Eurpol Act 2012

If, in the case of certain data, the communicating Member State or the communicating third State or third body stipulates particular restrictions on use to which such data is subject in that Member State, third State or third body, such restrictions shall also be complied with by the user of the data except in the specific case where national law lays down that the restrictions on use be waived for judicial authorities, legislative bodies or any other independent body set up under the law and made responsible for supervising the national competent authorities. In such cases, the data shall be used only after consultation of the communicating Member State the interests and views of which shall be taken into account as far as possible.

Use of the data for other purposes or by authorities other than the national competent authorities shall be possible only after consultation of the Member State which transmitted the data in so far as the national law of that Member State permits.

Europol shall hold data in data files only for as long as is necessary for the performance of its tasks. The need for continued storage shall be reviewed no later than three years after the input of data. Review of data stored in the Europol Information System and their deletion shall be carried out by the inputting unit. Review of data stored in other Europol data files and their deletion shall be carried out by Europol. Europol shall automatically inform the Member States three months in advance of the expiry of the time limits for reviewing the storage of data.

During the review, the units referred to in the third and fourth sentences of paragraph 1 may decide on the continued storage of data until the following review which shall take place after another period of three years if that is still necessary for the performance of Europol’s tasks. If no decision is taken on the continued storage of data, those data shall be deleted automatically.

Where a Member State deletes from its national data files data communicated to Europol which are stored in other Europol data files, it shall inform Europol accordingly. In such cases, Europol shall delete the data unless it has further interest in them, based on intelligence that is more extensive than that possessed by the communicating Member State. Europol shall inform the Member State concerned of the continued storage of such data.

Such data shall not be deleted if this would damage the interests of a data subject who requires protection. In such cases, the data shall be used only with the consent of the data subject.

In so far as it is relevant to the performance of its tasks, Europol may establish and maintain cooperative relations with the institutions, bodies, offices and agencies set up by, or on the basis of, the Treaty on European Union and the Treaties establishing the European Communities, in particular:

Europol shall conclude agreements or working arrangements with the entities referred to in paragraph 1. Such agreements or working arrangements may concern the exchange of operational, strategic or technical information, including personal data and classified information. Any such agreement or working arrangement may be concluded only after approval by the Management Board which shall previously have obtained, as far as it concerns the exchange of personal data, the opinion of the Joint Supervisory Body.

Before the entry into force of the agreement or working arrangement referred to in paragraph 2, Europol may directly receive and use information, including personal data, from the entities referred to in paragraph 1, in so far as that is necessary for the legitimate performance of its tasks, and it may, under the conditions laid down in Article 24(1), directly transmit information, including personal data, to such entities, in so far as that is necessary for the legitimate performance of the recipient’s tasks.

Transmission by Europol of classified information to the entities referred to in paragraph 1 shall be permissible only in so far as agreement on confidentiality exists between Europol and the recipient.

In so far as it is necessary for the performance of its tasks, Europol may also establish and maintain cooperative relations with:

Europol shall conclude agreements with the entities referred to in paragraph 1 which have been put on the list referred to in Article 26(1)(a). Such agreements may concern the exchange of operational, strategic or technical information, including personal data and classified information, if transmitted via a designated contact point identified by the agreement referred to in paragraph 6(b) of this Article. Such agreements may be concluded only after the approval by the Council, which shall previously have consulted the Management Board and, as far as it concerns the exchange of personal data, obtained the opinion of the Joint Supervisory Body via the Management Board.

Before the entry into force of the agreements referred to in paragraph 2, Europol may directly receive and use information, including personal data and classified information, in so far as that is necessary for the legitimate performance of its tasks.

Before the entry into force of the agreements referred to in paragraph 2, Europol may, under the conditions laid down in Article 24(1), directly transmit information other than personal data and classified information to the entities referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article, in so far as that is necessary for the legitimate performance of the recipient’s tasks.

Europol may, under the conditions laid down in Article 24(1), directly transmit information other than personal data and classified information to the entities referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article which are not on the list referred to in Article 26(1)(a), in so far as that is absolutely necessary in individual cases for the purposes of preventing or combating criminal offences in respect of which Europol is competent.

