Brussels: Europe and the Arabs
The European Union Council has given the final green light on a new law that will strengthen the exchange of digital information in terrorism cases between national authorities and Eurojust. The current rotating Spanish presidency of the Union said that thanks to a more effective exchange on investigations and prosecution of terrorist crimes, the authorities of member states and EU agencies will have access to information. The most complete and up-to-date on terrorism issues. According to Pilar Loeb, Acting Minister of Justice of Spain, she added, “The adoption of this law represents a qualitative leap in terms of the exchange of information between member states and Eurojust and will allow significant progress in the prosecution of terrorist crimes.”
According to a European Bill issued in Brussels on Monday, until now, member states have exchanged information with Eurojust on issues related to terrorism through various, and sometimes unsafe, channels. Furthermore, the current counter-terrorism judicial record does not allow for proper vetting of information.
The regulation adopted today will address these shortcomings and allow Eurojust to play a stronger role in supporting coordination and cooperation between national authorities investigating and prosecuting terrorist crimes.
Better exchange of information
Under the new rules, Member States must provide Eurojust with information on any criminal investigations relating to terrorist crimes once such cases have been referred to judicial authorities. Suggestion or offer:
It creates a modern digital case management system that stores this information and allows it to be verified
Enables Eurojust to better detect links between transnational investigations and prosecutions in the field of terrorism and proactively inform Member States of the links found
Establishing a secure digital communication channel between Member States and Eurojust
It simplifies cooperation with third countries by granting prosecutors seconded to Eurojust access to the case management system
Eurojust is the European Union agency for criminal justice cooperation. It coordinates investigations and prosecutions of serious cross-border crimes in Europe, and acts as a European Union center for judicial cooperation in criminal matters. EU countries are obliged to provide Eurojust with information on prosecutions and convictions for terrorist offences.
The proposed regulation was adopted in December 2021, and the Council's position was agreed in June 2022 at the Council of Justice and Home Affairs. In December 2022, the Council and the European Parliament reached agreement on the final text of the regulation.
The regulation will enter into force on the twentieth day after its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union. It is directly applicable in all EU Member States.