Regulation (EU) 2022/991

Ce que fait l'acte

to strengthen Europol’s mandate to support Member States in preventing and combatting serious crime and terrorism. PROPOSED ACT: Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council. ROLE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: the European Parliament decides in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure and on an equal footing with the Council. BACKGROUND: the EU faces a security landscape in flux, with evolving and increasingly complex security threats. Criminals and terrorists exploit the advantages that the digital transformation and new technologies bring about, including the inter-connectivity and blurring of the boundaries between the physical and digital world. The COVID-19 crisis has added to this, as criminals have quickly seized opportunities to exploit the crisis by adapting their modes of operation or developing new criminal activities. The Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs adopted the report by Javier ZARZALEJOS (EPP, ES) on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EU) 2016/794, as regards Europol’s cooperation with private parties, the processing of personal data by Europol in support of criminal investigations, and Europol’s role on research and innovation. The committee responsible recommended that the European Parliament's position adopted at first reading under the ordinary legislative procedure should amend the proposal as follows: Members proposed that Europol should cooperate with Financial Intelligence Units (FIUs) to support cross-border investigations by Member States into the money laundering activities of transnational criminal organisations and terrorism financing. Europol should also support the Commission and Member States in the screening of specific cases of foreign direct investments into the EU that concern undertakings providing technologies, including software or critical technologies that could be used to facilitate terrorism . Request by Europol for the initiation of a criminal investigation The report added that where Europol considers that a criminal investigation should be initiated into a specific crime which affects a common interest covered by a Union policy but is not of a cross-border nature, it should request the competent authorities of the Member State concerned via the national unit to initiate, conduct or coordinate such criminal investigation. Members suggested that the multiannual programming should set out the overall strategic programming, including the objectives, expected results and performance indicators. It should also set out the resource planning, including the multiannual budget and staff. It should also include the strategy for relations with third countries and international organisations and its planned research and innovation activities . Transfer of personal data to third countries and international organisations In the absence of an adequacy decision, the report proposed that Europol may transfer personal data to a third country or an international organisation where: - appropriate safeguards regarding the protection of personal data are provided for in a legally binding instrument; or -…