The European Commission has proposed new EU-wide rules to strengthen Europol and Eurojust, alongside changes to cross-border evidence gathering and data protection, as part of efforts to improve cooperation against serious crime and terrorism, the organisation said.
The package includes two draft regulations to expand the mandates of Europol — the EU’s law enforcement cooperation agency — and Eurojust, which supports prosecutors and judicial authorities in cross-border cases, according to the Commission.
Under the proposals, Europol would get new tools to speed up and secure information sharing between national authorities, including a “Police Shared Data Space” designed to let investigators work jointly on cases online, the Commission said.
Europol would also be tasked with establishing a secure EU cloud infrastructure, while “Europol Support Offices” staffed by officers who previously worked at Europol would be set up in Member States to help national services use Europol tools and systems, it added.
The Commission also proposed creating a technology and innovation hub within Europol to develop an EU-wide overview of capability needs in law enforcement and support joint research and development between Member States, it said.
## More powers for prosecutors and cross-border court hearings
Eurojust would be given a stronger role in coordinating cross-border prosecutions, including the ability to act on its own initiative to identify links between cases and support national authorities earlier in proceedings, the Commission said.
Its mandate would be expanded to cover additional crime areas including cybercrime, violations of EU restrictive measures, and gender-based violence, it added.
Separate proposals would update the European Investigation Order — a standard procedure used to gather evidence across EU borders in criminal cases — to clarify procedures and address operational obstacles, according to the Commission.
The Commission also proposed a new “European Remote Participation Order” to allow suspects, accused people and victims to take part in criminal court hearings remotely from another Member State, it said.
Changes were also proposed to the EU data protection rules that apply to EU institutions and bodies, with the revised regulation intended to support cooperation among EU criminal justice bodies and extend the framework to the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, the Commission added.
