine have also started investigati ons of core international crimes , which are supported and coordinated by Eurojust . Eurojust has the expertise and experience to support the investigations and prosecutions of core international crimes, including by facilitating the activities of Joint Investigation Team s (JIT s ), such as the one set up by some Member States and Ukraine in the context of the current hostilities . Eurojust also cooperates with the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court. National authorities are collecting evidence of the international crimes that may have been committed in Ukraine. Due to the ongoing hostilities, evidence cannot be stored securely in Ukraine, requiring that a back-up/storage place be urgently secured by the Union. Thus, in order to coordinate efforts currently deployed by Member States to collect evidence, it is necessary to quickly set up central storage, where evidence collected by Union agencies and bodies as well as national and international authorities or third parties such as civil society organisations could be stored. However, while the Eurojust Regulation provides that Eurojust supports Member States’ action in investigating and prosecuting serious crime, it does not explicitly allow Eurojust to collect, preserve and analyse such evidence in relation to this purpose. In order to perform its tasks, Eurojust has established a case management system, which contains non-personal data and the personal data referred to in Annex II to the Eurojust Regulation . The case management system mainly aims to support the management and coordination of investigations and prosecutions for which Eurojust provides assistance. The Eurojust Regulation restricts the set-up of the case management system to temporary work files, aiming to support the follow-up on ongoing cases, and an index 2 . Processing of personal data outside of the case management system is prohibited 3 . When coordinat ing and support ing investigations and prosecutions, Eurojust can temporarily store and exchange evidence in accordance with the rules set out in the Regulation . The Commission has already proposed to enhance the current set-up of the Eurojust’s case management system with regard to Eurojust’s activities concerning investigations and prosecutions of terrorist offences. On 1 December 2021, the Commission adopted a proposal to improve the functioning of the European Judicial Counter-Terrorism Register at Eurojust 4 . As part of that proposal, the modernisation of the case management system and the digitalisation of the information exchange between national competent authorities and Eurojust are envisaged. The recent events connected with Russia’s aggression against Ukraine have further demonstrated the urgent need to go beyond the Eurojust’s existing case management system. The current data processing architecture at Eurojust does not allow Eurojust to collect, preserve and analyse evidence relating to core international crimes, including those that are likely being committed in Ukraine, due to the scale of the events and the vast amount of evidence that needs to be stored in case of the commission of such crimes. Against this background, this proposal seeks to allow Eurojust to collect, preserve and analyse evidence in relation to genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and related criminal offences and, when necessary and appropriate, enable its exchange or otherwise make it available to the competent judicial authorities, national or international. The collection of evidence does not amount to providing Eurojust with an executive role as investigating authority, which would not be covered by Eurojust’s mandate, but is meant to ensure Eurojust can receive and centrally store the evidence from different sources. By doing so, Eurojust can support case building work in national and international investigations in a more effective way and provide additional support to the competent prosecution services. To this end, this proposal envisages the establishment of an automated data management and storage facility outside the case management system. In view of the sensitive nature of the personal data involved, their processing, including collection, preservation, analysis and exchange, must comply with the highest standards of data protection and cyber security. Crucial evidence about core international crimes is usually available in the form of, among others, audio recordings, videos and photographs. Satellite images may also prove useful to demonstrate the commission of these crimes. For this reason, this proposal also aims to extend the categories of data that Eurojust can legally process to videos and audio recordings as well as satellite images and any relevant photographs. With a view to allowing national and international judicial authorities to benefit from the fully-fledged support that Eurojust can provide in the ongoing investigations of core international crimes in the context of the aggression against Ukraine, the amendments to the Eurojust Regulation envisaged in this proposal need to be urgently enacted.
Revised version (Article 25 Access to the case management system at national level):
2. The national member shall, within the limitations provided for in paragraph 1 of this Article, decide on the extent to which access is granted to the persons referred to in Article 20(3), points (a), (b) and (c), in their Member State. 3. Data provided in accordance with Article 21a may be accessed at national level only by national correspondents for Eurojust in terrorism matters as referred to in Article 20(3), point (c). 4. Each Member State may decide, after consultation with its national member, that persons referred to in Article 20(3), points (a), (b) and (c), may, within the limitations provided for in paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 of this Article, enter information in the case management system concerning their Member State. Such contribution shall be subject to validation by the respective national member. The College shall lay down the details of the practical implementation of this paragraph. Member States shall notify Eurojust and the Commission of their decision regarding the implementation of this paragraph. The Commission shall inform the other Member States thereof.
Article 26 
1. This Regulation and Article 3 and Chapter IX of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 shall apply to the processing of operational personal data by Eurojust. Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 shall apply to the processing of administrative personal data by Eurojust, with the exception of Chapter IX of that Regulation. 2. References to ‘applicable data protection rules’ in this Regulation shall be understood as references to the provisions on data protection set out in this Regulation and in Regulation (EU) 2018/1725. 3. The data protection rules on processing of operational personal data contained in this Regulation shall be considered as specific data protection rules to the general rules laid down in Article 3 and Chapter IX of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725. 4. Eurojust shall determine the time limits for the storage of administrative personal data in the data protection provisions of its rules of procedure.
Article 27 
1. In so far as it is necessary to perform its tasks, Eurojust may, within the framework of its competence and in order to carry out its operational functions, process by automated means or in structured manual files in accordance with this Regulation only the operational personal data listed in point 1 of Annex II of persons who, under the national law of the Member States concerned, are persons with regard to whom there are serious grounds for believing that they have committed or are about to commit a criminal offence in respect of which Eurojust is competent or who have been convicted of such an offence. 2. Eurojust may process only the operational personal data listed in point 2 of Annex II of persons who, under the national law of the Member States concerned, are regarded as victims or other parties to a criminal offence, such as persons who might be called to testify in a criminal investigation or prosecution regarding one or more of the types of crime and the criminal offences referred to in Article 3, persons who are able to provide information on criminal offences, or contacts or associates of a person referred to in paragraph 1. The processing of such operational personal data may only take place if it is necessary for the fulfilment of the tasks of Eurojust, within the framework of its competence and in order to carry out its operational functions. 3. In exceptional cases, for a limited period of time which shall not exceed the time needed for the conclusion of the case in relation to which the data are processed, Eurojust may also process operational personal data other than the personal data referred to in Annex II relating to the circumstances of an offence, where such data are immediately relevant to and are included in ongoing investigations which Eurojust is coordinating or helping to coordinate and when their processing is necessary for the purposes specified in paragraph 1. The Data Protection Officer referred to in Article 36 shall be informed immediately when such operational personal data are processed, and shall be informed of the specific circumstances which justify the necessity of the processing of those operational personal data. Where such other data refer to witnesses or victims within the meaning of paragraph 2 of this Article, the decision to process them shall be taken jointly by the national members concerned. 4. Eurojust may process special categories of operational personal data in accordance with Article 76 of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725. Such data may not be processed in the index referred to in Article 23(4) of this Regulation. Where such other data refer to witnesses or victims within the meaning of paragraph 2 of this Article, the decision to process them shall be taken by the national members concerned.
