S.I. No. 637/2019 - European Union (Eurojust) Regulations 2019

The College shall amend the adopted annual work programme when a new task is given to Eurojust. Any substantial amendment to the annual work programme shall be adopted by the same procedure as the initial annual work programme. The College may delegate to the Administrative Director the power to make non-substantial amendments to the annual work programme.

The multi-annual work programme shall set out overall strategic programming including objectives, the strategy for cooperation with the authorities of third countries and international organisations referred to in Article 52, expected results and performance indicators. It shall also set out resource programming including multi-annual budget and staff. The resource programming shall be updated annually. The strategic programming shall be updated where appropriate, and in particular to address the outcome of the evaluation referred to in Article 69.

The College shall be assisted by an Executive Board. The Executive Board shall be responsible for taking administrative decisions to ensure the proper functioning of Eurojust. It shall oversee the necessary preparatory work of the Administrative Director on other administrative matters for adoption by the College. It shall not be involved in the operational functions of Eurojust referred to in Articles 4 and 5.

The Executive Board may consult the College when carrying out its tasks.

The Executive Board shall also:

The Executive Board shall be composed of the President and Vice-Presidents of Eurojust, one representative of the Commission and two other members of the College designated on a two-year rotation system in accordance with Eurojust’s rules of procedure. The Administrative Director shall attend the meetings of the Executive Board without the right to vote.

The President of Eurojust shall be the chairperson of the Executive Board. The Executive Board shall take its decisions by a majority of its members. Each member shall have one vote. In the event of a tied vote, the President of Eurojust shall have a casting vote.

The term of office of members of the Executive Board shall end when their term as national members, President or Vice-President ends.

The Executive Board shall meet at least once a month. In addition, it shall meet on the initiative of its chairperson or at the request of the Commission or of at least two of its other members.

Eurojust shall send to the EPPO the agenda of the Executive Board meetings and consult with the EPPO on the need to participate in those meetings. Eurojust shall invite the EPPO to participate, without the right to vote, whenever issues are discussed which are of relevance for the functioning of the EPPO.

The Administrative Director shall be engaged as a temporary agent of Eurojust under point (a) of Article 2 of the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants.

The Administrative Director shall be appointed by the College from a list of candidates proposed by the Executive Board, following an open and transparent selection procedure in accordance with Eurojust’s rules of procedure. For the purpose of concluding the employment contract with the Administrative Director, Eurojust shall be represented by the President of Eurojust.

The term of office of the Administrative Director shall be four years. By the end of that period, the Executive Board shall undertake an assessment that takes into account an evaluation of the performance of the Administrative Director.

The College, acting on a proposal from the Executive Board that takes into account the assessment referred to in paragraph 3, may extend the term of office of the Administrative Director once and for no more than four years.

An Administrative Director whose term of office has been extended shall not participate in another selection procedure for the same post at the end of the overall period.

The Administrative Director shall be accountable to the College.

The Administrative Director may be removed from the office only pursuant to a decision of the College acting on a proposal from the Executive Board.

For administrative purposes, Eurojust shall be managed by its Administrative Director.

Without prejudice to the powers of the College or the Executive Board, the Administrative Director shall be independent in the performance of his or her duties and shall neither seek nor take instructions from any government or any other body.

The Administrative Director shall be the legal representative of Eurojust.

The Administrative Director shall be responsible for the implementation of the administrative tasks assigned to Eurojust, in particular:

In order to fulfil its tasks in urgent cases, Eurojust shall operate an on-call coordination mechanism (‘OCC’) able to receive and process at all times the requests referred to it. The OCC shall be contactable 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

The OCC shall rely on one OCC representative per Member State who may be either the national member, his or her deputy, an Assistant entitled to replace the national member, or a seconded national expert. The OCC representative shall be available to act 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

The OCC representatives shall act efficiently and without delay in relation to the execution of a request in their Member State.

Each Member State shall appoint one or more national correspondents for Eurojust.

All national correspondents appointed by the Member States under paragraph 1 shall have the skills and experience necessary for them to carry out their duties.

