What changed

DRAFT EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION

P10_TA(2025)0280

on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on enhancingEnhancing police cooperation in relation to the prevention, detection and investigation of migrant smuggling and trafficking in human beings, and onbeings; enhancing Europol’s support to preventing and combating such crimes and amending Regulation (EU) 2016/794

(COM(2023)0754 – C90431/2023 – 2023/0438(COD))

Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs

PE768.042

European Parliament legislative resolution of 25 November 2025 on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on enhancing police cooperation in relation to the prevention, detection and investigation of migrant smuggling and trafficking in human beings, and on enhancing Europol’s support to preventing and combating such crimes and amending Regulation (EU) 2016/794 (COM(2023)0754 – C9-0431/2023 – 2023/0438(COD))

(Ordinary legislative procedure: first reading)

– having regard to Article 294(2) and Article 85(1), Article 87(2) and Article 88(2), of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, pursuant to which the Commission submitted the proposal to Parliament (C90431/2023),

– having regard to Articlethe 294(3)opinion of the TreatyCommittee on theLegal FunctioningAffairs ofon the Europeanproposed Union,legal basis,

– having regard to Article 294(3) and Article 88(2) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

– having regard to the budgetary assessment by the Committee on Budgets,

– having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee of 10 July 2024,

– having regard to Rules 60 and 58 of its Rules of Procedure,

– having regard to the provisional agreement approved by the committee responsible under Rule 75(4) of its Rules of Procedure and the undertaking given by the Council representative by letter of 8 October 2025 to approve Parliament’s position, in accordance with Article 294(4) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

– having regard to Rules 60, 41 and 58 of its Rules of Procedure,

– having regard to the report of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (A10-0109/2025),

3. Instructs its President to forward its position to the Council, the Commission and the national parliaments.

Amendment 1

P10_TC1-COD(2023)0438

Proposal for a regulation

Position of the European Parliament adopted at first reading on 25 November 2025 with a view to the adoption of Regulation (EU) 2025/… of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EU) 2016/794 as regards the strengthening of Europol’s support and enhancing police cooperation, for preventing and combating migrant smuggling and trafficking in human beings

Title 1

(As an agreement was reached between Parliament and Council, Parliament's position corresponds to the final legislative act, Regulation (EU) 2025/2611.)

Amendment 2

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 2

Amendment 3

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 3

Amendment 4

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 4

Amendment 5

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 5

Amendment 6

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 6

Amendment 7

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 7

Amendment 8

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 7 a (new)

Amendment 9

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 7 b (new)

Amendment 10

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 7 c (new)

Amendment 11

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 7 d (new)

Amendment 12

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 8

Amendment 13

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 9

Amendment 14

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 13

Amendment 15

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 14

Amendment 16

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 14 a (new)

Amendment 17

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 14 b (new)

Amendment 18

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 14 c (new)

Amendment 19

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 15

Amendment 20

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 16

Amendment 21

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 17

Amendment 22

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 18

Amendment 23

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 19

Amendment 24

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 19 a (new)

Amendment 25

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 20

Amendment 26

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 21

Amendment 27

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 22

Amendment 28

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 23 a (new)

Amendment 29

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 24

Amendment 30

Proposal for a regulation

Chapter I

Amendment 31

Proposal for a regulation

Chapter II

Amendment 32

Proposal for a regulation

Chapter III

Amendment 33

Proposal for a regulation

Chapter IV - Title

Amendment 34

Proposal for a regulation

Article 9 – paragraph 1 – point 1 – introductory part

Amendment 35

Proposal for a regulation

Article 9 – paragraph 1 – point 1

Regulation (EU) 2016/794

Article 2, point w

Amendment 36

Proposal for a regulation

Article 9 – paragraph 1 – point 1

Regulation (EU) 2016/794

Article 2, point x

Amendment 37

Proposal for a regulation

Article 9 – paragraph 1 – point 1

Regulation (EU) 2016/794

Article 2, point y

Amendment 38

Proposal for a regulation

Article 9 – paragraph 1 – point 1

Regulation (EU) 2016/794

Article 2, point y a (new)