Amendment rationale: CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL Reasons for and objectives of the proposal The European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation (Eurojust) coordinates investigations and prosecutions of serious cross-border crime in Europe and beyond. As the European Union’s hub for judicial cooperation in criminal matters, Eurojust supports national investigating and prosecuting authorities in relation to serious crime with which Eurojust is competent to deal in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2018/1727 (‘Eurojust Regulation’). Among others, genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes (also collectively referred to as ‘core international crimes’) are crimes Eurojust is competent to deal with. On 24 February 2022, Russia began a military aggression against Ukraine . There is a reasonable ground to believe that war crimes and crimes against humanity have been and are being committed in Ukraine . On 2 March 2022, the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court announced he had proceeded to open an investigation into the situation in Ukraine 1 . The p rosecution services in several Member States as well as in Ukraine have also started investigati ons of core international crimes , which are supported and coordinated by Eurojust . Eurojust has the expertise and experience to support the investigations and prosecutions of core international crimes, including by facilitating the activities of Joint Investigation Team s (JIT s ), such as the one set up by some Member States and Ukraine in the context of the current hostilities . Eurojust also cooperates with the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court. National authorities are collecting evidence of the international crimes that may have been committed in Ukraine. Due to the ongoing hostilities, evidence cannot be stored securely in Ukraine, requiring that a back-up/storage place be urgently secured by the Union. Thus, in order to coordinate efforts currently deployed by Member States to collect evidence, it is necessary to quickly set up central storage, where evidence collected by Union agencies and bodies as well as national and international authorities or third parties such as civil society organisations could be stored. However, while the Eurojust Regulation provides that Eurojust supports Member States’ action in investigating and prosecuting serious crime, it does not explicitly allow Eurojust to collect, preserve and analyse such evidence in relation to this purpose. In order to perform its tasks, Eurojust has established a case management system, which contains non-personal data and the personal data referred to in Annex II to the Eurojust Regulation . The case management system mainly aims to support the management and coordination of investigations and prosecutions for which Eurojust provides assistance. The Eurojust Regulation restricts the set-up of the case management system to temporary work files, aiming to support the follow-up on ongoing cases, and an index 2 . Processing of personal data outside of the case management system is prohibited 3 . When coordinat ing and support ing investigations and prosecutions, Eurojust can temporarily store and exchange evidence in accordance with the rules set out in the Regulation . The Commission has already proposed to enhance the current set-up of the Eurojust’s case management system with regard to Eurojust’s activities concerning investigations and prosecutions of terrorist offences. On 1 December 2021, the Commission adopted a proposal to improve the functioning of the European Judicial Counter-Terrorism Register at Eurojust 4 . As part of that proposal, the modernisation of the case management system and the digitalisation of the information exchange between national competent authorities and Eurojust are envisaged. The recent events connected with Russia’s aggression against Ukraine have further demonstrated the urgent need to go beyond the Eurojust’s existing case management system. The current data processing architecture at Eurojust does not allow Eurojust to collect, preserve and analyse evidence relating to core international crimes, including those that are likely being committed in Ukraine, due to the scale of the events and the vast amount of evidence that needs to be stored in case of the commission of such crimes. Against this background, this proposal seeks to allow Eurojust to collect, preserve and analyse evidence in relation to genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and related criminal offences and, when necessary and appropriate, enable its exchange or otherwise make it available to the competent judicial authorities, national or international. The collection of evidence does not amount to providing Eurojust with an executive role as investigating authority, which would not be covered by Eurojust’s mandate, but is meant to ensure Eurojust can receive and centrally store the evidence from different sources. By doing so, Eurojust can support case building work in national and international investigations in a more effective way and provide additional support to the competent prosecution services. To this end, this proposal envisages the establishment of an automated data management and storage facility outside the case management system. In view of the sensitive nature of the personal data involved, their processing, including collection, preservation, analysis and exchange, must comply with the highest standards of data protection and cyber security. Crucial evidence about core international crimes is usually available in the form of, among others, audio recordings, videos and photographs. Satellite images may also prove useful to demonstrate the commission of these crimes. For this reason, this proposal also aims to extend the categories of data that Eurojust can legally process to videos and audio recordings as well as satellite images and any relevant photographs. With a view to allowing national and international judicial authorities to benefit from the fully-fledged support that Eurojust can provide in the ongoing investigations of core international crimes in the context of the aggression against Ukraine, the amendments to the Eurojust Regulation envisaged in this proposal need to be urgently enacted.
Revised version (Article 27 ):
1. In so far as it is necessary to perform its tasks, Eurojust may, within the framework of its competence and in order to carry out its operational functions, process by automated means or in structured manual files in accordance with this Regulation only the operational personal data listed in point 1 of Annex II of persons who, under the national law of the Member States concerned, are persons with regard to whom there are serious grounds for believing that they have committed or are about to commit a criminal offence in respect of which Eurojust is competent or who have been convicted of such an offence. 2. Eurojust may process only the operational personal data listed in point 2 of Annex II of persons who, under the national law of the Member States concerned, are regarded as victims or other parties to a criminal offence, such as persons who might be called to testify in a criminal investigation or prosecution regarding one or more of the types of crime and the criminal offences referred to in Article 3, persons who are able to provide information on criminal offences, or contacts or associates of a person referred to in paragraph 1. The processing of such operational personal data may only take place if it is necessary for the fulfilment of the tasks of Eurojust, within the framework of its competence and in order to carry out its operational functions. 3. In exceptional cases, for a limited period of time which shall not exceed the time needed for the conclusion of the case in relation to which the data are processed, Eurojust may also process operational personal data other than the personal data referred to in Annex II relating to the circumstances of an offence, where such data are immediately relevant to and are included in ongoing investigations which Eurojust is coordinating or helping to coordinate and when their processing is necessary for the purposes specified in paragraph 1. The Data Protection Officer referred to in Article 36 shall be informed immediately when such operational personal data are processed, and shall be informed of the specific circumstances which justify the necessity of the processing of those operational personal data. Where such other data refer to witnesses or victims within the meaning of paragraph 2 of this Article, the decision to process them shall be taken jointly by the national members concerned. 4. Eurojust may process special categories of operational personal data in accordance with Article 76 of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725. Where such other data refer to witnesses or victims within the meaning of paragraph 2 of this Article, the decision to process them shall be taken by the national members concerned.
Article 28 
The processor and any person acting under the authority of Eurojust or of the processor who has access to operational personal data shall not process those data except on instructions from Eurojust, unless required to do so by Union law or Member State law.
Article 29 
2. Observance of the storage deadlines referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article shall be reviewed constantly by appropriate automated processing conducted by Eurojust, particularly from the moment in which the case is closed by Eurojust. A review of the need to store the data shall also be carried out every three years after they were entered; the results of such reviews shall apply to the case as a whole. If operational personal data referred to in Article 27(4) are stored for a period exceeding five years, the EDPS shall be informed. 3. Before one of the storage deadlines referred to in paragraph 1 expires, Eurojust shall review the need for the continued storage of the operational personal data where and as long as this is necessary to perform its tasks. It may decide by way of derogation to store those data until the following review. The reasons for the continued storage shall be justified and recorded. If no decision is taken on the continued storage of operational personal data at the time of the review, those data shall be deleted automatically. 4. Where, in accordance with paragraph 3, operational personal data have been stored beyond the storage deadlines referred to in paragraph 1, the EDPS shall also carry out a review of the need to store those data every three years. 5. Once the deadline for the storage of the last item of automated data from the file has expired, all documents in the file shall be destroyed with the exception of any original documents which Eurojust has received from national authorities and which need to be returned to their provider. 6. Where Eurojust has coordinated an investigation or prosecutions, the national members concerned shall inform each other whenever they receive information that the case has been dismissed or that all judicial decisions related to the case have become final.