Europol may, under the conditions laid down in Article 24(1), transmit to the entities referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article:

Transmission by Europol of classified information to the entities referred to in paragraph 1 shall be permissible only in so far as agreement on confidentiality exists between Europol and the recipient.

By way of derogation from paragraphs 6 and 7 and without prejudice to Article 24(1), Europol may transmit personal data and classified information which it holds to the entities referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article where the Director considers the transmission of the data to be absolutely necessary to safeguard the essential interests of the Member States concerned within the scope of Europol’s objectives or in the interests of preventing imminent danger associated with crime or terrorist offences. The Director shall in all circumstances consider the data-protection level applicable to the body in question with a view to balancing that data-protection level and those interests. The Director shall inform the Management Board and the Joint Supervisory Body as soon as possible of his or her decision and of the basis of the assessment of the adequacy of the level of data protection afforded by the entities concerned.

Before the transmission of personal data in accordance with paragraph 8, the Director shall assess the adequacy of the level of data protection afforded by the entities concerned, taking into account all the circumstances relevant to the transmission of personal data, in particular:

If the data concerned were transmitted to Europol by a Member State, Europol shall transmit them to the entities referred to in Article 22(1) and Article 23(1) only with that Member State’s consent. The Member State concerned may give its prior consent, in general terms or subject to specific conditions, to such transmission. Such consent may be withdrawn at any time.

Europol shall be responsible for the legality of the transmission of data. Europol shall keep a record of all transmissions of data under this Article and of the grounds for such transmissions. Data shall be transmitted only if the recipient gives an undertaking that the data will be used only for the purpose for which they were transmitted.

For the purpose of this Decision:

In so far as it is necessary for the legitimate performance of its tasks, Europol may process information, including personal data, from private parties under the conditions laid down in paragraph 3.

Personal data from private parties may be processed by Europol under the following conditions:

In addition to the processing of data from private parties in accordance with paragraph 3, Europol may directly retrieve and process data, including personal data, from publicly available sources, such as media and public data and commercial intelligence providers, in accordance with the data-protection provisions of this Decision. In accordance with Article 17, Europol shall forward all relevant information to the national units.

Information, including personal data, from private persons may be processed by Europol if it is received via a national unit in accordance with national law or via the contact point of a third State with which Europol has concluded a cooperation agreement in accordance with Article 23. If Europol receives information, including personal data, from a private person residing in a third State with which Europol has no cooperation agreement, Europol may forward it only to the Member State or the third State concerned with which Europol has concluded a cooperation agreement in accordance with Article 23. Europol may not contact private persons directly in order to retrieve information.

Personal data transmitted to or retrieved by Europol under paragraph 3(c) of this Article may only be processed for the purpose of their inclusion in the Europol Information System referred to in Article 11 and the analysis work files referred to in Article 14 or other systems processing personal data established in accordance with Article 10(2) and (3) if those data are related to other data already entered in one of the aforementioned systems or if they are related to a previous query by a national unit within one of the aforementioned systems.

The Director shall submit a comprehensive report to the Management Board on the application of this Article two years after the date of application of this Decision. On the advice of the Joint Supervisory Body or on its own initiative, the Management Board may take any measure deemed appropriate in accordance with Article 37(9)(b).

The Council, acting by qualified majority after consulting the European Parliament, shall:

The Management Board shall draw up and review, when necessary, a list determining the private parties with which Europol may conclude memoranda of understanding in accordance with Article 25(3)(c)(ii) and adopt rules governing the content of and the procedure for the conclusion of such memoranda of understanding after obtaining the opinion of the Joint Supervisory Body.

The Management Board shall appoint, on the proposal of the Director, a Data Protection Officer who shall be a member of the staff. In the performance of his or her duties, he or she shall act independently.

The Data Protection Officer shall in particular have the following tasks:

In the performance of his or her tasks, the Data Protection Officer shall have access to all the data processed by Europol and to all Europol premises.

If the Data Protection Officer considers that the provisions of this Decision concerning the processing of personal data have not been complied with, he or she shall inform the Director, requiring him or her to resolve the non-compliance within a specified time.

The Management Board shall adopt further implementing rules concerning the Data Protection Officer. Those implementing rules shall in particular concern selection and dismissal, tasks, duties and powers and safeguards for the independence of the Data Protection Officer.