Each Member State shall set up a Eurojust national coordination system to ensure coordination of the work carried out by:

The persons referred to in paragraphs 1 and 3 shall retain their position and status under national law, without this having a significant impact on the performance of their duties under this Regulation.

The national correspondents for Eurojust shall be responsible for the functioning of their Eurojust national coordination system. Where several correspondents for Eurojust are appointed, one of them shall be responsible for the functioning of their Eurojust national coordination system.

The national members shall be informed of all meetings of their Eurojust national coordination system where casework-related matters are discussed. The national members may attend such meetings as necessary.

Each Eurojust national coordination system shall facilitate the carrying out of Eurojust’s tasks within the Member State concerned, in particular by:

In order to meet the objectives referred to in paragraph 7, the persons referred to in paragraph 1 and in points (a), (b) and (c) of paragraph 3 shall, and the persons or authorities referred to in points (d) and (e) of paragraph 3 may be connected to the case management system in accordance with this Article and with Articles 23, 24, 25 and 34. The cost of connection to the case management system shall be borne by the general budget of the Union.

The setting up of the Eurojust national coordination system and the appointment of national correspondents shall not prevent direct contacts between the national member and the competent authorities of his or her Member State.

The competent authorities of the Member States shall exchange with Eurojust all information necessary for the performance of its tasks under Articles 2 and 4 in accordance with the applicable data protection rules. This shall at least include the information referred to in paragraphs 4, 5 and 6 of this Article.

The transmission of information to Eurojust shall only be interpreted as a request for the assistance of Eurojust in the case concerned if so specified by a competent authority.

The national members shall exchange all information necessary for the performance of Eurojust’s tasks among themselves or with their competent national authorities, without prior authorisation. In particular, the competent national authorities shall promptly inform their national members of a case which concerns them.

The competent national authorities shall inform their national members of the setting up of joint investigation teams and of the results of the work of such teams.

The competent national authorities shall inform their national members without undue delay of any case affecting at least three Member States for which requests for or decisions on judicial cooperation, including requests and decisions based on instruments giving effect to the principle of mutual recognition, have been transmitted to at least two Member States, where one or more of the following apply:

The competent national authorities shall inform their national members of:

The competent national authorities shall not be obliged to supply information in a particular case if doing so would harm essential national security interests or jeopardise the safety of individuals.

This Article is without prejudice to conditions set out in bilateral or multilateral agreements or arrangements between Member States and third countries, including any conditions set by third countries concerning the use of information once supplied.

This Article is without prejudice to other obligations regarding the transmission of information to Eurojust, including Council Decision 2005/671/JHA (²¹) .

Information referred to in this Article shall be provided in a structured way determined by Eurojust. The competent national authority shall not be obliged to provide such information where it has already been transmitted to Eurojust in accordance with other provisions of this Regulation.

Eurojust shall provide competent national authorities with information on the results of the processing of information, including the existence of links with cases already stored in the case management system, without undue delay. That information may include personal data.

Where a competent national authority requests that Eurojust provide it with information within a certain timeframe, Eurojust shall transmit that information within that timeframe.

Eurojust shall establish a case management system composed of temporary work files and of an index which contain the personal data referred to in Annex II and non-personal data.

The purpose of the case management system shall be to:

The case management system may be linked to the secure telecommunications connection referred to in Article 9 of Council Decision 2008/976/JHA (²²) .

The index shall contain references to temporary work files processed within the framework of Eurojust and may not contain any personal data other than those referred to in points (1)(a) to (i), (k) and (m) and (2) of Annex II.

In the performance of their duties, national members may process data on the individual cases on which they are working in a temporary work file. They shall allow the Data Protection Officer to have access to the temporary work file. The Data Protection Officer shall be informed by the national member concerned of the opening of each new temporary work file that contains personal data.

For the processing of operational personal data, Eurojust may not establish any automated data file other than the case management system. The national member may, however, temporarily store and analyse personal data for the purpose of determining whether such data are relevant to Eurojust’s tasks and can be included in the case management system. That data may be held for up to three months.

A temporary work file shall be opened by the national member concerned for every case with respect to which information is transmitted to him or her in so far as that transmission is in accordance with this Regulation or other applicable legal instruments. The national member shall be responsible for the management of the temporary work files opened by that national member.