Amendment rationale: CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL Reasons for and objectives of the proposal The European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation (Eurojust) coordinates investigations and prosecutions of serious cross-border crime in Europe and beyond. As the European Union’s hub for judicial cooperation in criminal matters, Eurojust supports national investigating and prosecuting authorities in relation to serious crime with which Eurojust is competent to deal in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2018/1727 (‘Eurojust Regulation’). Among others, genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes (also collectively referred to as ‘core international crimes’) are crimes Eurojust is competent to deal with. On 24 February 2022, Russia began a military aggression against Ukraine . There is a reasonable ground to believe that war crimes and crimes against humanity have been and are being committed in Ukraine . On 2 March 2022, the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court announced he had proceeded to open an investigation into the situation in Ukraine 1 . The p rosecution services in several Member States as well as in Ukraine have also started investigati ons of core international crimes , which are supported and coordinated by Eurojust . Eurojust has the expertise and experience to support the investigations and prosecutions of core international crimes, including by facilitating the activities of Joint Investigation Team s (JIT s ), such as the one set up by some Member States and Ukraine in the context of the current hostilities . Eurojust also cooperates with the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court. National authorities are collecting evidence of the international crimes that may have been committed in Ukraine. Due to the ongoing hostilities, evidence cannot be stored securely in Ukraine, requiring that a back-up/storage place be urgently secured by the Union. Thus, in order to coordinate efforts currently deployed by Member States to collect evidence, it is necessary to quickly set up central storage, where evidence collected by Union agencies and bodies as well as national and international authorities or third parties such as civil society organisations could be stored. However, while the Eurojust Regulation provides that Eurojust supports Member States’ action in investigating and prosecuting serious crime, it does not explicitly allow Eurojust to collect, preserve and analyse such evidence in relation to this purpose. In order to perform its tasks, Eurojust has established a case management system, which contains non-personal data and the personal data referred to in Annex II to the Eurojust Regulation . The case management system mainly aims to support the management and coordination of investigations and prosecutions for which Eurojust provides assistance. The Eurojust Regulation restricts the set-up of the case management system to temporary work files, aiming to support the follow-up on ongoing cases, and an index 2 . Processing of personal data outside of the case management system is prohibited 3 . When coordinat ing and support ing investigations and prosecutions, Eurojust can temporarily store and exchange evidence in accordance with the rules set out in the Regulation . The Commission has already proposed to enhance the current set-up of the Eurojust’s case management system with regard to Eurojust’s activities concerning investigations and prosecutions of terrorist offences. On 1 December 2021, the Commission adopted a proposal to improve the functioning of the European Judicial Counter-Terrorism Register at Eurojust 4 . As part of that proposal, the modernisation of the case management system and the digitalisation of the information exchange between national competent authorities and Eurojust are envisaged. The recent events connected with Russia’s aggression against Ukraine have further demonstrated the urgent need to go beyond the Eurojust’s existing case management system. The current data processing architecture at Eurojust does not allow Eurojust to collect, preserve and analyse evidence relating to core international crimes, including those that are likely being committed in Ukraine, due to the scale of the events and the vast amount of evidence that needs to be stored in case of the commission of such crimes. Against this background, this proposal seeks to allow Eurojust to collect, preserve and analyse evidence in relation to genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and related criminal offences and, when necessary and appropriate, enable its exchange or otherwise make it available to the competent judicial authorities, national or international. The collection of evidence does not amount to providing Eurojust with an executive role as investigating authority, which would not be covered by Eurojust’s mandate, but is meant to ensure Eurojust can receive and centrally store the evidence from different sources. By doing so, Eurojust can support case building work in national and international investigations in a more effective way and provide additional support to the competent prosecution services. To this end, this proposal envisages the establishment of an automated data management and storage facility outside the case management system. In view of the sensitive nature of the personal data involved, their processing, including collection, preservation, analysis and exchange, must comply with the highest standards of data protection and cyber security. Crucial evidence about core international crimes is usually available in the form of, among others, audio recordings, videos and photographs. Satellite images may also prove useful to demonstrate the commission of these crimes. For this reason, this proposal also aims to extend the categories of data that Eurojust can legally process to videos and audio recordings as well as satellite images and any relevant photographs. With a view to allowing national and international judicial authorities to benefit from the fully-fledged support that Eurojust can provide in the ongoing investigations of core international crimes in the context of the aggression against Ukraine, the amendments to the Eurojust Regulation envisaged in this proposal need to be urgently enacted.
Revised version (Article 29 ):
2. Observance of the storage deadlines referred to in paragraphs 1 and 1a shall be reviewed constantly by appropriate automated processing conducted by Eurojust, in particular from the moment Eurojust ceases to provide support. A review of the need to store the data shall also be carried out every three years after they were entered. If operational personal data referred to in Article 27(4) are stored for a period exceeding five years, the EDPS shall be informed thereof. 3. Before one of the storage deadlines referred to in paragraphs 1 and 1a expires, Eurojust shall review the need for the continued storage of the operational personal data where and as long as this is necessary to perform its tasks. It may decide by way of derogation to store those data until the following review. The reasons for the continued storage shall be justified and recorded. If no decision is taken on the continued storage of operational personal data at the time of the review, those data shall be deleted automatically. 4. Where, in accordance with paragraph 3, operational personal data have been stored beyond the storage deadlines referred to in paragraph 1, the EDPS shall also carry out a review of the need to store those data every three years. 5. Once the deadline for the storage of the last item of automated data from the file has expired, all documents in the file shall be destroyed with the exception of any original documents which Eurojust has received from national authorities and which need to be returned to their provider. 6. Where Eurojust has coordinated an investigation or prosecutions, the national members concerned shall inform each other whenever they receive information that the case has been dismissed or that all judicial decisions related to the case have become final.
Article 30 
Eurojust and Member States shall define mechanisms to ensure that the security measures referred to in Article 91 of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 are addressed across information system boundaries.
Article 31 
1. Any data subject who wishes to exercise the right of access referred to in Article 80 of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 to operational personal data that relate to the data subject and which have been processed by Eurojust may make a request to Eurojust or to the national supervisory authority in the Member State of the data subject’s choice. That authority shall refer the request to Eurojust without delay, and in any case within one month of its receipt. 2. The request shall be answered by Eurojust without undue delay and in any case within three months of its receipt by Eurojust. 3. The competent authorities of the Member States concerned shall be consulted by Eurojust on the decision to be taken in response to a request. The decision on access to data shall only be taken by Eurojust in close cooperation with the Member States directly concerned by the communication of such data. Where a Member State objects to Eurojust’s proposed decision, it shall notify Eurojust of the reasons for its objection. Eurojust shall comply with any such objection. The national members concerned shall subsequently notify the competent authorities of the content of Eurojust’s decision. 4. The national members concerned shall deal with the request and reach a decision on Eurojust’s behalf. Where the national members concerned are not in agreement, they shall refer the matter to the College, which shall take its decision on the request by a two-thirds majority.
Article 32 
In the cases referred to in Article 81 of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725, Eurojust shall inform the data subject after consulting the competent authorities of the Member States concerned in accordance with Article 31(3) of this Regulation.
Article 33 
Without prejudice to the exceptions set out in Article 29(7) of this Regulation, where the processing of operational personal data has been restricted under Article 82(3) of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725, such operational personal data shall only be processed for the protection of the rights of the data subject or another natural or legal person who is a party to the proceedings to which Eurojust is a party, or for the purposes laid down in Article 82(3) of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725.
Article 34 
Only national members, their deputies, their Assistants and authorised seconded national experts, the persons referred to in Article 20(3) in so far as those persons are connected to the case management system and authorised Eurojust staff may, for the purpose of achieving Eurojust’s tasks, have access to operational personal data processed by Eurojust within the limits provided for in Articles 23, 24 and 25.
Article 35 
2. The records referred to in paragraph 1 shall be in writing, including in electronic form. 3. Eurojust shall make the record available to the EDPS on request.
Article 36 
1. The Executive Board shall designate a Data Protection Officer. The Data Protection Officer shall be a member of staff specifically appointed for this purpose. In the performance of his or her duties, the Data Protection Officer shall act independently and may not receive any instructions. 2. The Data Protection Officer shall be selected on the basis of his or her professional qualities and, in particular, expert knowledge of data protection law and practice, and ability to fulfil his or her tasks under this Regulation, in particular those referred to in Article 38. 3. The selection of the Data Protection Officer shall not be liable to result in a conflict of interests between his or her duty as Data Protection Officer and any other official duties he or she may have, in particular in relation to the application of this Regulation. 4. The Data Protection Officer shall be appointed for a term of four years and shall be eligible for reappointment up to a maximum total term of eight years. The Data Protection Officer may be dismissed from his or her post by the Executive Board only with the agreement of the EDPS, if he or she no longer fulfils the conditions required for the performance of his or her duties. 5. Eurojust shall publish the contact details of the Data Protection Officer and communicate them to the EDPS.
Article 37 
1. Eurojust shall ensure that the Data Protection Officer is involved properly and in a timely manner in all issues which relate to the protection of personal data. 2. Eurojust shall support the Data Protection Officer in performing the tasks referred to in Article 38 by providing the resources and staff necessary to carry out those tasks and by providing access to personal data and processing operations, and to maintain his or her expert knowledge. 3. Eurojust shall ensure that the Data Protection Officer does not receive any instructions regarding the carrying out of his or her tasks. The Data Protection Officer shall not be dismissed or penalised by the Executive Board for performing his or her tasks. The Data Protection Officer shall report directly to the College in relation to operational personal data and report to the Executive Board in relation to administrative personal data. 4. Data subjects may contact the Data Protection Officer with regard to all issues related to processing of their personal data and to the exercise of their rights under this Regulation and under Regulation (EU) 2018/1725. 5. The Executive Board shall adopt implementing rules concerning the Data Protection Officer. Those implementing rules shall in particular concern the selection procedure for the position of the Data Protection Officer, his or her dismissal, tasks, duties and powers, and safeguards for the independence of the Data Protection Officer. 6. The Data Protection Officer and his or her staff shall be bound by the obligation of confidentiality in accordance with Article 72. 7. The Data Protection Officer may be consulted by the controller and the processor, by the staff committee concerned and by any individual on any matter concerning the interpretation or application of this Regulation and Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 without them going through the official channels. No one shall suffer prejudice on account of a matter brought to the attention of the Data Protection Officer alleging that a breach of this Regulation or Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 has taken place. 8. After his or her designation the Data Protection Officer shall be registered with the EDPS by Eurojust.
