On the proposal for a Council decision on the conclusion of an Agreement between the European Union, of the one part, and the Republic of Armenia, of the other part, on cooperation between the European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation (Eurojust) and the competent authorities for judicial cooperation in criminal matters of the Republic of Armenia

PR_NLE-AP_Agreement

Symbols for procedures

* Consultation procedure

*** Consent procedure

***I Ordinary legislative procedure (first reading)

***II Ordinary legislative procedure (second reading)

***III Ordinary legislative procedure (third reading)

(The type of procedure depends on the legal basis proposed by the draft act.)

DRAFT EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION

on the proposal for a Council decision on the conclusion of an Agreement between the European Union, of the one part, and the Republic of Armenia, of the other part, on cooperation between the European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation (Eurojust) and the competent authorities for judicial cooperation in criminal matters of the Republic of Armenia

(COM(2023)0705 – C9xxxx/2023 – 2023/0400(NLE))

(Consent)

– having regard to the proposal for a Council decision (COM(2023)0705),

– having regard to the draft agreement between the European Union, of the one part, and the Republic of Armenia, of the other part, on cooperation between the European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation (Eurojust) and the competent authorities for judicial cooperation in criminal matters of the Republic of Armenia (xxxx/2023),

– having regard to the request for consent submitted by the Council in accordance with Articles 16(2), Article 85 in conjunction with Article 218(6), second subparagraph, point (a)(v) and Article 218(7) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (C9xxxx/2023),

– having regard to Rule 105(1) and (4), and Rule 114(7) of its Rules of Procedure,

– having regard to the recommendation of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (A90000/2024),

1. Gives its consent to the conclusion of the agreement;

2. Instructs its President to forward its position to the Council, the Commission and the governments and parliaments of the Member States and of the Republic of Armenia.

EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

This Agreement between the European Union and the Republic of Armenia marks the first international agreement on cooperation between the European Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation (Eurojust) and the competent authorities in a third country since the entry into application of the Eurojust Regulation on 12 December 2019. In order for international judicial cooperation to be effective, agreements on cooperation with third countries are essential.

This agreement will improve cooperation with Armenia's authorities involved in the investigation and prosecution of serious crimes.

It is particularly important that this is only possible when agreements are subject to strict safeguards in relation to data protection, privacy and fundamental rights.

In the case of this Agreement, it is clear that all conditions are met and the necessary safeguards are in place. This will be continuously monitored once this Agreement has entered into force and possible breaches of the agreement could eventually lead to suspension of the cooperation. We welcome this important step in the cooperation between the European Union and the Republic of Armenia.