The national member who has opened a temporary work file shall decide, on a case-by-case basis, whether to keep the temporary work file restricted or to give access to it or to parts of it to other national members, to authorised Eurojust staff or to any other person working on behalf of Eurojust who has received the necessary authorisation from the Administrative Director.

The national member who has opened a temporary work file shall decide which information related to that temporary work file shall be introduced in the index in accordance with Article 23(4).

In so far as they are connected to the case management system, persons referred to in Article 20(3) shall only have access to:

The national member shall, within the limitations provided for in paragraph 1 of this Article, decide on the extent of access to the temporary work files which is granted in his or her Member State to the persons referred to in Article 20(3) in so far as they are connected to the case management system.

Each Member State shall decide, after consultation with its national member, on the extent of access to the index which is granted in that Member State to the persons referred to in Article 20(3) in so far as they are connected to the case management system. Member States shall notify Eurojust and the Commission of their decision regarding the implementation of this paragraph. The Commission shall inform the other Member States thereof.

Persons who have been granted access in accordance with paragraph 2 shall at least have access to the index to the extent necessary to access the temporary work files to which they have been granted access.

This Regulation and Article 3 and Chapter IX of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 shall apply to the processing of operational personal data by Eurojust. Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 shall apply to the processing of administrative personal data by Eurojust, with the exception of Chapter IX of that Regulation.

References to ‘applicable data protection rules’ in this Regulation shall be understood as references to the provisions on data protection set out in this Regulation and in Regulation (EU) 2018/1725.

The data protection rules on processing of operational personal data contained in this Regulation shall be considered as specific data protection rules to the general rules laid down in Article 3 and Chapter IX of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725.

Eurojust shall determine the time limits for the storage of administrative personal data in the data protection provisions of its rules of procedure.

In so far as it is necessary to perform its tasks, Eurojust may, within the framework of its competence and in order to carry out its operational functions, process by automated means or in structured manual files in accordance with this Regulation only the operational personal data listed in point 1 of Annex II of persons who, under the national law of the Member States concerned, are persons with regard to whom there are serious grounds for believing that they have committed or are about to commit a criminal offence in respect of which Eurojust is competent or who have been convicted of such an offence.

Eurojust may process only the operational personal data listed in point 2 of Annex II of persons who, under the national law of the Member States concerned, are regarded as victims or other parties to a criminal offence, such as persons who might be called to testify in a criminal investigation or prosecution regarding one or more of the types of crime and the criminal offences referred to in Article 3, persons who are able to provide information on criminal offences, or contacts or associates of a person referred to in paragraph 1. The processing of such operational personal data may only take place if it is necessary for the fulfilment of the tasks of Eurojust, within the framework of its competence and in order to carry out its operational functions.

In exceptional cases, for a limited period of time which shall not exceed the time needed for the conclusion of the case in relation to which the data are processed, Eurojust may also process operational personal data other than the personal data referred to in Annex II relating to the circumstances of an offence, where such data are immediately relevant to and are included in ongoing investigations which Eurojust is coordinating or helping to coordinate and when their processing is necessary for the purposes specified in paragraph 1. The Data Protection Officer referred to in Article 36 shall be informed immediately when such operational personal data are processed, and shall be informed of the specific circumstances which justify the necessity of the processing of those operational personal data. Where such other data refer to witnesses or victims within the meaning of paragraph 2 of this Article, the decision to process them shall be taken jointly by the national members concerned.

Eurojust may process special categories of operational personal data in accordance with Article 76 of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725. Such data may not be processed in the index referred to in Article 23(4) of this Regulation. Where such other data refer to witnesses or victims within the meaning of paragraph 2 of this Article, the decision to process them shall be taken by the national members concerned.

Operational personal data processed by Eurojust shall be stored by Eurojust for only as long as is necessary for the performance of its tasks. In particular, without prejudice to paragraph 3 of this Article, the operational personal data referred to in Article 27 may not be stored beyond the first applicable date among the following dates:

Observance of the storage deadlines referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article shall be reviewed constantly by appropriate automated processing conducted by Eurojust, particularly from the moment in which the case is closed by Eurojust. A review of the need to store the data shall also be carried out every three years after they were entered; the results of such reviews shall apply to the case as a whole. If operational personal data referred to in Article 27(4) are stored for a period exceeding five years, the EDPS shall be informed.