Article 38 
2. The Data Protection Officer shall carry out the functions provided for in Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 with regard to administrative personal data. 3. The Data Protection Officer and the staff members of Eurojust assisting the Data Protection Officer in the performance of his or her duties shall have access to the personal data processed by Eurojust and to its premises, to the extent necessary for the performance of their tasks. 4. If the Data Protection Officer considers that the provisions of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 related to the processing of administrative personal data or that the provisions of this Regulation or of Article 3 and of Chapter IX of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 related to the processing of operational personal data have not been complied with, he or she shall inform the Executive Board, requesting that it resolve the non-compliance within a specified time. If the Executive Board does not resolve the non-compliance within the specified time, the Data Protection Officer shall refer the matter to the EDPS.
Article 39 
1. In the event of a personal data breach, Eurojust shall without undue delay notify the competent authorities of the Member States concerned of that breach.
Article 40 
1. The EDPS shall be responsible for monitoring and ensuring the application of the provisions of this Regulation and Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 relating to the protection of fundamental rights and freedoms of natural persons with regard to processing of operational personal data by Eurojust, and for advising Eurojust and data subjects on all matters concerning the processing of operational personal data. To that end, the EDPS shall fulfil the duties set out in paragraph 2 of this Article, shall exercise the powers granted in paragraph 3 of this Article and shall cooperate with the national supervisory authorities in accordance with Article 42. 4. The EDPS shall have access to the operational personal data processed by Eurojust and to its premises to the extent necessary for the performance of his or her tasks. 5. The EDPS shall draw up an annual report on his or her supervisory activities in relation to Eurojust. That report shall be part of the annual report of the EDPS referred to in Article 60 of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725. The national supervisory authorities shall be invited to make observations on this report before it becomes part of the annual report of the EDPS referred to in Article 60 of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725. The EDPS shall take utmost account of the observations made by national supervisory authorities and, in any case, shall refer to them in the annual report. 6. Eurojust shall cooperate with the EDPS in the performance of his or her tasks at his or her request.
Article 41 
1. The EDPS and his or her staff shall, both during and after their term of office, be subject to a duty of professional secrecy with regard to any confidential information which has come to their knowledge in the course of their performance of official duties. 2. The EDPS shall, in the exercise of his or her supervision powers, take into utmost account the secrecy of judicial inquiries and criminal proceedings, in accordance with Union or Member State law.
Article 42 
1. The EDPS shall act in close cooperation with national supervisory authorities with respect to specific issues requiring national involvement, in particular if the EDPS or a national supervisory authority finds major discrepancies between practices of the Member States or potentially unlawful transfers using Eurojust’s communication channels, or in the context of questions raised by one or more national supervisory authorities on the implementation and interpretation of this Regulation. 2. In the cases referred to in paragraph 1, coordinated supervision shall be ensured in accordance with Article 62 of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725. 3. The EDPS shall keep national supervisory authorities fully informed of all issues that directly affect them or are otherwise relevant to them. Upon a request from one or more national supervisory authorities, the EDPS shall inform them on specific issues. 4. In cases relating to data originating from one or several Member States, including cases referred to in Article 43(3), the EDPS shall consult the national supervisory authorities concerned. The EDPS shall not decide on further action to be taken before those national supervisory authorities have informed the EDPS of their position, within a deadline specified by the EDPS. That deadline shall not be shorter than one month or longer than three months. The EDPS shall take utmost account of the position of the national supervisory authorities concerned. In cases where the EDPS intends not to follow their position, he or she shall inform them, provide a justification, and submit the matter to the European Data Protection Board. In cases which the EDPS considers to be extremely urgent, he or she may decide to take immediate action. In such cases, the EDPS shall immediately inform the national supervisory authorities concerned and substantiate the urgent nature of the situation and justify the action he or she has taken. 5. National supervisory authorities shall keep the EDPS informed of any actions they take with respect to the transfer, retrieval, or any other communication of operational personal data under this Regulation by the Member States.
Article 43 
1. Any data subject shall have the right to lodge a complaint with the EDPS, if he or she considers that the processing by Eurojust of operational personal data relating to him or her does not comply with this Regulation or Regulation (EU) 2018/1725. 2. Where a complaint relates to a decision referred to in Article 31, 32 or 33 of this Regulation or Article 80, 81 or 82 of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725, the EDPS shall consult the national supervisory authorities or the competent judicial body of the Member State that provided the data or the Member State directly concerned. In adopting his or her decision, which may extend to a refusal to communicate any information, the EDPS shall take into account the opinion of the national supervisory authority or of the competent judicial body. 3. Where a complaint relates to the processing of data provided by a Member State to Eurojust, the EDPS and the national supervisory authority of the Member State that provided the data, each acting within the scope of their respective competences shall ensure that the necessary checks on the lawfulness of the processing of the data have been carried out correctly. 4. Where a complaint relates to the processing of data provided to Eurojust by Union bodies, offices or agencies, by third countries or by international organisations or to the processing of data retrieved by Eurojust from publicly available sources, the EDPS shall ensure that Eurojust has correctly carried out the necessary checks on the lawfulness of the processing of the data. 5. The EDPS shall inform the data subject of the progress and outcome of the complaint, as well as the possibility of a judicial remedy pursuant to Article 44.
Article 44 
Actions against the decisions of the EDPS concerning operational personal data shall be brought before the Court.
Article 45 
1. Eurojust shall process operational personal data in such a way that it can be established which authority provided the data or from where the data were retrieved. 4. Subject to other provisions of this Regulation, Eurojust shall be responsible for all data processed by it.
Article 46 
1. Eurojust shall be liable, in accordance with Article 340 TFEU, for any damage caused to an individual which results from the unauthorised or incorrect processing of data carried out by it. 2. Complaints against Eurojust on grounds of the liability referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article shall be heard by the Court in accordance with Article 268 TFEU. 3. Each Member State shall be liable, in accordance with its national law, for any damage caused to an individual which results from the unauthorised or incorrect processing carried out by it of data which were communicated to Eurojust.
Article 47 
1. In so far as necessary for the performance of its tasks, Eurojust may establish and maintain cooperative relations with Union institutions, bodies, offices and agencies in accordance with their respective objectives, and with the competent authorities of third countries and international organisations in accordance with the cooperation strategy referred to in Article 52. 2. In so far as relevant to the performance of its tasks and subject to any restrictions pursuant to Article 21(8) and Article 76, Eurojust may exchange any information with the entities referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article directly, with the exception of personal data. 3. For the purposes set out in paragraphs 1 and 2, Eurojust may conclude working arrangements with the entities referred to in paragraph 1. Such working arrangements shall not form the basis for allowing the exchange of personal data and shall not bind the Union or its Member States. 4. Eurojust may receive and process personal data received from the entities referred to in paragraph 1 in so far as necessary for the performance of its tasks, subject to the applicable data protection rules. 5. Personal data shall only be transferred by Eurojust to Union institutions, bodies, offices or agencies, to third countries or to international organisations if this is necessary for the performance of its tasks and is in accordance with Articles 55 and 56. If the data to be transferred have been provided by a Member State, Eurojust shall obtain the consent of the relevant competent authority in that Member State, unless the Member State has granted its prior authorisation to such onward transfer, either in general terms or subject to specific conditions. Such consent may be withdrawn at any time.
Article 48 
2. The Secretariat of the Network for joint investigation teams and the Secretariat of the Network set up by Decision 2002/494/JHA shall form part of the staff of Eurojust. Those secretariats shall function as separate units. They may draw on the administrative resources of Eurojust which are necessary for the performance of their tasks. The coordination of the secretariats shall be ensured by Eurojust. This paragraph applies to the secretariat of any relevant network involved in judicial cooperation in criminal matters for which Eurojust is to provide support in the form of a secretariat. Eurojust may support relevant European networks and bodies involved in judicial cooperation in criminal matters, including where appropriate by means of a secretariat hosted at Eurojust. 3. The network set up by Decision 2008/852/JHA may request that Eurojust provide a secretariat of the network. If such request is made, paragraph 2 shall apply.