The responsibility for data processed at Europol, in particular as regards the legality of the collection, the transmission to Europol and the input of data, as well as their accuracy, their up-to-date nature and verification of the storage time limits, shall lie with:

Data which have been transmitted to Europol but have not yet been input in one of Europol’s data files shall remain under the data-protection responsibility of the party transmitting the data. Europol shall, however, be responsible for ensuring the security of the data in accordance with Article 35(2) in that until such data have been input in a data file, they may be accessed only by authorised Europol staff for the purpose of determining whether they can be processed at Europol, or by authorised officials of the party which supplied the data. If Europol, after appraising them, has reason to assume that data supplied are inaccurate or no longer up-to-date, it shall inform the party which supplied the data.

In addition, subject to other provisions in this Decision, Europol shall be responsible for all data processed by it.

If Europol has evidence that data input into one of its systems referred to in Chapter II are factually incorrect or have been unlawfully stored, it shall inform the Member State or other party involved accordingly.

Europol shall store data in such a way that it can be established by which Member State or third party they were transmitted or whether they are the result of an analysis by Europol.

Any person shall be entitled, at reasonable intervals, to obtain information on whether personal data relating to him or her are processed by Europol and to have such data communicated to him or her in an intelligible form, or checked, in all cases under the conditions laid down in this Article.

Any person wishing to exercise his or her rights under this Article may make a request to that effect without excessive costs in the Member State of his or her choice to the authority appointed for that purpose in that Member State. That authority shall refer the request to Europol without delay, and in any case within one month of receipt.

The request shall be answered by Europol without undue delay and in any case within three months of its receipt by Europol in accordance with this Article.

Europol shall consult the competent authorities of the Member States concerned before deciding on its response to a request under paragraph 1. A decision on access to data shall be conditional upon close cooperation between Europol and the Member States directly concerned by the communication of such data. In any case in which a Member State objects to Europol’s proposed response, it shall notify Europol of the reasons for its objection.

The provision of information in response to a request under paragraph 1 shall be refused to the extent that such refusal is necessary to:

If the provision of information in response to a request under paragraph 1 is refused, Europol shall notify the person concerned that it has carried out checks, without giving any information which might reveal to him or her whether or not personal data concerning him or her are processed by Europol.

Any person shall have the right to request the Joint Supervisory Body, at reasonable intervals, to check whether the manner in which his or her personal data have been collected, stored, processed and used by Europol is in compliance with the provisions of this Decision concerning the processing of personal data. The Joint Supervisory Body shall notify the person concerned that it has carried out checks, without giving any information which might reveal to him or her whether or not personal data concerning him or her are processed by Europol.

Any person shall have the right to ask Europol to correct or delete incorrect data concerning him or her. If it emerges, either on the basis of the exercise of this right or otherwise, that data held by Europol which have been communicated to it by third parties or which are the result of its own analyses are incorrect or that their input or storage is in breach of this Decision, Europol shall correct or delete such data.

If data that are incorrect or processed in breach of this Decision were transmitted directly to Europol by Member States, the Member States concerned shall correct or delete such data in collaboration with Europol.

If incorrect data were transmitted by another appropriate means or if the errors in the data supplied by Member States are due to faulty transmission or were transmitted in breach of this Decision or if they result from their being input, taken over or stored in an incorrect manner or in breach of this Decision by Europol, Europol shall correct or delete the data in collaboration with the Member States concerned.

In the cases referred to in paragraphs 1, 2 and 3, the Member States or third parties which have received the data shall be notified forthwith. The recipient Member States and the third parties shall also correct or delete those data. Where deletion is not possible, the data shall be blocked to prevent any future processing.

The data subject making the request shall be informed by Europol in writing without undue delay and in any case within three months that data concerning him or her have been corrected or deleted.

In its reply to a request for a check, for access to data, or for correction and deletion of data, Europol shall inform the person making the request that if he or she is not satisfied with the decision, he or she may appeal to the Joint Supervisory Body. Such person may also refer the matter to the Joint Supervisory Body if there has been no response to his or her request within the time limit laid down in Article 30 or 31.

If the person making the request lodges an appeal to the Joint Supervisory Body, the appeal shall be examined by that body.

