JHA agencies’ network

Logos of JHA agencies

The Justice and Home Affairs (JHA) agencies’ network has an important role to play in Europe. Its work helps ensure that the EU is well equipped to deal with security, justice, fundamental rights and gender equality. The agencies work on a wide range of important areas, including migration and border management, drug trafficking and combating organised crime, human trafficking and gender equality. Since these areas have a lot in common, the network was established to make use of the synergies and share information.

The network includes nine agencies: CEPOL, EIGE, EMCDDA, EUAA, eu-LISA, Eurojust, Europol, FRA and Frontex. Since 2010, the JHA agencies have in turn hosted the network. In 2020, Eurojust has hosted the network, coordinating its activities and carrying out the secretariat function. Frontex took over in 2021, followed by CEPOL in 2022 and the EUAA in 2023.

The hosting agency reports to the Council’s Standing Committee on Operational Cooperation on Internal Security (COSI) regarding the network’s progress and achievements.

JHA response to COVID-19

Joint products and activities related to COVID-19

JHAA Covid


Links to JHA agencies' webpages on COVID-19

European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Training (CEPOL)
COVID-19 task force: putting CEPOL e-Learning technology and expertise to the service of law enforcement agencies across Europe

European Asylum Support Office (EASO)
EASO Asylum Report 2021: COVID-19 exposes strengths and weaknesses of EU asylum systems

European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE)
COVID-19 and gender equality

European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA)
COVID-19 and drugs

European Union Agency for the Operational Management of Large-Scale IT Systems (eu-LISA)
Regarding COVID-19

European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation (Eurojust)
Eurojust and COVID-19

European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol)
Staying safe during COVID-19: What you need to know

Eurojust’s 2020 chairmanship

In 2020, Eurojust had the honour of chairing the Justice and Home Affairs agencies’ network. The JHAAN approved its Work Plan 2020 in January of that year and selected two thematic topics: victims of trafficking and an assessment of the JHAAN. In April 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on the work of JHA agencies was introduced as a new third thematic topic.

Publication cover

Final Report on the JHA agencies network activities 2020

View report

The COVID-19 pandemic had an impact on the implementation of the Work Plan 2020 and made meeting via videoconferencing a standard practice. The activities regarding victims of trafficking and the assessment of the JHAAN were temporarily put on hold until autumn 2020. Eurojust will lead and finalise the priority topic of the protection of victims of human trafficking in 2021. During its chairmanship in 2021, Frontex will continue the work on the assessment of the JHAAN.

The JHAAN Work Plan also included activities to follow up on the joint statements signed by the Heads of JHA agencies in 2019 on the Charter on Fundamental Rights and on Diversity and Inclusion. The JHAAN further worked on topics of Public Access to Documents, relations with the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO), risk management, the EU Innovation Hub for Internal Security. It organised online presentations to raise awareness and to identify potential synergies between the JHA agencies and the networks supported by Eurojust.

Work also continued to increase inter-agency cooperation and explore synergies in areas of common interest, in particular through existing JHA agencies’ expert groups dealing with communication, training, ICT and cybersecurity, data protection and external relations.

In February 2021, Eurojust President Ladislav Hamran presented the Final Report on the JHA agencies’ network activities 2020 in the Standing Committee on Operational Cooperation on Internal Security (COSI).