Article 49 
1. Eurojust shall take all appropriate measures to enable Europol, within Europol’s mandate, to have indirect access, on the basis of a hit/no-hit system, to information provided to Eurojust, without prejudice to any restrictions indicated by the Member State, Union body, office or agency, third country or international organisation that provided the information in question. In the case of a hit, Eurojust shall initiate the procedure by which the information that generated the hit may be shared in accordance with the decision of the Member State, Union body, office or agency, third country or international organisation that provided the information to Eurojust. 2. Searches of information in accordance with paragraph 1 shall be carried out only for the purpose of identifying whether information available at Europol matches with information processed at Eurojust. 3. Eurojust shall allow searches in accordance with paragraph 1 only after obtaining from Europol information on which Europol staff members have been designated as authorised to perform such searches. 4. If during Eurojust’s information processing activities in respect of an individual investigation, Eurojust or a Member State identifies the need for coordination, cooperation or support in accordance with Europol’s mandate, Eurojust shall notify Europol thereof and shall initiate the procedure for sharing the information, in accordance with the decision of the Member State that provided the information. In such cases Eurojust shall consult with Europol. 5. Eurojust shall establish and maintain close cooperation with Europol to the extent relevant to performing the tasks of the two agencies and to achieving their objectives, taking account of the need to avoid duplication of effort. To that end, the Executive Director of Europol and the President of Eurojust shall meet on a regular basis to discuss issues of common concern. 6. Europol shall respect any restriction of access or use, whether in general or specific terms, that has been indicated by a Member State, Union body, office or agency, third country or international organisation, in relation to information that it has provided.
Article 50 
1. Eurojust shall establish and maintain a close relationship with the EPPO based on mutual cooperation within their respective mandates and competences and on the development of operational, administrative and management links between them as defined in this Article. To that end, the President of Eurojust and the European Chief Prosecutor shall meet on a regular basis to discuss issues of common interest. They shall meet at the request of the President of Eurojust or of the European Chief Prosecutor. 2. Eurojust shall treat requests for support from the EPPO without undue delay, and, where appropriate, shall treat such requests as if they had been received from a national authority competent for judicial cooperation. 3. Whenever necessary to support the cooperation established in accordance with paragraph 1 of this Article, Eurojust shall make use of the Eurojust national coordination system set up in accordance with Article 20, as well as the relations it has established with third countries, including its liaison magistrates 4. In operational matters relevant to the EPPO’s competences, Eurojust shall inform the EPPO of and, where appropriate, associate it with its activities concerning cross-border cases, including by: (a) sharing information on its cases, including personal data, in accordance with the relevant provisions in this Regulation; (b) requesting the EPPO to provide support. 5. Eurojust shall have indirect access to information in the EPPO’s case management system on the basis of a hit/no-hit system. Whenever a match is found between data entered into the case management system by the EPPO and data held by Eurojust, the fact that there is a match shall be communicated to both Eurojust and to the EPPO, as well as to the Member State which provided the data to Eurojust. Eurojust shall take appropriate measures to enable the EPPO to have indirect access to information in its case management system on the basis of a hit/no-hit system. 6. The EPPO may rely on the support and resources of the administration of Eurojust. To that end, Eurojust may provide services of common interest to the EPPO. The details shall be regulated by an arrangement.
Article 51 
1. Eurojust shall establish and maintain cooperative relations with the European Judicial Training Network. 2. OLAF shall contribute to Eurojust’s coordination work regarding the protection of the financial interests of the Union, in accordance with its mandate under Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 883/2013. 3. The European Border and Coast Guard Agency shall contribute to Eurojust’s work including by transmitting relevant information processed in accordance with its mandate and tasks under point (m) of Article 8(1) of Regulation (EU) 2016/1624 of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 5 ). The European Border and Coast Guard Agency’s processing of any personal data in connection therewith shall be regulated by Regulation (EU) 2018/1725. 4. For the purposes of receiving and transmitting information between Eurojust and OLAF, without prejudice to Article 8 of this Regulation, Member States shall ensure that the national members of Eurojust are regarded as competent authorities of the Member States solely for the purposes of Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 883/2013. The exchange of information between OLAF and national members shall be without prejudice to obligations to provide the information to other competent authorities under those Regulations.
Article 52 
1. Eurojust may establish and maintain cooperation with authorities of third countries and international organisations. To that end, Eurojust shall prepare a cooperation strategy every four years in consultation with the Commission, which specifies the third countries and international organisations with which there is an operational need for cooperation. 2. Eurojust may conclude working arrangements with the entities referred to in Article 47(1). 3. Eurojust may designate contact points in third countries in agreement with the competent authorities concerned, in order to facilitate cooperation in accordance with the operational needs of Eurojust.
Article 53 
1. For the purpose of facilitating judicial cooperation with third countries in cases in which Eurojust is providing assistance in accordance with this Regulation, the College may post liaison magistrates to a third country subject to the existence of a working arrangement as referred to in Article 47(3) with the competent authorities of that third country. 2. The tasks of the liaison magistrates shall include any activity designed to encourage and accelerate any form of judicial cooperation in criminal matters, in particular by establishing direct links with the competent authorities of the third country concerned. In the performance of their tasks, the liaison magistrates may exchange operational personal data with the competent authorities of the third country concerned in accordance with Article 56. 3. The liaison magistrate referred to in paragraph 1 shall have experience of working with Eurojust and adequate knowledge of judicial cooperation and how Eurojust operates. The posting of a liaison magistrate on behalf of Eurojust shall be subject to the prior consent of the magistrate and of his or her Member State. 4. Where the liaison magistrate posted by Eurojust is selected among national members, deputies or Assistants: (a) the Member State concerned shall replace him or her in his or her function as a national member, deputy or Assistant; (b) he or she shall cease to be entitled to exercise the powers granted to him or her under Article 8. 5. Without prejudice to Article 110 of the Staff Regulations of Officials, the College shall draw up the terms and conditions for the posting of liaison magistrates, including their level of remuneration. The College shall adopt the necessary implementing arrangements in this respect in consultation with the Commission. 6. The activities of liaison magistrates posted by Eurojust shall be subject to the supervision of the EDPS. The liaison magistrates shall report to the College, which shall inform the European Parliament and the Council in the annual report and in an appropriate manner of their activities. The liaison magistrates shall inform national members and competent national authorities of all cases concerning their Member State. 7. The competent authorities of the Member States and liaison magistrates referred to in paragraph 1 may contact each other directly. In such cases, the liaison magistrate shall inform the national member concerned of such contacts. 8. The liaison magistrates referred to in paragraph 1 shall be connected to the case management system.
Article 54 
1. Eurojust may, with the agreement of the Member States concerned, coordinate the execution of requests for judicial cooperation issued by a third country where such requests require execution in at least two Member States as part of the same investigation. Such requests may also be transmitted to Eurojust by a competent national authority. 2. In urgent cases and in accordance with Article 19, the OCC may receive and transmit the requests referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article if they have been issued by a third country which has concluded a cooperation agreement or working arrangement with Eurojust. 3. Without prejudice to Article 3(5), where requests for judicial cooperation which relate to the same investigation and which require execution in a third country are made by the Member State concerned, Eurojust shall facilitate judicial cooperation with that third country.
Article 55 
1. Subject to any further restrictions pursuant to this Regulation, in particular pursuant to Articles 21(8), 47(5) and 76, Eurojust shall only transmit operational personal data to another Union institution, body, office or agency if the data are necessary for the legitimate performance of tasks covered by the competence of the other Union institution, body, office or agency. 2. Where the operational personal data are transmitted following a request from another Union institution, body, office or agency, both the controller and the recipient shall bear the responsibility for the legitimacy of that transfer. Eurojust shall be required to verify the competence of the other Union institution, body, office or agency and to make a provisional evaluation of the necessity of the transmission of the operational personal data. If doubts arise as to this necessity, Eurojust shall seek further information from the recipient. The other Union institution, body, office or agency shall ensure that the necessity of the transmission of the operational personal data can be subsequently verified. 3. The other Union institution, body, office or agency shall process the operational personal data only for the purposes for which they were transmitted.
