Eurojust has Contact Points (CPs) with the competent authorities in third countries. These connections enable prosecutors from Member States to establish quick contact and liaise with their counterparts in a third country when a crime extends beyond the European Union’s borders. CPs may work alongside Member State authorities during an investigation, either remotely or by attending coordination meetings at Eurojust. However, the involvement of Eurojust CPs does not allow for the exchange of operational information, including personal data, unless one of the situations in which such exchange had been enabled applies (i.e. international agreement, cooperation agreement concluded before 12 December 2019, adequacy decision, appropriate safeguards, derogations for specific situations).
Contact Points are usually appointed by the General Prosecution Office, national courts or the Ministry of Justice in the respective country. They may also hold diplomatic positions outside their country. CPs can assist in transnational cases by, for example:
- providing information to Member State authorities on how to submit a request for assistance in the legal system of the CP’s country;
- providing legal advice related to the third country’s legal system;
- facilitating the execution of mutual legal assistance (MLA) requests or extradition requests;
- enabling smooth communication between Eurojust and the third country and providing up-to-date information about a particular case;
- facilitating the competent authority’s participation in coordination meetings or joint investigation teams (JITs);
- solving problems that occur in the framework of judicial cooperation with Eurojust.