Amendment 39

Proposal for a regulation

Article 9 – paragraph 1 – point 2 – point a – point i

Regulation (EU) 2016/794

Article 4, paragraph 1, point c, point iii

Amendment 40

Proposal for a regulation

Article 9 – paragraph 1 – point 2 – point a – point i

Regulation (EU) 2016/794

Article 4, paragraph 1, point c, point iv

Amendment 41

Proposal for a regulation

Article 9 – paragraph 1 – point 2 – point a – point ii

Regulation 2016/794

Article 4, paragraph 1, point h

Amendment 42

Proposal for a regulation

Article 9 – paragraph 1 – point 2 – point a – point iii

Regulation 2016/794

Article 4, paragraph 1, point l

Amendment 43

Proposal for a regulation

Article 9 – paragraph 1 – point 2 – point a – point iv

Regulation 2016/794

Article 4, paragraph 1, point s

Amendment 44

Proposal for a regulation

Article 9 – paragraph 1 – point 2 – point a – point iv a (new)

Regulation 2016/794

Article 4, paragraph 1, point y a (new)

Amendment 45

Proposal for a regulation

Article 9 – paragraph 1 – point 2 – point a – point v

Regulation 2016/794

Article 4, paragraph 1, point za

Amendment 46

Proposal for a regulation

Article 9 – paragraph 1 – point 2 – point b

Regulation 2016/794

Article 4, paragraph 5, sub–paragraph 1

Amendment 47

Proposal for a regulation

Article 9 – paragraph 1 – point 2 – point b

Regulation 2016/794

Article 4, paragraph 5, sub–paragraph 2

Amendment 48

Proposal for a regulation

Article 9 – paragraph 1 – point 2 – point b

Regulation 2016/794

Article 4, paragraph 5, sub–paragraph 3

Amendment 49

Proposal for a regulation

Article 9 – paragraph 1 – point 2 – point b

Regulation 2016/794

Article 4, paragraph 5, sub–paragraph 3 a (new)

Amendment 50

Proposal for a regulation

Article 9 – paragraph 1 – point 3

Regulation 2016/794

Articles 5a and 5b

Amendment 51

Proposal for a regulation

Article 9 – paragraph 1 – point 3a (new)

Regulation 2016/794

Section 2a (new)

Amendment 52

Proposal for a regulation

Article 9 – paragraph 1 – point 3 b (new)

Regulation 2016/794

Section 2 a – Article 16 a (new)

Amendment 53

Proposal for a regulation

Article 9 – paragraph 1 – point 3 c (new)

Regulation 2013/794

Section 2 a – Article 16 b (new)

Amendment 54

Proposal for a regulation

Article 9 – paragraph 1 – point 4 a (new)

Regulation 2016/794

Article 53

Amendment 55

Proposal for a regulation

Article 9 – paragraph 1 – point 4 b (new)

Regulation 2016/794

Article 74 c (new)

EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

Proposal for a REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL amending Regulation (EU) 2016/794, as regards the strengthening of Europol's support, and enhancing police cooperation, for preventing and combating migrant smuggling and trafficking in human beings

More than 90% of people arriving in the EU irregularly rely on smugglers to facilitate part of, or their entire journey. These smugglers are ruthless criminals for whom a human life is merely a business opportunity. A cynical business model that takes advantage of vulnerable people, often putting their lives in danger on perilous journeys and subjecting them to violence and abuse. After facilitating the crossing of the EU external borders, the criminal networks continue their activity by facilitating unauthorised secondary movements within the EU. Smuggling networks adapt quickly to external developments by flexibly allocating resources and using new routes, technologies and modus operandi. Investigations revealed that migrant smugglers often use existing infrastructure of parallel criminal activities such as drug, firearms or human trafficking in combination with abuse of legal instruments and business structures.

These criminal networks generate a staggering amount of EUR 4.7 to EUR 6 billion annually in revenue. Therefore, all Member State authorities, EU agencies and key actors, such as travel and transport companies and civil society organisations, have a legal duty and a moral responsibility to make every effort to prevent migrant smuggling and trafficking in human beings.

The European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol) plays an essential role to coordinate these efforts, which is underscored by European Commission President von der Leyen, who emphasised that police should be able to work across Europe without borders. The Commission also proposed to double Europol's staff and strengthen its mandate in order for Europol to become a truly operational police agency. Being part of the revised Facilitators Package, the Proposal for a Regulation on Enhancing police cooperation in relation to the prevention, detection and investigation of migrant smuggling and trafficking in human beings, and on enhancing Europol’s support to preventing and combating such crimes and amending Regulation (EU) 2016/794, represents an important step forward in achieving these goals and systematically addressing the crime of migrant smuggling both within the EU and from third countries. The European Commission estimated that an additional budget of EUR 50 million and 50 additional posts are required for the overall period of the current Multiannual Financial Framework 2021-2027. This Regulation will release these much needed additional funds and create these extra posts for Europol to fully and efficiently carry out the new strategic and operational tasks assigned to it, as well as its revised mandate.