Article 56 
3. The working arrangements referred to in Article 47(3) may be used to set out modalities to implement the agreements or adequacy decisions referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article. 4. Eurojust may in urgent cases transfer operational personal data without prior authorisation from a Member State in accordance with point (c) of paragraph 1. Eurojust shall only do so if the transfer of the operational personal data is necessary for the prevention of an immediate and serious threat to the public security of a Member State or of a third country or to the essential interests of a Member State, and where the prior authorisation cannot be obtained in good time. The authority responsible for giving prior authorisation shall be informed without delay. 5. Member States and Union institutions, bodies, offices and agencies shall not transfer operational personal data they have received from Eurojust onward to a third country or an international organisation,. As an exception, they may make such a transfer in cases where Eurojust has authorised it after taking into due account all relevant factors, including the seriousness of the criminal offence, the purpose for which the operational personal data were originally transmitted and the level of personal data protection in the third country or international organisation to which the operational personal data are transferred onward. 6. Articles 57, 58 and 59 shall apply in order to ensure that the level of protection of natural persons ensured by this Regulation and by Union law is not undermined.
Article 57 
Eurojust may transfer operational personal data to a third country or to an international organisation where the Commission has decided in accordance with Article 36 of Directive (EU) 2016/680 that the third country, a territory or one or more specified sectors within that third country, or the international organisation in question ensures an adequate level of protection.
Article 58 
1. In the absence of an adequacy decision, Eurojust may transfer operational personal data to a third country or an international organisation where: (a) appropriate safeguards with regard to the protection of operational personal data are provided for in a legally binding instrument; or (b) Eurojust has assessed all the circumstances surrounding the transfer of operational personal data and has concluded that appropriate safeguards exist with regard to the protection of operational personal data. 2. Eurojust shall inform the EDPS about categories of transfers under point (b) of paragraph 1. 3. When a transfer is based on point (b) of paragraph 1, such a transfer shall be documented and the documentation shall be made available to the EDPS on request. The documentation shall include a record of the date and time of the transfer and information about the receiving competent authority, about the justification for the transfer and about the operational personal data transferred.
Article 59 
2. Where a transfer is based on paragraph 1, such a transfer shall be documented and the documentation shall be made available to the EDPS on request. The documentation shall include a record of the date and time of the transfer, and information about the receiving competent authority, about the justification for the transfer and about the operational personal data transferred.
Article 60 
1. Estimates of all the revenue and expenditure of Eurojust shall be prepared for each financial year, corresponding to the calendar year, and shall be shown in Eurojust’s budget. 2. Eurojust’s budget shall be balanced in terms of revenue and of expenditure. 4. The expenditure of Eurojust shall include staff remuneration, administrative and infrastructure expenses and operating costs, including funding for joint investigation teams.
Article 61 
1. Each year the Administrative Director shall draw up a draft statement of estimates of Eurojust’s revenue and expenditure for the following financial year, including the establishment plan, and shall send it to the Executive Board. The European Judicial Network and other Union networks involved in judicial cooperation in criminal matters referred to in Article 48 shall be informed of the parts related to their activities in due time before the estimate is forwarded to the Commission. 2. The Executive Board shall, on the basis of the draft statement of estimates, review the provisional draft estimate of Eurojust’s revenue and expenditure for the following financial year, which it shall forward to the College for adoption. 3. The provisional draft estimate of Eurojust’s revenue and expenditure shall be sent to the Commission by no later than 31 January each year. Eurojust shall send the final draft estimate, which shall include a draft establishment plan, to the Commission by 31 March of the same year. 4. The Commission shall send the statement of estimates to the European Parliament and to the Council (the ‘budgetary authority’) together with the draft general budget of the Union. 5. On the basis of the statement of estimates, the Commission shall enter in the draft general budget of the Union the estimates it considers necessary for the establishment plan and the amount of the contribution to be charged to the general budget, which it shall place before the budgetary authority in accordance with Articles 313 and 314 TFEU. 6. The budgetary authority shall authorise the appropriations for the contribution from the Union to Eurojust. 7. The budgetary authority shall adopt Eurojust’s establishment plan. Eurojust’s budget shall be adopted by the College. It shall become final following the final adoption of the general budget of the Union. Where necessary, Eurojust’s budget shall be adjusted by the College accordingly. 8. Article 88 of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 1271/2013 ( 6 ) shall apply to any building project likely to have significant implications for Eurojust’s budget.
Article 62 
The Administrative Director shall act as the authorising officer of Eurojust and shall implement Eurojust’s budget under his or her own responsibility, within the limits authorised in the budget.
Article 63 
1. Eurojust’s accounting officer shall send the provisional accounts for the financial year (year N) to the Commission’s Accounting Officer and to the Court of Auditors by 1 March of the following financial year (year N + 1). 2. Eurojust shall send the report on the budgetary and financial management for year N to the European Parliament, the Council and the Court of Auditors by 31 March of year N + 1. 3. The Commission’s Accounting Officer shall send Eurojust’s provisional accounts for year N, consolidated with the Commission’s accounts, to the Court of Auditors by 31 March of year N + 1. 4. In accordance with Article 246(1) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046, the Court of Auditors shall make its observations on Eurojust’s provisional accounts by 1 June of year N + 1. 5. On receipt of the Court of Auditors’ observations on Eurojust’s provisional accounts pursuant to Article 246 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046, the Administrative Director shall draw up Eurojust’s final accounts under his or her own responsibility and shall submit them to the Executive Board for an opinion. 6. The Executive Board shall deliver an opinion on Eurojust’s final accounts. 7. The Administrative Director shall, by 1 July of year N + 1, send the final accounts for year N to the European Parliament, to the Council, to the Commission and to the Court of Auditors, together with the Executive Board’s opinion. 8. The final accounts for year N shall be published in the Official Journal of the European Union by 15 November of year N + 1. 9. The Administrative Director shall send the Court of Auditors a reply to its observations by 30 September of year N + 1. The Administrative Director shall also send this reply to the Executive Board and to the Commission. 10. At the European Parliament’s request, the Administrative Director shall submit to it any information required for the smooth application of the discharge procedure for the financial year in question in accordance with Article 261(3) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046. 11. On a recommendation from the Council acting by a qualified majority, the European Parliament shall, before 15 May of year N + 2, grant a discharge to the Administrative Director in respect of the implementation of the budget for year N. 12. The discharge of Eurojust’s budget shall be granted by the European Parliament on a recommendation of the Council following a procedure comparable to that provided for in Article 319 TFEU and Articles 260, 261 and 262 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046, and based on the audit report of the Court of Auditors. If the European Parliament refuses to grant the discharge by 15 May of year N + 2, the Administrative Director shall be invited to explain his or her position to the College, which shall take its final decision on the position of the Administrative Director in light of the circumstances.
Article 64 
1. The financial rules applicable to Eurojust shall be adopted by the Executive Board in accordance with Delegated Regulation (EU) No 1271/2013 after consultation with the Commission. Those financial rules shall not depart from Delegated Regulation (EU) No 1271/2013 unless such departure is specifically required for Eurojust’s operation and the Commission has given its prior consent. In respect of the financial support to be given to joint investigation teams’ activities, Eurojust and Europol shall jointly establish the rules and conditions upon which applications for such support are to be processed. 2. Eurojust may award grants related to the fulfilment of its tasks under Article 4(1). Grants provided for tasks relating to point (f) of Article 4(1) may be awarded to the Member States without a call for proposals.
Article 65 
1. The Staff Regulations of Officials and the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants, as well as the rules adopted by agreement between the institutions of the Union for giving effect to the Staff Regulations of Officials and the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants shall apply to the staff of Eurojust. 2. Eurojust staff shall consist of staff recruited according to the rules and regulations applicable to officials and other servants of the Union, taking into account all the criteria referred to in Article 27 of the Staff Regulations of Officials, including their geographical distribution.
Article 66 
1. In addition to its own staff, Eurojust may make use of seconded national experts or other staff not employed by Eurojust. 2. The College shall adopt a decision laying down rules on the secondment of national experts to Eurojust and on the use of other staff, in particular to avoid potential conflicts of interest. 3. Eurojust shall take appropriate administrative measures, inter alia, through training and prevention strategies, to avoid conflicts of interest, including conflicts of interests relating to post-employment issues.