Before one of the storage deadlines referred to in paragraph 1 expires, Eurojust shall review the need for the continued storage of the operational personal data where and as long as this is necessary to perform its tasks. It may decide by way of derogation to store those data until the following review. The reasons for the continued storage shall be justified and recorded. If no decision is taken on the continued storage of operational personal data at the time of the review, those data shall be deleted automatically.

Where, in accordance with paragraph 3, operational personal data have been stored beyond the storage deadlines referred to in paragraph 1, the EDPS shall also carry out a review of the need to store those data every three years.

Once the deadline for the storage of the last item of automated data from the file has expired, all documents in the file shall be destroyed with the exception of any original documents which Eurojust has received from national authorities and which need to be returned to their provider.

Where Eurojust has coordinated an investigation or prosecutions, the national members concerned shall inform each other whenever they receive information that the case has been dismissed or that all judicial decisions related to the case have become final.

Paragraph 5 shall not apply where:

Any data subject who wishes to exercise the right of access referred to in Article 80 of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 to operational personal data that relate to the data subject and which have been processed by Eurojust may make a request to Eurojust or to the national supervisory authority in the Member State of the data subject’s choice. That authority shall refer the request to Eurojust without delay, and in any case within one month of its receipt.

The request shall be answered by Eurojust without undue delay and in any case within three months of its receipt by Eurojust.

The competent authorities of the Member States concerned shall be consulted by Eurojust on the decision to be taken in response to a request. The decision on access to data shall only be taken by Eurojust in close cooperation with the Member States directly concerned by the communication of such data. Where a Member State objects to Eurojust’s proposed decision, it shall notify Eurojust of the reasons for its objection. Eurojust shall comply with any such objection. The national members concerned shall subsequently notify the competent authorities of the content of Eurojust’s decision.

The national members concerned shall deal with the request and reach a decision on Eurojust’s behalf. Where the national members concerned are not in agreement, they shall refer the matter to the College, which shall take its decision on the request by a two-thirds majority.

Eurojust shall maintain a record of all categories of processing activities under its responsibility. That record shall contain all of the following information:

The records referred to in paragraph 1 shall be in writing, including in electronic form.

Eurojust shall make the record available to the EDPS on request.

The Executive Board shall designate a Data Protection Officer. The Data Protection Officer shall be a member of staff specifically appointed for this purpose. In the performance of his or her duties, the Data Protection Officer shall act independently and may not receive any instructions.

The Data Protection Officer shall be selected on the basis of his or her professional qualities and, in particular, expert knowledge of data protection law and practice, and ability to fulfil his or her tasks under this Regulation, in particular those referred to in Article 38.

The selection of the Data Protection Officer shall not be liable to result in a conflict of interests between his or her duty as Data Protection Officer and any other official duties he or she may have, in particular in relation to the application of this Regulation.

The Data Protection Officer shall be appointed for a term of four years and shall be eligible for reappointment up to a maximum total term of eight years. The Data Protection Officer may be dismissed from his or her post by the Executive Board only with the agreement of the EDPS, if he or she no longer fulfils the conditions required for the performance of his or her duties.

Eurojust shall publish the contact details of the Data Protection Officer and communicate them to the EDPS.

Eurojust shall ensure that the Data Protection Officer is involved properly and in a timely manner in all issues which relate to the protection of personal data.

Eurojust shall support the Data Protection Officer in performing the tasks referred to in Article 38 by providing the resources and staff necessary to carry out those tasks and by providing access to personal data and processing operations, and to maintain his or her expert knowledge.

Eurojust shall ensure that the Data Protection Officer does not receive any instructions regarding the carrying out of his or her tasks. The Data Protection Officer shall not be dismissed or penalised by the Executive Board for performing his or her tasks. The Data Protection Officer shall report directly to the College in relation to operational personal data and report to the Executive Board in relation to administrative personal data.

Data subjects may contact the Data Protection Officer with regard to all issues related to processing of their personal data and to the exercise of their rights under this Regulation and under Regulation (EU) 2018/1725.

