Regulation (EU) 2023/969 establishing a collaboration platform to support the functioning of joint investigation teams

What it is

to establish a dedicated IT platform to support the functioning of the Joint Investigation Teams (JITs) – the JITs collaboration platform. 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: Joint Investigation Teams (JITs) are set up by two or more States and possibly non-EU countries for specific criminal investigations with a cross border impact and for a limited period of time. A JIT can be set up, in particular, when a Member State's investigations into criminal offences require difficult and demanding investigations having links with other Member States or third countries. JITs are one of the most successful tools for cross-border investigations and prosecutions in the EU. They enable direct cooperation and communication between judicial and law enforcement authorities of several States to organise their actions and investigations to efficiently investigate cross-border cases. The Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs adopted the report by Malik AZMANI (Renew Europe, NL) on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a collaboration platform to support the functioning of Joint Investigation Teams and amending Regulation (EU) 2018/1726. 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: With a view to enhancing international cooperation and information exchange on crimes affecting international peace and safety, Members proposed that the draft Regulation should include the possibility to allow for participation of specialised customs Joint Investigation Teams (JITs) created under the Naples II convention, provided that they function in the context of a criminal investigation while under the supervision of a judicial authority. According to Members, the proposed Regulation should apply to the operational and post-operational phases of a JIT, starting from the moment the relevant JIT agreement is signed by its members until all operational and non-operational data of that JIT has been removed from the central storage of the JITs collaboration platform. New responsibilities of the JITs Network Secretariat should support the functioning of the JITs collaboration platform by: - providing, at the request of the JIT space administrator or administrators, administrative, legal, and technical support in the context of the setup and access rights management of individual JIT collaboration spaces; - providing day-to-day guidance, functional support, and assistance to practitioners on the use of the JITs collaboration platform and its functionalities; - designing and providing training- and outreach modules for national authorities aiming to promote and facilitate the use of the JITs collaboration platform; - enhancing a culture of cooperation within the Union in relation to international cooperation in criminal matters by raising awareness and promoting the…

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