Where an appeal relates to a decision as referred to in Article 30 or 31, the Joint Supervisory Body shall consult the national supervisory bodies or the competent judicial body in the Member State which was the source of the data or the Member State directly concerned. The decision of the Joint Supervisory Body, which may extend to a refusal to communicate any information, shall be taken in close cooperation with the national supervisory body or competent judicial body.

Where an appeal relates to access to data input by Europol in the Europol Information System or data stored in the analysis work files or in any other system established by Europol for the processing of personal data pursuant to Article 10 and where objections from Europol persist, the Joint Supervisory Body shall be able to overrule such objections only by a majority of two thirds of its members after having heard Europol and the Member State or Member States referred to in Article 30(4). If there is no such majority, the Joint Supervisory Body shall notify the person making the request of the refusal, without giving any information which might reveal the existence of any personal data concerning that person.

Where an appeal relates to the checking of data input by a Member State in the Europol Information System or of data stored in the analysis work files or in any other system established by Europol for the processing of personal data pursuant to Article 10, the Joint Supervisory Body shall ensure that the necessary checks have been carried out correctly in close cooperation with the national supervisory body of the Member State which has input the data. The Joint Supervisory Body shall notify the person making the request that it has carried out the checks, without giving any information which might reveal the existence of any personal data concerning that person.

Where an appeal relates to the checking of data input by Europol in the Europol Information System or of data stored in the analysis work files or in any other system established by Europol for the processing of personal data pursuant to Article 10, the Joint Supervisory Body shall ensure that the necessary checks have been carried out by Europol. The Joint Supervisory Body shall notify the person making the request that it has carried out the checks, without giving any information which might reveal the existence of any personal data concerning that person.

Each Member State shall designate a national supervisory body with the task to monitor independently, in accordance with its national law, the permissibility of the input, the retrieval and any communication to Europol of personal data by the Member State concerned and to examine whether such input, retrieval or communication violates the rights of the data subject. For that purpose, the national supervisory body shall have access, at the national unit or at liaison officers’ premises, to the data input by the Member State in the Europol Information System or in any other system established by Europol for the processing of personal data pursuant to Article 10 in accordance with the relevant national procedures.

Any person shall have the right to request the national supervisory body to ensure that the input or communication to Europol of data concerning him or her in any form and the consultation of the data by the Member State concerned are lawful.

An independent Joint Supervisory Body shall be set up to review, in accordance with this Decision, the activities of Europol in order to ensure that the rights of the individual are not violated by the storage, processing and use of the data held by Europol. In addition, the Joint Supervisory Body shall monitor the permissibility of the transmission of data originating from Europol. The Joint Supervisory Body shall be composed of a maximum of two members or representatives, where appropriate assisted by alternates, of each of the independent national supervisory bodies, having the necessary abilities and appointed for five years by each Member State. Each delegation shall be entitled to one vote.

Europol shall assist the Joint Supervisory Body in the performance of the latter’s tasks. In doing so, it shall in particular:

The Joint Supervisory Body shall be competent to examine questions relating to implementation and interpretation in connection with Europol’s activities as regards the processing and use of personal data, to examine questions relating to checks carried out independently by the national supervisory bodies of the Member States or relating to the exercise of the right of access, and to draw up harmonised proposals for common solutions to existing problems.

If the Joint Supervisory Body identifies any violations of the provisions of this Decision in the storage, processing or use of personal data, it shall make any complaints it deems necessary to the Director and shall request him to reply within a specified time limit. The Director shall keep the Management Board informed of the entire procedure. If it is not satisfied with the response given by the Director to its request, the Joint Supervisory Body shall refer the matter to the Management Board.

For the fulfilment of its tasks and to contribute to the improvement of consistency in the application of the rules and procedures for data processing, the Joint Supervisory Body shall cooperate as necessary with other supervisory authorities.

The Joint Supervisory Body shall draw up activity reports at regular intervals. Such reports shall be forwarded to the European Parliament and to the Council. The Management Board shall have the opportunity to make comments, which shall be attached to the reports.

The Joint Supervisory Body shall adopt its rules of procedure by a majority of two thirds of its members and shall submit them to the Council for approval. The Council shall act by qualified majority.

The Joint Supervisory Body shall set up an internal committee comprising one qualified representative from each Member State with the right to vote. The committee shall have the task of examining the appeals provided for in Article 32 by all appropriate means. Should they so request, the parties, assisted by their advisers if they so wish, shall be heard by the committee. The decisions taken in this context shall be final as regards all the parties concerned.