The Executive Board shall adopt implementing rules concerning the Data Protection Officer. Those implementing rules shall in particular concern the selection procedure for the position of the Data Protection Officer, his or her dismissal, tasks, duties and powers, and safeguards for the independence of the Data Protection Officer.

The Data Protection Officer and his or her staff shall be bound by the obligation of confidentiality in accordance with Article 72.

The Data Protection Officer may be consulted by the controller and the processor, by the staff committee concerned and by any individual on any matter concerning the interpretation or application of this Regulation and Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 without them going through the official channels. No one shall suffer prejudice on account of a matter brought to the attention of the Data Protection Officer alleging that a breach of this Regulation or Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 has taken place.

After his or her designation the Data Protection Officer shall be registered with the EDPS by Eurojust.

The Data Protection Officer shall in particular have the following tasks regarding the processing of personal data:

The Data Protection Officer shall carry out the functions provided for in Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 with regard to administrative personal data.

The Data Protection Officer and the staff members of Eurojust assisting the Data Protection Officer in the performance of his or her duties shall have access to the personal data processed by Eurojust and to its premises, to the extent necessary for the performance of their tasks.

If the Data Protection Officer considers that the provisions of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 related to the processing of administrative personal data or that the provisions of this Regulation or of Article 3 and of Chapter IX of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 related to the processing of operational personal data have not been complied with, he or she shall inform the Executive Board, requesting that it resolve the non-compliance within a specified time. If the Executive Board does not resolve the non-compliance within the specified time, the Data Protection Officer shall refer the matter to the EDPS.

In the event of a personal data breach, Eurojust shall without undue delay notify the competent authorities of the Member States concerned of that breach.

The notification referred to in paragraph 1 shall, as a minimum:

The EDPS shall be responsible for monitoring and ensuring the application of the provisions of this Regulation and Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 relating to the protection of fundamental rights and freedoms of natural persons with regard to processing of operational personal data by Eurojust, and for advising Eurojust and data subjects on all matters concerning the processing of operational personal data. To that end, the EDPS shall fulfil the duties set out in paragraph 2 of this Article, shall exercise the powers granted in paragraph 3 of this Article and shall cooperate with the national supervisory authorities in accordance with Article 42.

The EDPS shall have the following duties under this Regulation and Regulation (EU) 2018/1725:

The EDPS may under this Regulation and Regulation (EU) 2018/1725, taking into account the implications for investigations and prosecutions in the Member States:

The EDPS shall have access to the operational personal data processed by Eurojust and to its premises to the extent necessary for the performance of his or her tasks.

The EDPS shall draw up an annual report on his or her supervisory activities in relation to Eurojust. That report shall be part of the annual report of the EDPS referred to in Article 60 of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725. The national supervisory authorities shall be invited to make observations on this report before it becomes part of the annual report of the EDPS referred to in Article 60 of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725. The EDPS shall take utmost account of the observations made by national supervisory authorities and, in any case, shall refer to them in the annual report.

Eurojust shall cooperate with the EDPS in the performance of his or her tasks at his or her request.

The EDPS and his or her staff shall, both during and after their term of office, be subject to a duty of professional secrecy with regard to any confidential information which has come to their knowledge in the course of their performance of official duties.

The EDPS shall, in the exercise of his or her supervision powers, take into utmost account the secrecy of judicial inquiries and criminal proceedings, in accordance with Union or Member State law.

The EDPS shall act in close cooperation with national supervisory authorities with respect to specific issues requiring national involvement, in particular if the EDPS or a national supervisory authority finds major discrepancies between practices of the Member States or potentially unlawful transfers using Eurojust’s communication channels, or in the context of questions raised by one or more national supervisory authorities on the implementation and interpretation of this Regulation.

In the cases referred to in paragraph 1, coordinated supervision shall be ensured in accordance with Article 62 of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725.

The EDPS shall keep national supervisory authorities fully informed of all issues that directly affect them or are otherwise relevant to them. Upon a request from one or more national supervisory authorities, the EDPS shall inform them on specific issues.

