On discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol) for the financial year 2022

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SUGGESTIONS

The Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs calls on the Committee on Budgetary Control, as the committee responsible, to incorporate the following suggestions into its motion for a resolution:

1. Welcomes the fact that the Court of Auditors (the ‘Court’) has declared the transactions underlying the annuals accounts of the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol) for the financial year 2022 to be legal and regular in all material respects;

2. Welcomes that Europol implemented actions from the Discharge Authority made on internal controls, data protection, external communication and the observations of the Court particularly concerning the process to assess a potential conflict of interest; appreciates further activities concerning gender diversity and digitalisation of administrative procedures; welcomes further digitalisation, through the use of the Commission information systems and tools in the areas of human resources management and contract management;

3. Recalls the Court’s observation on the legality and regularity of transactions connected to the daily subsistence allowance for three Seconded National Experts (SNEs) from the Netherlands; recalls that Europol identified and disclosed the overpayment of EUR 155 553, with respect to the daily subsistence allowance for three SNEs from the Netherlands in 2022; notes Europol’s reply that in line with the requirements set out in Article 101 of the Financial Regulation 2018/1046, Europol decided to waive the recovery of the overpayment to uphold the relationship of trust and cooperation with the sending authorities; welcomes that Europol enhanced ex-ante verification including resource allocation to provide effective assurance on the legality of the corresponding financial entitlements prior to payment in the future;

4. Notes that on 16 September 2022, the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) requested that the Court of Justice of the European Union annul two provisions of the amended Europol Regulation, namely Articles 74a and 74b; further notes the Order of the General Court in Case T-578/22 from 6 September 2023 by which the action brought by EDPS against the amended Europol regulation was deemed inadmissible thereby upholding the objection of inadmissibility raised by the Council; further recalls, as regards any effects of the contested provisions on the EDPS’s decision of 3 January 2022, EDPS cannot rely on them in support of his action, since an administrative decision cannot affect legislative acts, such as the amended Europol regulation, or affect the content thereof; welcomes the efforts by Europol to address EDPS recommendations which substantially increased in 2022;

5. Acknowledges that Europol continued to work closely with eu-LISA on establishing automated checks of travel application data from the European Travel Information & Authorisation System (ETIAS) against Europol data; notes that entry into operation of the ETIAS was postponed to November 2023 by the decision of the Council;

6. Welcomes the amended Europol Regulation which entered into force on 28 June 2022, and in particular the increased oversight of its activities such as through the establishment and the appointment of a Fundamental Rights Officer (FRO) within Europol, and at the same time welcomes the extension of Europol’s competences as regards support to Member States and possible cooperation with may propose opening investigations into a specific crime which concerns only one Member State, private parties, third countries and international organisations;