The Joint Supervisory Body may set up one or more other committees in addition to the one referred to in paragraph 8.

The Joint Supervisory Body shall be consulted on that part of Europol’s budget which concerns it. Its opinion shall be annexed to the draft budget in question.

The Joint Supervisory Body shall be assisted by a secretariat, the tasks of which shall be defined in the rules of procedure.

Europol shall take the necessary technical and organisational measures to ensure the implementation of this Decision. Measures shall be considered necessary where the effort they involve is proportionate to the objective they are designed to achieve in terms of protection.

In respect of automated data processing at Europol, each Member State and Europol shall implement measures designed to:

The Management Board shall be composed of one representative of each Member State and one representative of the Commission. Each member of the Management Board shall have one vote. Each member of the Management Board may be represented by an alternate member; in the absence of the full member, the alternate member may exercise his right to vote.

The Chairperson and the Deputy Chairperson of the Management Board shall be selected by and from within the group of three Member States who have jointly prepared the Council’s eighteen-month programme. They shall serve for the eighteen-month period corresponding to that Council programme. During that period the Chairperson shall no longer act as a representative of his or her respective Member State in the Management Board. The Deputy shall ex officio replace the Chairperson in the event of his or her being prevented from attending to his or her duties.

The Chairperson shall be responsible for the efficient operation of the Management Board in the performance of its tasks set out in paragraph 9 while ensuring a specific focus on strategic issues and Europol’s principal tasks as set out in Article 5(1).

The Chairperson shall be supported by the Secretariat of the Management Board. The Secretariat shall in particular:

The Director shall participate in the meetings of the Management Board, without the right to vote.

Members of the Management Board or their alternates and the Director may be accompanied by experts.

The Management Board shall meet at least twice a year.

The Management Board shall act by a majority of two thirds of its members unless otherwise stipulated in this Decision.

The Management Board shall:

Each year the Management Board shall adopt:

Within four years of the date of application of this Decision and every four years thereafter, the Management Board shall commission an independent external evaluation of the implementation of this Decision and of the activities carried out by Europol.

The Management Board may decide to establish working groups. The rules governing the creation and functioning of such working groups shall be laid down in its rules of procedure.

The Management Board shall exercise the powers laid down in Article 39(3) in respect of the Director, without prejudice to Article 38(1) and (7).

Europol shall be headed by a Director appointed by the Council, acting by qualified majority, from a list of at least three candidates presented by the Management Board, for a four-year period. The Council, acting on a proposal from the Management Board, which shall have evaluated the Director’s performance, may extend the term of office of the Director once for not more than four years.

The Director shall be assisted by three Deputy Directors appointed for a four-year period extendable once in accordance with the procedure laid down in paragraph 1. Their tasks shall be defined in greater detail by the Director.

The Management Board shall establish rules concerning the selection of candidates for the position of Director or Deputy Director, including the extension of their terms of office. Such rules shall be approved by the Council, acting by qualified majority, before their entry into force.

The Director shall be responsible for:

The Director shall be accountable to the Management Board in respect of the performance of his duties.

The Director shall be Europol’s legal representative.

The Director and the Deputy Directors may be dismissed by decision of the Council, acting by qualified majority after obtaining the opinion of the Management Board. The Management Board shall establish the rules to be applied in such cases. Such rules shall be approved by the Council, acting by qualified majority, before their entry into force.

The Staff Regulations of officials of the European Communities and the Conditions of employment of other servants of the European Communities (hereinafter referred to as the Staff Regulations and the Conditions of employment respectively) laid down in Regulation (EEC, Euratom, ECSC) No 259/68 of the Council ¹⁴ and the rules adopted jointly by the institutions of the European Communities for the purpose of applying the Staff Regulations and the Conditions of employment shall apply to the Director, the Deputy Directors and to the Europol staff engaged after the date of application of this Decision.

For the purpose of implementing the Staff Regulations and the Conditions of employment, Europol shall be considered as an agency within the meaning of Article 1a(2) of the Staff Regulations.