This report’s key aspects to enhance the effective implementation of the legislative proposal include the following:

– By its nature, migrant smuggling has a cross-border dimension. Therefore, dismantling smuggling networks requires more efficient and effective data sharing and cross-border cooperation between Member States, EU agencies and with third countries. In this respect, Europol should be the Union criminal information hub and act as a service provider. This Report also endorses the proposals to enhance the responsibility of Member States to share data with Europol and with each other, including verified information transmitted by Immigration Liaison Officers deployed in third countries, where that information falls within the scope of Europol’s legal framework. It is also proposed to emphasise the role of the Secure Information Exchange Network Application (SIENA), which is managed by Europol and facilitates the exchange of information between Member States, Europol, other Union bodies, third countries and international organisations.

- The report also provides that the Member States shall seek to establish or strengthen dedicated structures or mechanisms within their competent authorities to prevent and combat migrant smuggling and trafficking in human beings.

- To enhance Europol’s capabilities in the fight against migrant smuggling and trafficking and human beings, this report proposes the formal establishment, within Europol, of the European Centre Against Migrant Smuggling as a Union centre of specialised expertise. It shall carry out operational and strategic tasks in order to support Member States in preventing and combating migrant smuggling and trafficking in human beings. The Centre shall be composed of representatives from the Member States' national structures or mechanisms dedicated to preventing and combating migrant smuggling and trafficking in human beings, where applicable. It shall also be composed of permanent representatives from Frontex and Eurojust. It is proposed to leave up to the Agencies themselves to decide on whether to relocate these representatives in the interests of their tasks.

– The report supports the intention to include the processing of biometric data within the agency’s tasks and proposes to reinforce this. The rules also ensure that any such processing is in line with existing EU data protection rules and proportionate to a specific goal, and adhering to minimum quality standards. Given that migrant smuggling and trafficking in human beings are often committed using the internet, including through social media platforms, it is also proposed to encourage Europol’s cooperation with Member State authorities in investigating these activities.

- The LIBE report also proposes to clarify the rules governing Europol staff’s powers to independently process data related to investigations, which shall always be in liaison with and in agreement with national authorities.

- Regarding the structure, the report simplifies and clarifies the Commission proposal, by deleting the proposed self-standing regulation and repositioning some of those provisions as amendments to the existing Europol Regulation. This reduces legal complexity, improves readability and ensures that the governance of the agency is managed by a single EU Regulation.

– Finally, for Europol to successfully and effectively carry out its mandate, internal staff aspects should be improved when needed. This report includes amendments to the rules governing the length of service of Europol staff hired directly from the national competent authorities, whilst ensuring the transitional arrangements are in place to allow for this amendment to support all staff affected, including those already in post.

ANNEX: ENTITIES OR PERSONS FROM WHOM THE RAPPORTEUR HAS RECEIVED INPUT

Pursuant to Article 8 of Annex I to the Rules of Procedure, the rapporteur declares that he received input from the following entities or persons in the preparation of the report, prior to the adoption thereof in committee:

The list above is drawn up under the exclusive responsibility of the rapporteur.

Where natural persons are identified in the list by their name, by their function or by both, the rapporteur declares that he has submitted to the concerned natural persons the European Parliament's Data Protection Notice No 484 (https://www.europarl.europa.eu/data-protect/index.do), which sets out the conditions applicable to the processing of their personal data and the rights linked to that processing.

24.4.2025

BUDGETARY ASSESSMENT BY THE COMMITTEE ON BUDGETS

for the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs

on the proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on enhancing police cooperation in relation to the prevention, detection and investigation of migrant smuggling and trafficking in human beings, and on enhancing Europol’s support to preventing and combating such crimes and amending Regulation (EU) 2016/794

(COM(2023)0754 – C90431/2023 – 2023/0438(COD))

Rapporteur for budgetary assessment: Hélder Sousa Silva

The Committee on Budgets has carried out a budgetary assessment of the proposal under Rule 58 of the Rules of Procedure and has reached the following conclusions:

A. whereas the estimated financial impact of the proposal for the period 2025-2027 amounts to EUR 48.9 million of operational appropriations under Heading 5, and EUR 1.1 million of administrative appropriations under Heading 7, which is under pressure due to increasing needs and negative margins;

B. whereas operational appropriations will be made available in part through the margin (EUR 20 million) and in part via budgetary offsetting against the Border Management and Visa Instrument (BMVI) and the Internal Security Fund (ISF) programmes;