Article 67 
1. Eurojust shall transmit its annual report to the European Parliament, to the Council and to national parliaments, which may present observations and conclusions. 2. Upon his or her election, the newly elected President of Eurojust shall make a statement before the competent committee or committees of the European Parliament and answer questions put by its members. Discussions shall not refer directly or indirectly to concrete actions taken in relation to specific operational cases. 3. The President of Eurojust shall appear once a year for the joint evaluation of the activities of Eurojust by the European Parliament and national parliaments within the framework of an interparliamentary committee meeting, to discuss Eurojust’s current activities and to present its annual report or other key documents of Eurojust. Discussions shall not refer directly or indirectly to concrete actions taken in relation to specific operational cases.
Article 68 
The Commission and the Member States exercising their rights on the basis of point (b) of Article 76 TFEU may request Eurojust’s opinion on all proposed legislative acts referred to in Article 76 TFEU.
Article 69 
1. By 13 December 2024, and every 5 years thereafter, the Commission shall commission an evaluation of the implementation and impact of this Regulation, and the effectiveness and efficiency of Eurojust and its working practices. The College shall be heard in the evaluation. The evaluation may, in particular, address the possible need to modify the mandate of Eurojust, and the financial implications of any such modification. 2. The Commission shall forward the evaluation report together with its conclusions to the European Parliament, to national parliaments, to the Council and to the College. The findings of the evaluation shall be made public.
Article 70 
Protocol No 7 on the privileges and immunities of the European Union, annexed to the TEU and to the TFEU, shall apply to Eurojust and its staff.
Article 71 
1. Council Regulation No 1 ( 7 ) shall apply to Eurojust. 2. The College shall decide Eurojust’s internal language arrangements by a two-thirds majority of its members. 3. The translation services required for the functioning of Eurojust shall be provided by the Translation Centre for the bodies of the European Union, as established by Council Regulation (EC) No 2965/94 ( 8 ), unless the unavailability of the Translation Centre requires another solution to be found.
Article 72 
1. The national members and their deputies and Assistants referred to in Article 7, Eurojust staff, national correspondents, seconded national experts, liaison magistrates, the Data Protection Officer, and the members and staff of the EDPS shall be bound by an obligation of confidentiality with respect to any information which has come to their knowledge in the course of the performance of their tasks. 2. The obligation of confidentiality shall apply to all persons and to all bodies that work with Eurojust. 3. The obligation of confidentiality shall also apply after leaving office or employment and after the termination of the activities of the persons referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2. 4. The obligation of confidentiality shall apply to all information received or exchanged by Eurojust, unless that information has already lawfully been made public or is accessible to the public.
Article 73 
1. Without prejudice to Article 21(3), where information is received or exchanged via Eurojust, the authority of the Member State which provided the information may stipulate conditions, pursuant to its national law, on the use by the receiving authority of that information in national proceedings. 2. The authority of the Member State which receives the information referred to in paragraph 1 shall be bound by those conditions.
Article 74 
1. Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 of the European Parliament and the Council ( 9 ) shall apply to documents held by Eurojust. 2. The Executive Board shall, within six months of the date of its first meeting, prepare the detailed rules for applying Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 for adoption by the College. 3. Decisions taken by Eurojust under Article 8 of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 may be the subject of a complaint to the European Ombudsman or of an action before the Court, under the conditions laid down in Articles 228 and 263 TFEU respectively. 4. Eurojust shall publish on its website a list of the Executive Board members and summaries of the outcome of the meetings of the Executive Board. The publication of those summaries shall be temporarily or permanently omitted or restricted if such publication would risk jeopardising the performance of Eurojust’s tasks, taking into account its obligations of discretion and confidentiality and the operational character of Eurojust.
Article 75 
1. In order to facilitate the combating of fraud, corruption and other unlawful activities under Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 883/2013, within six months from the entry into force of this Regulation, Eurojust shall accede to the Interinstitutional Agreement of 25 May 1999 between the European Parliament, the Council of the European Union and the Commission of the European Communities concerning internal investigations by the European Anti-fraud Office (OLAF) ( 10 ). Eurojust shall adopt appropriate provisions that apply to all national members, their deputies and Assistants, all seconded national experts and all Eurojust staff, using the template set out in the Annex to that Agreement. 2. The Court of Auditors shall have the power of audit, on the basis of documents and on the spot, over all grant beneficiaries, contractors and subcontractors who have received Union funds from Eurojust. 3. OLAF may carry out investigations, including on-the-spot checks and inspections, in accordance with the provisions and procedures laid down in Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 883/2013 and Council Regulation (Euratom, EC) No 2185/96 ( 11 ), with a view to establishing whether there have been any irregularities affecting the financial interests of the Union in connection with expenditure funded by Eurojust. 4. Without prejudice to paragraphs 1, 2 and 3, working arrangements with third countries or international organisations, the contracts, grant agreements and grant decisions of Eurojust shall contain provisions expressly empowering the Court of Auditors and OLAF to conduct such audits and investigations, according to their respective competences. 5. The staff of Eurojust, the Administrative Director and the members of the College and Executive Board shall, without delay and without their responsibility being called into question as a result, notify OLAF and the EPPO of any suspicion of irregular or illegal activity within their respective mandate, which has come to their attention in the fulfilment of their duties.
Article 76 
1. Eurojust shall establish internal rules on the handling and confidentiality of information and on the protection of sensitive non-classified information, including the creation and processing of such information at Eurojust. 2. Eurojust shall establish internal rules on the protection of EU classified information which shall be consistent with Council Decision 2013/488/EU ( 12 ) in order to ensure an equivalent level of protection for such information.
Article 77 
The administrative activities of Eurojust shall be subject to the inquiries of the European Ombudsman in accordance with Article 228 TFEU.
Article 78 
1. Eurojust’s contractual liability shall be governed by the law applicable to the contract in question. 2. The Court shall have jurisdiction to give judgment pursuant to any arbitration clause contained in a contract concluded by Eurojust. 3. In the case of non-contractual liability, Eurojust shall, in accordance with the general principles common to the laws of the Member States and independently of any liability under Article 46, make good any damage caused by Eurojust or its staff in the performance of their duties. 4. Paragraph 3 shall also apply to damage caused through the fault of a national member, a deputy or an Assistant in the performance of their duties. However, when he or she is acting on the basis of the powers granted to him or her pursuant to Article 8, his or her Member State shall reimburse Eurojust the sums which Eurojust has paid to make good such damage. 5. The Court shall have jurisdiction in disputes over compensation for damages referred to in paragraph 3. 6. The national courts of the Member States competent to deal with disputes involving Eurojust’s liability as referred to in this Article shall be determined by reference to Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 13 ). 7. The personal liability of Eurojust’s staff towards Eurojust shall be governed by the applicable provisions laid down in the Staff Regulations of Officials and Conditions of Employment of Other Servants.
Article 79 
1. The seat of Eurojust shall be The Hague, the Netherlands. 2. The necessary arrangements concerning the accommodation to be provided for Eurojust in the Netherlands and the facilities to be made available by the Netherlands together with the specific rules applicable in the Netherlands to the Administrative Director, members of the College, Eurojust staff and members of their families shall be laid down in a headquarters agreement between Eurojust and the Netherlands concluded once the College’s approval is obtained.