The powers conferred on the appointing authority by the Staff Regulations and on the authority authorised to conclude contracts by the Conditions of employment shall be exercised by Europol in respect of its staff and of the Director in accordance with Articles 37(13) and 38(4)(c) of this Decision.

Europol staff shall consist of temporary staff and/or contract staff. The Management Board shall give its consent on a yearly basis in so far as the Director intends to grant contracts of indefinite duration. The Management Board shall decide which temporary posts provided for in the establishment plan can be filled only by staff engaged from the competent authorities of the Member States. Staff recruited to occupy such posts shall be temporary agents under Article 2(a) of the Conditions of employment and may be awarded only fixed-term contracts renewable once for a fixed period.

Member States may second national experts to Europol. The Management Board shall adopt the necessary implementing arrangements for that purpose.

Europol shall apply the principles of Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 to the processing of personal data relating to Europol staff.

Europol and the Member States shall take appropriate measures to protect information subject to the requirement of confidentiality which is obtained by or exchanged with Europol pursuant to this Decision. To that end the Council, acting by qualified majority after consulting the European Parliament, shall adopt appropriate rules on confidentiality prepared by the Management Board. Those rules shall include provisions concerning the cases in which Europol may exchange information subject to the requirement of confidentiality with third parties.

Where Europol intends to entrust persons with a sensitive activity, Member States shall undertake to arrange, at the request of the Director, for security screening of their own nationals to be carried out in accordance with their national provisions and to provide each other with mutual assistance for that purpose. The relevant authority under national provisions shall inform Europol only of the results of the security screening. Those results shall be binding on Europol.

Each Member State and Europol may entrust the processing of data at Europol only to those persons who have had special training and undergone security screening. The Management Board shall adopt rules for the security clearance of Europol staff. The Director shall regularly inform the Management Board on the state of security screening of Europol staff.

The members of the Management Board, the Director, the Deputy Directors, employees of Europol and liaison officers shall refrain from any action and any expression of opinion which might be harmful to Europol or prejudice its activities.

The members of the Management Board, the Director, the Deputy Directors, employees of Europol and liaison officers, as well as any other person under a particular obligation of discretion or confidentiality, shall be bound not to disclose any facts or information which come to their knowledge in the performance of their duties or the exercise of their activities to any unauthorised person or to the public. This shall not apply to facts or information too insignificant to require confidentiality. The obligation of discretion and confidentiality shall apply even after the termination of office or employment, or after the termination of activities. Notification of the particular obligation referred to in the first sentence shall be given by Europol together with a warning of the legal consequences of any infringement. A written record shall be drawn up of such notification.

The members of the Management Board, the Director, the Deputy Directors, employees of Europol and liaison officers, as well as other persons under the obligation provided for in paragraph 2, shall not give evidence in or outside a court or make any statements on any facts or information which come to their knowledge in the performance of their duties or the exercise of their activities without reference to the Director or, in the case of the Director himself, to the Management Board.

Each Member State shall treat any infringement of the obligation of discretion or confidentiality laid down in paragraphs 2 and 3 as a breach of the obligations imposed by its law on official or professional secrets or its provisions for the protection of classified material.

The revenues of Europol shall consist, without prejudice to other types of income, of a subsidy from the Community entered in the general budget of the European Union (Commission section) as from the date of application of this Decision. The financing of Europol shall be subject to an agreement by the European Parliament and the Council (hereinafter referred to as the budgetary authority) as provided for in the Interinstitutional Agreement of 17 May 2006 between the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission on budgetary discipline and sound financial management ¹⁵.

Europol’s expenditure shall include its staff, administrative, infrastructure and operational expenses.

The Director shall draw up the draft estimate of revenue and expenditure of Europol for the following financial year, including a draft establishment plan, and shall forward it to the Management Board. The draft establishment plan shall consist of posts of a permanent or temporary nature and a reference to national experts seconded, and shall state the number, grade and category of staff employed by Europol for the financial year in question.

Revenue and expenditure shall be in balance.

The Management Board shall adopt the draft estimate of revenue and expenditure, including the draft establishment plan and accompanied by the preliminary work programme, and forward them by 31 March of each year to the Commission. If the Commission has objections to the draft estimate, it shall inform the Management Board accordingly within 30 days of receiving it.

The Commission shall forward the estimate to the budgetary authority together with the preliminary draft general budget of the European Union.

