Stronger Eurojust: faster criminal investigations in the EU

Eurojust, the EU agency which facilitates Member States’ cooperation in the fight against organised crime and criminal organisations which are active, for example, in drugs or human trafficking, will now be better equipped to meet changing threats and the digital revolution thanks to a new mandate. Axel Voss MEP negotiated the dossier on behalf of the European Parliament.

Axel Voss explained what the new rules clarifying and streamlining the governance structure of Eurojust mean in practice: “We ensured that while law enforcement remains in the hands of Member States, Eurojust facilitates the cooperation of national prosecutors when requested from national level. Our goal was also to ensure that Member States can have full trust in Eurojust which will in return be provided with the necessary data for investigation. Thanks to improved data protection rules, national authorities can be certain that this sensitive data will not be shared with others without their permission.”

The next step is that the legislative changes adopted today are accompanied by adequate financing. “Citizens’ security comes at a price. However, there is no bigger price than people’s lives. Therefore, Eurojust’s new structure should be adequately financed to ensure that it carries out its role as expected”, continued Voss.

The last few months have again clearly underlined the positive results of Eurojust’s work. In April 2018, a group of human smugglers was arrested in Austria and Romania. In May 2018, the cooperation between Belgium, Spain and Germany led to arrests for organised, systematic VAT fraud, and in June 2018, a German-Danish group was caught selling visas to migrants by arranging fake marriages.

The new mandate also clarifies the division of competences between Eurojust and the newly-created European Public Prosecutor’s Office when it comes to the investigation of crimes affecting the EU’s financial interests. “We’ve come a long way to ensure that new rules for Eurojust reflect other legislative updates, including the establishment of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office. Now, things are clear and the purposes and competences of both agencies are clearly defined, especially when it comes to investigating crimes affecting the financial interests of the Union”, Voss concluded.