Article 80 
1. Eurojust as established by this Regulation shall be the general legal successor in respect of all contracts concluded by, liabilities incumbent upon, and properties acquired by Eurojust as established by Decision 2002/187/JHA. 2. The national members of Eurojust as established by Decision 2002/187/JHA who have been seconded by each Member State under that Decision shall take the role of national members of Eurojust under Section II of Chapter II of this Regulation. Their terms of office may be extended once under Article 7(5) of this Regulation after the entry into force of this Regulation, irrespective of a previous extension. 3. The President and Vice-Presidents of Eurojust as established by Decision 2002/187/JHA at the time of the entry into force of this Regulation shall take the role of the President and Vice-Presidents of Eurojust under Article 11 of this Regulation, until the expiry of their terms of office in accordance with that Decision. They may be re-elected once after the entry into force of this Regulation under Article 11(4) of this Regulation, irrespective of a previous re-election. 4. The Administrative Director who was last appointed under Article 29 of Decision 2002/187/JHA shall take the role of the Administrative Director under Article 17 of this Regulation until the expiry of his or her term of office as decided under that Decision. The term of office of that Administrative Director may be extended once after the entry into force of this Regulation. 5. This Regulation shall not affect the validity of agreements concluded by Eurojust as established by Decision 2002/187/JHA. In particular, all international agreements concluded by Eurojust before 12 December 2019 shall remain valid. 6. The discharge procedure in respect of the budgets approved on the basis of Article 35 of Decision 2002/187/JHA shall be carried out in accordance with the rules established by Article 36 thereof. 7. This Regulation shall not affect employment contracts which have been concluded under Decision 2002/187/JHA prior to the entry into force of this Regulation. The Data Protection Officer who was last appointed under Article 17 of that Decision shall take the role of the Data Protection Officer under Article 36 of this Regulation.
Amendment rationale: CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL Reasons for and objectives of the proposal The European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation (Eurojust) coordinates investigations and prosecutions of serious cross-border crime in Europe and beyond. As the European Union’s hub for judicial cooperation in criminal matters, Eurojust supports national investigating and prosecuting authorities in relation to serious crime with which Eurojust is competent to deal in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2018/1727 (‘Eurojust Regulation’). Among others, genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes (also collectively referred to as ‘core international crimes’) are crimes Eurojust is competent to deal with. On 24 February 2022, Russia began a military aggression against Ukraine . There is a reasonable ground to believe that war crimes and crimes against humanity have been and are being committed in Ukraine . On 2 March 2022, the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court announced he had proceeded to open an investigation into the situation in Ukraine 1 . The p rosecution services in several Member States as well as in Ukraine have also started investigati ons of core international crimes , which are supported and coordinated by Eurojust . Eurojust has the expertise and experience to support the investigations and prosecutions of core international crimes, including by facilitating the activities of Joint Investigation Team s (JIT s ), such as the one set up by some Member States and Ukraine in the context of the current hostilities . Eurojust also cooperates with the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court. National authorities are collecting evidence of the international crimes that may have been committed in Ukraine. Due to the ongoing hostilities, evidence cannot be stored securely in Ukraine, requiring that a back-up/storage place be urgently secured by the Union. Thus, in order to coordinate efforts currently deployed by Member States to collect evidence, it is necessary to quickly set up central storage, where evidence collected by Union agencies and bodies as well as national and international authorities or third parties such as civil society organisations could be stored. However, while the Eurojust Regulation provides that Eurojust supports Member States’ action in investigating and prosecuting serious crime, it does not explicitly allow Eurojust to collect, preserve and analyse such evidence in relation to this purpose. In order to perform its tasks, Eurojust has established a case management system, which contains non-personal data and the personal data referred to in Annex II to the Eurojust Regulation . The case management system mainly aims to support the management and coordination of investigations and prosecutions for which Eurojust provides assistance. The Eurojust Regulation restricts the set-up of the case management system to temporary work files, aiming to support the follow-up on ongoing cases, and an index 2 . Processing of personal data outside of the case management system is prohibited 3 . When coordinat ing and support ing investigations and prosecutions, Eurojust can temporarily store and exchange evidence in accordance with the rules set out in the Regulation . The Commission has already proposed to enhance the current set-up of the Eurojust’s case management system with regard to Eurojust’s activities concerning investigations and prosecutions of terrorist offences. On 1 December 2021, the Commission adopted a proposal to improve the functioning of the European Judicial Counter-Terrorism Register at Eurojust 4 . As part of that proposal, the modernisation of the case management system and the digitalisation of the information exchange between national competent authorities and Eurojust are envisaged. The recent events connected with Russia’s aggression against Ukraine have further demonstrated the urgent need to go beyond the Eurojust’s existing case management system. The current data processing architecture at Eurojust does not allow Eurojust to collect, preserve and analyse evidence relating to core international crimes, including those that are likely being committed in Ukraine, due to the scale of the events and the vast amount of evidence that needs to be stored in case of the commission of such crimes. Against this background, this proposal seeks to allow Eurojust to collect, preserve and analyse evidence in relation to genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and related criminal offences and, when necessary and appropriate, enable its exchange or otherwise make it available to the competent judicial authorities, national or international. The collection of evidence does not amount to providing Eurojust with an executive role as investigating authority, which would not be covered by Eurojust’s mandate, but is meant to ensure Eurojust can receive and centrally store the evidence from different sources. By doing so, Eurojust can support case building work in national and international investigations in a more effective way and provide additional support to the competent prosecution services. To this end, this proposal envisages the establishment of an automated data management and storage facility outside the case management system. In view of the sensitive nature of the personal data involved, their processing, including collection, preservation, analysis and exchange, must comply with the highest standards of data protection and cyber security. Crucial evidence about core international crimes is usually available in the form of, among others, audio recordings, videos and photographs. Satellite images may also prove useful to demonstrate the commission of these crimes. For this reason, this proposal also aims to extend the categories of data that Eurojust can legally process to videos and audio recordings as well as satellite images and any relevant photographs. With a view to allowing national and international judicial authorities to benefit from the fully-fledged support that Eurojust can provide in the ongoing investigations of core international crimes in the context of the aggression against Ukraine, the amendments to the Eurojust Regulation envisaged in this proposal need to be urgently enacted.
Revised version (Article 80 ):
1. Eurojust as established by this Regulation shall be the general legal successor in respect of all contracts concluded by, liabilities incumbent upon, and properties acquired by Eurojust as established by Decision 2002/187/JHA. 2. The national members of Eurojust as established by Decision 2002/187/JHA who have been seconded by each Member State under that Decision shall take the role of national members of Eurojust under Section II of Chapter II of this Regulation. Their terms of office may be extended once under Article 7(5) of this Regulation after the entry into force of this Regulation, irrespective of a previous extension. 3. The President and Vice-Presidents of Eurojust as established by Decision 2002/187/JHA at the time of the entry into force of this Regulation shall take the role of the President and Vice-Presidents of Eurojust under Article 11 of this Regulation, until the expiry of their terms of office in accordance with that Decision. They may be re-elected once after the entry into force of this Regulation under Article 11(4) of this Regulation, irrespective of a previous re-election. 4. The Administrative Director who was last appointed under Article 29 of Decision 2002/187/JHA shall take the role of the Administrative Director under Article 17 of this Regulation until the expiry of his or her term of office as decided under that Decision. The term of office of that Administrative Director may be extended once after the entry into force of this Regulation. 5. This Regulation shall not affect the validity of agreements concluded by Eurojust as established by Decision 2002/187/JHA. In particular, all international agreements concluded by Eurojust before 12 December 2019 shall remain valid. 6. The discharge procedure in respect of the budgets approved on the basis of Article 35 of Decision 2002/187/JHA shall be carried out in accordance with the rules established by Article 36 thereof. 7. This Regulation shall not affect employment contracts which have been concluded under Decision 2002/187/JHA prior to the entry into force of this Regulation. The Data Protection Officer who was last appointed under Article 17 of that Decision shall take the role of the Data Protection Officer under Article 36 of this Regulation. 9. Eurojust may continue to use the case management system composed of temporary work files and of an index until 1 December 2025, if the new case management system is not yet in place. 10. The competent national authorities and Eurojust may continue to use other channels of communication than those referred to in Article 22a(1) until the first day of the month following the period of two years after the date of entry into force of the implementing act referred to in Article 22b of this Regulation, if the channels of communication referred to in Article 22a(1) are not yet available for direct exchange between them. 11. The competent national authorities may continue to provide information in other ways than semi-automatically in accordance with Article 22a(3) until the first day of the month following the period of two years after the date of entry into force of the implementing act referred to in Article 22b of this Regulation, if the technical requirements are not yet in place.
Article 81 
1. Decision 2002/187/JHA is hereby replaced for the Member States bound by this Regulation with effect from 12 December 2019. Therefore, Decision 2002/187/JHA is repealed with effect from 12 December 2019. 2. With regard to the Member States bound by this Regulation, references to the Decision referred to in paragraph 1 shall be construed as references to this Regulation.
Article 82 
1. This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union . 2. It shall apply from 12 December 2019.