On the basis of the estimate, the Commission shall enter in the preliminary draft general budget of the European Union, which it shall place before the budgetary authority, in accordance with Article 272 of the Treaty establishing the European Community, the estimates it deems necessary for the establishment plan and the amount of the subsidy to be charged to that budget.

The budgetary authority shall authorise the appropriations for the subsidy to Europol and the establishment plan when adopting the general budget of the European Union.

The Management Board shall adopt Europol’s budget and the establishment plan. They shall become definitive following the final adoption of the general budget of the European Union. Where appropriate, they shall be adjusted accordingly by means of the adoption of a revised budget.

Any amendment of the budget, including the establishment plan, shall be effected in accordance with the procedure laid down in paragraphs 5 to 9.

The Management Board shall, as soon as possible, notify the budgetary authority of its intention of implementing any project that may have significant financial implications for the funding of its budget, in particular any projects relating to property such as the rental or purchase of buildings. It shall inform the Commission thereof. Where a branch of the budgetary authority notifies its intention of delivering an opinion, it shall forward its opinion to the Management Board within six weeks of the date on which it notified the budgetary authority of the project.

The Director shall implement Europol’s budget.

By 28 February at the latest following each financial year, Europol’s accounting officer shall communicate the provisional accounts to the Commission’s accounting officer together with a report on the budgetary and financial management for that financial year. The Commission’s accounting officer shall consolidate the provisional accounts of the institutions and decentralised bodies in accordance with Article 128 of Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 of 25 June 2002 on the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European Communities ¹⁶.

By 31 March at the latest following each financial year, the Commission’s accounting officer shall forward Europol’s provisional accounts to the Court of Auditors, together with a report on the budgetary and financial management for that financial year. The report on the budgetary and financial management for that financial year shall also be forwarded to the European Parliament and the Council.

On receipt of the Court of Auditors’ observations on Europol’s provisional accounts pursuant to Article 129 of Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002, the Director shall draw up Europol’s final accounts under his own responsibility and forward them to the Management Board for an opinion.

The Management Board shall deliver an opinion on Europol’s final accounts.

By 1 July at the latest following each financial year, the Director shall send the final accounts, together with the opinion of the Management Board, to the European Parliament, the Council, the Commission and the Court of Auditors.

The final accounts shall be published.

The Director shall send the Court of Auditors a reply to its observations by 30 September at the latest. He shall also send a copy of that reply to the Management Board.

The Director shall submit to the European Parliament, at the latter’s request, any information required for the smooth application of the discharge procedure for the financial year in question, as laid down in Article 146(3) of Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002.

The European Parliament, taking into account a recommendation from the Council acting by qualified majority, shall, before 30 April of year n + 2, give a discharge to the Director in respect of the implementation of the budget for year n.

Regulation No 1 of 15 April 1958 determining the languages to be used in the European Economic Community ¹⁹ shall apply to Europol.

The Management Board shall decide by unanimity on the internal language arrangements of Europol.

The translations required for Europol’s work shall be provided by the Translation Centre for bodies of the European Union ²⁰.

The Protocol on the Privileges and Immunities of the European Communities and a specific Regulation to be adopted on the basis of Article 16 of the Protocol on the Privileges and Immunities of the European Communities shall apply to the Director and Deputy Directors of Europol and to Europol staff.

The Protocol on the Privileges and Immunities of the European Communities shall apply to Europol.

The Kingdom of the Netherlands and the other Member States shall agree that liaison officers seconded from the other Member States and members of their families shall enjoy such privileges and immunities as are necessary for the proper performance of the tasks of liaison officers at Europol.

Each Member State shall be liable, in accordance with its national law, for any damage caused to an individual as a result of legal or factual errors in data stored or processed at Europol. Only the Member State in which the event which gave rise to the damage occurred shall be the subject of an action for compensation on the part of the injured party, who shall apply to the courts having jurisdiction under the national law of the Member State concerned. A Member State may not plead that another Member State or Europol had transmitted inaccurate data in order to avoid its liability under its national legislation vis-à-vis an injured party.

If the legal or factual errors referred to in paragraph 1 occurred as a result of the erroneous communication of data or of failure to comply with the obligations laid down in this Decision on the part of one or more Member States or as a result of unauthorised or incorrect storage or processing by Europol, Europol or the other Member State in question shall be bound to reimburse, on request, for the amounts paid as compensation pursuant to paragraph 1 unless the data were used in breach of this Decision by the Member State in the territory of which the damage was caused.