In cases relating to data originating from one or several Member States, including cases referred to in Article 43(3), the EDPS shall consult the national supervisory authorities concerned. The EDPS shall not decide on further action to be taken before those national supervisory authorities have informed the EDPS of their position, within a deadline specified by the EDPS. That deadline shall not be shorter than one month or longer than three months. The EDPS shall take utmost account of the position of the national supervisory authorities concerned. In cases where the EDPS intends not to follow their position, he or she shall inform them, provide a justification, and submit the matter to the European Data Protection Board.

National supervisory authorities shall keep the EDPS informed of any actions they take with respect to the transfer, retrieval, or any other communication of operational personal data under this Regulation by the Member States.

Any data subject shall have the right to lodge a complaint with the EDPS, if he or she considers that the processing by Eurojust of operational personal data relating to him or her does not comply with this Regulation or Regulation (EU) 2018/ 1725.

Where a complaint relates to a decision referred to in Article 31, 32 or 33 of this Regulation or Article 80, 81 or 82 of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725, the EDPS shall consult the national supervisory authorities or the competent judicial body of the Member State that provided the data or the Member State directly concerned. In adopting his or her decision, which may extend to a refusal to communicate any information, the EDPS shall take into account the opinion of the national supervisory authority or of the competent judicial body.

Where a complaint relates to the processing of data provided by a Member State to Eurojust, the EDPS and the national supervisory authority of the Member State that provided the data, each acting within the scope of their respective competences shall ensure that the necessary checks on the lawfulness of the processing of the data have been carried out correctly.

Where a complaint relates to the processing of data provided to Eurojust by Union bodies, offices or agencies, by third countries or by international organisations or to the processing of data retrieved by Eurojust from publicly available sources, the EDPS shall ensure that Eurojust has correctly carried out the necessary checks on the lawfulness of the processing of the data.

The EDPS shall inform the data subject of the progress and outcome of the complaint, as well as the possibility of a judicial remedy pursuant to Article 44.

Eurojust shall process operational personal data in such a way that it can be established which authority provided the data or from where the data were retrieved.

Responsibility for the accuracy of operational personal data shall lie with:

Responsibility for compliance with Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 in relation to administrative personal data and for compliance with this Regulation and with Article 3 and Chapter IX of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 in relation to operational personal data shall lie with Eurojust.

Subject to other provisions of this Regulation, Eurojust shall be responsible for all data processed by it.

Eurojust shall be liable, in accordance with Article 340 TFEU, for any damage caused to an individual which results from the unauthorised or incorrect processing of data carried out by it.

Complaints against Eurojust on grounds of the liability referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article shall be heard by the Court in accordance with Article 268 TFEU.

Each Member State shall be liable, in accordance with its national law, for any damage caused to an individual which results from the unauthorised or incorrect processing carried out by it of data which were communicated to Eurojust.

In so far as necessary for the performance of its tasks, Eurojust may establish and maintain cooperative relations with Union institutions, bodies, offices and agencies in accordance with their respective objectives, and with the competent authorities of third countries and international organisations in accordance with the cooperation strategy referred to in Article 52.

In so far as relevant to the performance of its tasks and subject to any restrictions pursuant to Article 21(8) and Article 76, Eurojust may exchange any information with the entities referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article directly, with the exception of personal data.

For the purposes set out in paragraphs 1 and 2, Eurojust may conclude working arrangements with the entities referred to in paragraph 1. Such working arrangements shall not form the basis for allowing the exchange of personal data and shall not bind the Union or its Member States.

Eurojust may receive and process personal data received from the entities referred to in paragraph 1 in so far as necessary for the performance of its tasks, subject to the applicable data protection rules.

Personal data shall only be transferred by Eurojust to Union institutions, bodies, offices or agencies, to third countries or to international organisations if this is necessary for the performance of its tasks and is in accordance with Articles 55 and 56. If the data to be transferred have been provided by a Member State, Eurojust shall obtain the consent of the relevant competent authority in that Member State, unless the Member State has granted its prior authorisation to such onward transfer, either in general terms or subject to specific conditions. Such consent may be withdrawn at any time.

