Еуроодақтың қылмыстық әділеттік саласындағы ынтымақтастық агенттігі

EU criminal law agency

The European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation (Eurojust) is an agency of the European Union (EU) dealing with judicial co operation in criminal matters among agencies of the member states. It is seated in The Hague, Netherlands. Established in 2002, it was created to improve handling of serious cross border and organised crime by stimulating investigative and prosecutorial co ordination. Eurojust is composed of a college formed of 27 national members—experienced judges, prosecutors, or police officers of equivalent competence from each EU member state. The terms and duties of the members are defined by the state that appoints them. Eurojust also co operates with third states and other EU bodies such as the European Judicial Network, Europol and the OLAF.

Eurojust was established as a result of a decision that the European Council of Tampere (15 16 October 1999) made to set up a permanent judicial co operation unit in order to improve the fight against serious crime. The Treaty of Nice amended the Treaty on the European Union to include a reference to Eurojust. On 14 December 2000, a precursor organization called Pro Eurojust was created by the Council of the European Union to permit prosecutors to test the Eurojust processes. It began operating in Brussels on 1 March 2001. The terrorist attacks in the U. S. in September of that year demonstrated strongly the need for international cooperation, speeding the development of Eurojust, which was then established in February 2002 by Council Decision 2002/187/JHA. The new organization settled in The Hague on 29 April 2003. Since its establishment, Eurojust has focused heavily on forging international co operation agreements and building international contact points, including the basing at Eurojust of several liaison prosecutors (Norway, Switzerland, Montenegro and the United States). Croatia (before it entered the European Union on 1 July 2013, thus joining EUROJUST), Iceland, and North Macedonia.

Eurojust has handled an increasingly heavy caseload since its creation. In 2002, it was contacted in 202 cases. In 2016, member states sought assistance with 2,306 new cases. The majority cases involve two member states; in 2010, one fifth of the cases involved three or more countries. Eurojust also organised 249 co ordination meetings between representatives of national authorities and EU bodies in 2016.

The College of Eurojust is supported by the administration. As head of the Eurojust administration, the Administrative Director is responsible for the day to day management of Eurojust, including budget and staff management. The administrative organisation is composed of units, services and secretariats: the Accounting Office, Budget, Finance and Procurement Unit, College Secretariat, Corporate Communications Office, Data Protection Service, Events and Logistics Office, Human Resources Unit, Information Management Unit, Institutional Affairs Office, Legal Affairs Office, Operations Unit, Planning, Programming & Reporting Office and Security, Facility & General Services.

The Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union addresses several changes to Eurojust. Article 85 extends its scope to including serious crime not only affecting two or more member states, but also requiring prosecution on a common basis. The new wording of the Treaty mentions that by means of regulations adopted in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure, the European Parliament and the Council shall determine Eurojust's structure, operation, field of action and tasks, which may include initiating criminal investigations or proposing the initiation of prosecutions, coordinating such investigations and prosecutions and strengthening judicial co operation. Article 86 provides for the possibility of establishing a European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) from Eurojust in order to combat crimes affecting the financial interests of the Union. The EPPO may be established by the Council, according to a special legislative procedure, acting unanimously and after obtaining the consent of the European Parliament. The Treaty provides also for the possibility to create it by enhanced co operation established by at least nine Member States. The Stockholm Programme refers several times to the role of Eurojust. In particular, it states that “in the field of judicial co operation, the European Council emphasises the need for Member States and Eurojust to implement thoroughly Council Decision 2009/426/JHA of 16 December 2008 on the strengthening of Eurojust, which, together with the Lisbon Treaty, offers an opportunity for the further development of Eurojust in the coming years, including in relation to initiation of investigations and resolving conflicts of competence. On the basis of an assessment of the implementation of this instrument, new possibilities could be considered in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Treaty, including giving further powers to the Eurojust national members, reinforcement of the powers of the College of Eurojust or the setting up of a European Public Prosecutor”.