C. whereas the required administrative appropriations will be covered by appropriations from the Directorate-General (DG) that are already assigned to management of the action and/or have been redeployed within the DG;

D. whereas the proposal requires the use of human resources for the parent DG, which will be met by staff from the DG who are already assigned to management of the action and/or have been redeployed within the DG, together if necessary with any additional allocation which may be granted to the managing DG under the annual allocation procedure and in the light of budgetary constraints;

1. Welcomes the increase of 50 full-time equivalent posts (FTEs) proposed for Europol for the period 2025-2027 but disagrees with the distribution of these posts to 10 administrator-grade (AD) temporary agents, 20 contract agents and 20 seconded national experts owing to differences in the nature of the functions that staff on these contract types can undertake and the requirements of Europol’s new mandate; points out the greater need for temporary agents and therefore calls for the distribution to be modified in the following way: 20 AD temporary agents, 10 contract agents and 20 seconded national experts; considers that this distribution would better enable the efficient implementation of the Regulation, in line with Article 53(2) of the Europol Regulation and Europol internal procedures;

2. Notes that the 50 FTEs proposed will be offset by a reduction in the future reinforcement of Frontex staff according to the Commission’s proposal; underlines that redeployments from other programmes and priorities should be limited and examined with due care; voices its concern that, according to the proposal, Europol and Frontex would need to agree on the concrete modalities of the transfer of staff between the two agencies, while respecting the criteria and timeline established by the co-legislators; calls on the Commission to include in the proposal the criteria for staff transfers; emphasises that these modalities should be set by the co-legislators;

3. Voices concern about the continuous transfer of funding between EU home affairs funds, particularly in recent years, namely affecting the BMVI and the ISF; calls on the Commission to provide a justified explanation to co-legislators and specify the amounts redeployed from each programme clearly in the legislative financial statement; notes the impact of the staffing increase of 50 FTEs being offset by a reduction in the future reinforcement of Frontex staff;

4. Determines that the proposal is compatible with the ceilings of the multiannual financial framework and the system of own resources;

5. Determines that the proposal is compatible with the Interinstitutional Agreement, but regrets the fact that before presenting this proposal, the Commission did not produce an impact assessment concerning the proposed measures or offer a plausible explanation for not doing so despite the proposal’s impact on the resources of Europol, Eurojust, Frontex, and the parent DG; emphasises that impact assessments should ensure that policy changes remain cost-effective and do not compromise the effectiveness of justice and home affairs agencies; regrets that, in the absence of a prior impact assessment presented by the Commission, Parliament therefore commissioned its own alternative analysis;

6. Determines that the proposal is compatible and should be implemented in accordance with the budgetary principles laid down in Title II of the Financial Regulation;

7. Calls for further clarifications to be made to the European Parliament and the Council on the legislative financial statement accompanying the proposal, and more specifically on the redeployment of financial and human resources from other programmes, agencies and the parent DG;

8. Reiterates that any new tasks entrusted to decentralised justice and home affairs agencies should be financed through fresh appropriations, and that redeployments from other programmes and priorities should be limited, duly justified and examined with due care.

AMENDMENT

As part of its budgetary assessment, the Committee on Budgets also submits the following amendment to the proposal:

Amendment 1

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 23 a (new)

ANNEX: ENTITIES OR PERSONS FROM WHOM THE RAPPORTEUR FOR BUDGETARY ASSESSMENT HAS RECEIVED INPUT

Pursuant to Article 8 of Annex I to the Rules of Procedure, the rapporteur for budgetary assessment declares that he received input from the following entities or persons in the preparation of the budgetary assessment, prior to the adoption thereof in committee:

The list is drawn up under the exclusive responsibility of the rapporteur for budgetary assessment.

Where natural persons are identified in the list by their name, by their function or by both, the rapporteur for budgetary assessment declares that he has submitted to the natural persons concerned the European Parliament’s Data Protection Notice No 484 (https://www.europarl.europa.eu/data-protect/index.do), which sets out the conditions applicable to the processing of their personal data and the rights linked to that processing.

PROCEDURE – COMMITTEE ASKED FOR BUDGETARY ASSESSMENT

FINAL VOTE BY ROLL CALL IN COMMITTEE ASKED FOR BUDGETARY ASSESSMENT

PROCEDURE – COMMITTEE RESPONSIBLE

FINAL VOTE BY ROLL CALL BY THE COMMITTEE RESPONSIBLE