Transmission of information

Eurojust relies on a smooth flow of case-related information from national authorities in the Member States to coordinate Europe's fight against serious cross-border crime. To this end, relevant authorities are required to provide Eurojust with information relating to joint investigation teams (JITs) as well as other specific information that may help the agency undertake its core task of facilitating coordination and cooperation between investigating and prosecuting authorities.

With this information, Eurojust can cross-check for links to cases in the Eurojust Case Management System, offer assistance to Member States at an early stage, and provide operational and strategic feedback to national authorities. The transmission of information during cross-border terrorism cases is facilitated by a Counter-Terrorism Register (CTR), which was launched at Eurojust in 2019.

Obligations for Member States

The Eurojust Regulation provides a general obligation for Member States to provide Eurojust with any information it requires to carry out its task of facilitating judicial cooperation and coordination. Within this obligation, specific conditions apply regarding the type of information that should be transmitted by the competent authorities, and how and when it should be transmitted. In particular, Member States’ authorities are requested to promptly inform their National Members at Eurojust without undue delay of information relating to criminal cases and investigations which concern them, and where the information in question relates to the following:

the setting up of joint investigation teams (JITs) and of the resulting work of such JITs;
cases in which conflicts of jurisdiction have arisen or are likely to arise;
controlled deliveries affecting at least three countries including at least two Member States; and
repeated difficulties or refusals regarding the execution of requests for, or decisions on, judicial cooperation.

Additionally, Member States are required to inform their National Members at Eurojust of cases which affect at least three Member States and for which requests for or decisions on judicial cooperation have been transmitted to at least two Member States. Inter alia, the offence involved should be punishable by a maximum custodial or detention order sentence of at least five or six years, and relate to the following crimes types: trafficking in human beings, sexual abuse or sexual exploitation, drug trafficking, illicit trafficking in firearms, corruption, crime against the financial interests of the European Union, forgery of money or means of payment, money laundering activities and cybercrime.

However, national authorities are not obliged to supply information in a particular case if doing so threatens to jeopardise essential national security interests or the safety of individuals, or to prejudice conditions set out in other bilateral or multilateral agreements.

Terrorism-related information

As well as the requirements relating to the crimes described above, Member State authorities are required to provide Eurojust with certain information relating to terrorist offences. Specifically, according to the Council Decision 2005/671/JHA of 20 September 2005 on the exchange of information and cooperation concerning terrorist offences, authorities must provide Eurojust at least with the following information relating to prosecutions and convictions for terrorist offences which affect or may affect two or more Member States:

data identifying the person, group or entity that is the object of a criminal investigation or prosecution;
the offence concerned and its specific circumstances;
information about final convictions for terrorist offences and the specific circumstances surrounding those offences;
links with other relevant cases; and
requests for judicial assistance, including letters rogatory, addressed to or by another Member State, and the response.

In September 2019, a Counter-Terrorism Register (CTR) was launched at Eurojust based on Council Decision 2005/671/JHA, to further support the transmission of information during cross-border terrorism cases. See further information on the CTR.

Breaches of EAW time limits

Pursuant to Article 17(7) of the Framework Decision 2002/584/JHA of 13 June 2002 on the European Arrest Warrant (FD EAW), when a Member State (in exceptional circumstances) cannot observe the time limits given in Council Framework Decision of 13 June 2002 on the European Arrest Warrant (EAW) and the surrender procedure between Member States, it shall inform Eurojust, giving the reasons for the delay.

Eurojust has published a note, Notifications to Eurojust of breaches of time limits in the execution of European Arrest Warrants (Article 17(7) (first sentence) of FD on EAW), in relation to the reporting of such breaches. The note aims to raise awareness of the services Eurojust can provide at an operational and strategic level to Member States regarding their obligation to inform of delays. In the note, Eurojust also provides relevant information regarding breaches of time limits, including by identifying common reasons for delays in the execution of EAWs as well as offering practical information regarding the submission of notifications of delays.

The note can be viewed here.

Eurojust created a smart PDF form that national authorities can use when informing Eurojust that they cannot observe the time limits, giving the reasons for such delay (Article 17(7) EAW FD). This form is available in 22 language versions.