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EUROPOL regulation

In “Area of Justice and Fundamental Rights”

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On 11 May 2016, the co-legislators adopted Regulation (EU) 2016/794 on the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol), which provides a new legal basis for Europol. The new regulation aligns the current framework of Europol (Council Decision 2009/371/JHA) with the requirements of the Treaty of Lisbon.

Whilst the regulation may fall short of expectations as to the extent of a major post-Lisbon reform, it improves the Agency’s governance, including detailed rules on parliamentary scrutiny, and sets out a robust data protection regime for Europol, in particular to guarantee that the data protection supervisor of Europol has full independence. The new framework also enhances Europol’s analytical capabilities, to trigger operational cooperation between the Member States. Finally, it aligns Europol’s governance with the general guidelines applicable to agencies.

Originally, the Commission also proposed to merge Europol and the European Police College (CEPOL), but this proposal was rejected both by the Council and by the European Parliament.

The Parliament adopted its first reading position on 25 February 2014. It sought to enhance its own role, as well as that of national parliaments, in the scrutiny of Europol. To this end, it proposed setting up a ‘Joint Parliamentary Scrutiny Group’.

The Council adopted a general approach on 5 June 2014, opening the way for trilogue negotiations.

The European Parliament’s Committee on Civil Liberties (LIBE) decided on 24 September 2014 to enter into early second reading negotiations (rapporteur: Augustin Agustín Díaz De Mera García Consuegra, EPP, Spain).

On 26 November 2015, under the Luxembourg Presidency, an informal agreement was reached in trilogue.

During the trilogue negotiations, the main issues under discussion were:

  • Parliamentary scrutiny, notably regarding the Joint Parliamentary Scrutiny Group composed of the Members of the European Parliament and national parliaments;
  • Data protection, including the issue of direct transfers of data from private parties;
  • Data protection supervision, in particular the issue of cooperation between the European Data Protection Supervisor and national data protection authorities, and
  • The governance of the Agency (Executive Board).The LIBE committee endorsed the agreement on 30 November 2015.The European Parliament adopted the text at second reading on 11 May 2016, approving, unamended, the Council position at first reading.

Regulation (EU) 2016/794 was published in the Official Journal of 24 May 2016. It entered into force on 13 June 2016 and will take effect in all EU Member States as of 1 May 2017.

The Council adopted its position at first reading on 10 March 2016.

Throughout the negotiation process, the European Parliament and the Council were both against a significant increase in Europol’s powers. The Parliament argued in favour of stricter data protection rules (in line with the proposed data protection package), new rules on governance, and improved oversight by the European and national parliaments.

On 26 November 2015, under the Luxembourg Presidency, an informal agreement was reached in trilogue. The LIBE committee endorsed the agreement on 30 November 2015.

The Council adopted its position at first reading on 10 March 2016.

The European Parliament adopted the text at second reading on 11 May 2016, approving, unamended, the Council position at first reading.

Regulation (EU) 2016/794 was published in the Official Journal of 24 May 2016. It entered into force on 13 June 2016 and took effect in all EU Member States as of 1 May 2017.

References:

Further reading:

Author: Piotr Bąkowski, Sofija Voronova, Members' Research Service, legislative-train@europarl.europa.eu 

 

As of 20/11/2019.