Where Member States, Union institutions, bodies, offices or agencies, third countries or international organisations have received personal data from Eurojust, onward transfers of such data to third parties shall be prohibited unless all of the following conditions have been met:

Eurojust and the European Judicial Network in criminal matters shall maintain privileged relations with each other, based on consultation and complementarity, especially between the national member, contact points of the European Judicial Network in the same Member State as the national member, and the national correspondents for Eurojust and the European Judicial Network. In order to ensure efficient cooperation, the following measures shall be taken:

The Secretariat of the Network for joint investigation teams and the Secretariat of the Network set up by Decision 2002/494/JHA shall form part of the staff of Eurojust. Those secretariats shall function as separate units. They may draw on the administrative resources of Eurojust which are necessary for the performance of their tasks. The coordination of the secretariats shall be ensured by Eurojust. This paragraph applies to the secretariat of any relevant network involved in judicial cooperation in criminal matters for which Eurojust is to provide support in the form of a secretariat. Eurojust may support relevant European networks and bodies involved in judicial cooperation in criminal matters, including where appropriate by means of a secretariat hosted at Eurojust.

The network set up by Decision 2008/852/JHA may request that Eurojust provide a secretariat of the network. If such request is made, paragraph 2 shall apply.

Eurojust shall take all appropriate measures to enable Europol, within Europol’s mandate, to have indirect access, on the basis of a hit/no-hit system, to information provided to Eurojust, without prejudice to any restrictions indicated by the Member State, Union body, office or agency, third country or international organisation that provided the information in question. In the case of a hit, Eurojust shall initiate the procedure by which the information that generated the hit may be shared in accordance with the decision of the Member State, Union body, office or agency, third country or international organisation that provided the information to Eurojust.

Searches of information in accordance with paragraph 1 shall be carried out only for the purpose of identifying whether information available at Europol matches with information processed at Eurojust.

Eurojust shall allow searches in accordance with paragraph 1 only after obtaining from Europol information on which Europol staff members have been designated as authorised to perform such searches.

If during Eurojust’s information processing activities in respect of an individual investigation, Eurojust or a Member State identifies the need for coordination, cooperation or support in accordance with Europol’s mandate, Eurojust shall notify Europol thereof and shall initiate the procedure for sharing the information, in accordance with the decision of the Member State that provided the information. In such cases Eurojust shall consult with Europol.

Eurojust shall establish and maintain close cooperation with Europol to the extent relevant to performing the tasks of the two agencies and to achieving their objectives, taking account of the need to avoid duplication of effort.

Europol shall respect any restriction of access or use, whether in general or specific terms, that has been indicated by a Member State, Union body, office or agency, third country or international organisation, in relation to information that it has provided.

Eurojust shall establish and maintain a close relationship with the EPPO based on mutual cooperation within their respective mandates and competences and on the development of operational, administrative and management links between them as defined in this Article. To that end, the President of Eurojust and the European Chief Prosecutor shall meet on a regular basis to discuss issues of common interest. They shall meet at the request of the President of Eurojust or of the European Chief Prosecutor.

Eurojust shall treat requests for support from the EPPO without undue delay, and, where appropriate, shall treat such requests as if they had been received from a national authority competent for judicial cooperation.

Whenever necessary to support the cooperation established in accordance with paragraph 1 of this Article, Eurojust shall make use of the Eurojust national coordination system set up in accordance with Article 20, as well as the relations it has established with third countries, including its liaison magistrates

In operational matters relevant to the EPPO’s competences, Eurojust shall inform the EPPO of and, where appropriate, associate it with its activities concerning cross-border cases, including by:

Eurojust shall have indirect access to information in the EPPO’s case management system on the basis of a hit/no-hit system. Whenever a match is found between data entered into the case management system by the EPPO and data held by Eurojust, the fact that there is a match shall be communicated to both Eurojust and to the EPPO, as well as to the Member State which provided the data to Eurojust. Eurojust shall take appropriate measures to enable the EPPO to have indirect access to information in its case management system on the basis of a hit/no-hit system.

The EPPO may rely on the support and resources of the administration of Eurojust. To that end, Eurojust may provide services of common interest to the EPPO. The details shall be regulated by an arrangement.

Eurojust shall establish and maintain cooperative relations with the European Judicial Training Network.