Any dispute between the Member State that has paid the compensation pursuant to paragraph 1 and Europol or another Member State over the principle or the amount of the reimbursement shall be referred to the Management Board, which shall settle the matter by a majority of two thirds of its members.

Europol’s contractual liability shall be governed by the law applicable to the contract in question.

In the case of non-contractual liability, Europol shall be obliged, independently of any liability under Article 52, to make good any damage caused by the fault of its organs, or of its staff in the performance of their duties, in so far as it may be imputed to them and regardless of the different procedures for claiming damages which exist under the law of the Member States.

The injured party shall have the right to demand that Europol refrain from or cease any action.

The national courts of the Member States competent to deal with disputes involving Europol’s liability as referred to in this Article shall be determined by reference to Council Regulation (EC) No 44/2001 of 22 December 2000 on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters ²².

The Member State in the territory of which damage is caused by Europol staff operating in accordance with Article 6 in that Member State during their assistance in operational measures shall make good such damage under the conditions applicable to damage caused by its own officials.

Unless otherwise agreed by the Member State concerned, Europol shall reimburse in full any sums that that Member State has paid to the victims or persons entitled on their behalf for damage referred to in paragraph 1. Any dispute between that Member State and Europol over the principle or the amount of the reimbursement shall be referred to the Management Board, which shall settle the matter.

This Decision shall not affect the legal force of agreements concluded by Europol as established by the Europol Convention before the date of application of this Decision.

Paragraph 1 shall apply in particular to the Headquarters Agreement concluded on the basis of Article 37 of the Europol Convention, as well as the agreements between the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the other Member States established on the basis of Article 41(2) of the Europol Convention and to all international agreements, including their provisions on the exchange of information, and to contracts concluded by, liabilities incumbent on and properties acquired by Europol, as established by the Europol Convention.

The Director and Deputy Directors appointed on the basis of Article 29 of the Europol Convention shall, for the remaining periods of their terms of office, be the Director and Deputy Directors within the meaning of Article 38 of this Decision. If their terms of office end one year or less after the date of application of this Decision, they shall be extended automatically until one year after the date of application of this Decision.

Should the Director or one or more of the Deputy Directors be unwilling or unable to act in accordance with paragraph 1, the Management Board shall appoint an interim Director or interim Deputy Director(s) as required for a maximum period of 18 months, pending the appointments provided for in Article 38(1) and (2).

By way of derogation from Article 39, all employment contracts concluded by Europol as established by the Europol Convention and in force on the date of application of this Decision shall be honoured until their expiry date and may not be renewed on the basis of the Europol Staff Regulations ²³ after the date of application of this Decision.

All members of staff under contracts as referred to in paragraph 1 shall be offered the possibility of concluding temporary agent contracts under Article 2(a) of the Conditions of employment at the various grades as set out in the establishment plan or contract agent contracts under Article 3a of the Conditions of employment.

If a second fixed-term contract was concluded by Europol before the date of application of this Decision and the staff member accepted a temporary agent contract or contract agent contract under the conditions laid down in the third subparagraph of paragraph 2, any subsequent renewal may be concluded only for an indefinite period, in accordance with Article 39(4).

If a contract of an indefinite duration was concluded by Europol before the date of application of this Decision and the staff member accepted a temporary agent or contract agent contract under the conditions laid down in the third subparagraph of paragraph 2, that contract shall be concluded for an indefinite period in accordance with the first paragraph of Article 8 and Article 85(1) of the Conditions of employment.

The Europol Staff Regulations and other relevant instruments shall continue to apply to staff members who are not recruited in accordance with paragraph 2. By way of derogation from Chapter 5 of the Europol Staff Regulations, the percentage rate of the annual adjustment of remuneration decided by the Council in accordance with Article 65 of the Staff Regulations shall apply to Europol staff.

The discharge procedure in respect of the budgets approved on the basis of Article 35(5) of the Europol Convention shall be carried out in accordance with the rules established by Article 36(5) of the Europol Convention and the financial regulation adopted on the basis of Article 35(9) of the Europol Convention.