OLAF shall contribute to Eurojust’s coordination work regarding the protection of the financial interests of the Union, in accordance with its mandate under Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 883/2013.

The European Border and Coast Guard Agency shall contribute to Eurojust’s work including by transmitting relevant information processed in accordance with its mandate and tasks under point (m) of Article 8(1) of Regulation (EU) 2016/ 1624 of the European Parliament and of the Council (²³) . The European Border and Coast Guard Agency’s processing of any personal data in connection therewith shall be regulated by Regulation (EU) 2018/1725.

For the purposes of receiving and transmitting information between Eurojust and OLAF, without prejudice to Article 8 of this Regulation, Member States shall ensure that the national members of Eurojust are regarded as competent authorities of the Member States solely for the purposes of Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 883/2013. The exchange of information between OLAF and national members shall be without prejudice to obligations to provide the information to other competent authorities under those Regulations.

Eurojust may establish and maintain cooperation with authorities of third countries and international organisations. To that end, Eurojust shall prepare a cooperation strategy every four years in consultation with the Commission, which specifies the third countries and international organisations with which there is an operational need for cooperation.

Eurojust may conclude working arrangements with the entities referred to in Article 47(1).

Eurojust may designate contact points in third countries in agreement with the competent authorities concerned, in order to facilitate cooperation in accordance with the operational needs of Eurojust.

For the purpose of facilitating judicial cooperation with third countries in cases in which Eurojust is providing assistance in accordance with this Regulation, the College may post liaison magistrates to a third country subject to the existence of a working arrangement as referred to in Article 47(3) with the competent authorities of that third country.

The tasks of the liaison magistrates shall include any activity designed to encourage and accelerate any form of judicial cooperation in criminal matters, in particular by establishing direct links with the competent authorities of the third country concerned. In the performance of their tasks, the liaison magistrates may exchange operational personal data with the competent authorities of the third country concerned in accordance with Article 56.

The liaison magistrate referred to in paragraph 1 shall have experience of working with Eurojust and adequate knowledge of judicial cooperation and how Eurojust operates. The posting of a liaison magistrate on behalf of Eurojust shall be subject to the prior consent of the magistrate and of his or her Member State.

Where the liaison magistrate posted by Eurojust is selected among national members, deputies or Assistants:

Without prejudice to Article 110 of the Staff Regulations of Officials, the College shall draw up the terms and conditions for the posting of liaison magistrates, including their level of remuneration. The College shall adopt the necessary implementing arrangements in this respect in consultation with the Commission.

The activities of liaison magistrates posted by Eurojust shall be subject to the supervision of the EDPS. The liaison magistrates shall report to the College, which shall inform the European Parliament and the Council in the annual report and in an appropriate manner of their activities. The liaison magistrates shall inform national members and competent national authorities of all cases concerning their Member State.

The competent authorities of the Member States and liaison magistrates referred to in paragraph 1 may contact each other directly. In such cases, the liaison magistrate shall inform the national member concerned of such contacts.

The liaison magistrates referred to in paragraph 1 shall be connected to the case management system.

Eurojust may, with the agreement of the Member States concerned, coordinate the execution of requests for judicial cooperation issued by a third country where such requests require execution in at least two Member States as part of the same investigation. Such requests may also be transmitted to Eurojust by a competent national authority.

In urgent cases and in accordance with Article 19, the OCC may receive and transmit the requests referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article if they have been issued by a third country which has concluded a cooperation agreement or working arrangement with Eurojust.

Without prejudice to Article 3(5), where requests for judicial cooperation which relate to the same investigation and which require execution in a third country are made by the Member State concerned, Eurojust shall facilitate judicial cooperation with that third country.

Subject to any further restrictions pursuant to this Regulation, in particular pursuant to Articles 21(8), 47(5) and 76, Eurojust shall only transmit operational personal data to another Union institution, body, office or agency if the data are necessary for the legitimate performance of tasks covered by the competence of the other Union institution, body, office or agency.

Where the operational personal data are transmitted following a request from another Union institution, body, office or agency, both the controller and the recipient shall bear the responsibility for the legitimacy of that transfer.

The other Union institution, body, office or agency shall process the operational personal data only for the purposes for which they were transmitted.