Question 1: Article by EU Commissioner on Home Affairs Ylva Johansson
Commissioner Johansson,
In your article, you have mentioned various examples
of boosting the mandate of
Europol
in order to help the European crime fighters of Europol and their colleagues
in the member states to do their jobs . You referred to the need for immediate and
effective measures against various forms of crime, but also more closely in relation
to cybercrime, which has been on the rise recently (i.e. online child sexual
exploitation, online property crime), especially in the context of the coronavirus
pandemic.
On 29th January 2020, the European Commission's new work programme was
published. Under the priority 'Promoting our European way of life', the Commission
announced its intention to adopt a legislative proposal on the strengthening of
Europol's mandate, based on Article 88 TFEU. According to the work programme,
the
proposal should be published in the fourth quarter of 2020 and will aim at
strengthening Europol's mandate in order to reinforce operational police
cooperation. You believe that the revision/recast of the Europol Regulation will be
a sufficient legal tool for this purpose, or the promotion of a new strategy for
internal security may soon be required, taking into account the great challenges
that the EU and Europol face now than ever before.
You have also mentioned that in order to counter the above mentioned crimes,
interoperability is being built
–
efficient data exchange is essential to catch cross-
border criminals. On the one hand, information flow is an essential element of police
cooperation, and the exchange of personal data is at the core of cooperation among
law enforcement authorities within the Union. On the other hand, preserving the
fundamental right to protection of personal data serves the overall objective of the
preservation of the rule of law and of trust in the law enforcement authorities, which
are cornerstones of law enforcement in our democracies. Could you clarify how will
the right to protection of personal data, which is also enshrined in the General Data
Protection Regulation (GDPR), be safeguarded and in line with the GDPR?
Question 2: The Europol Innovation Lab
On 8 October 2019, Ministers at the JHA Council expressed
their support for the
creation of an innovation lab at Europol.
The objectives given by the JHA Ministers
to the Europol Innovation Lab is
to act as monitor of few technological
developments and drive innovation,
including by developing common technological
solutions for Member States in the field of internal security.
Due to the rapid increase of cybercrime during the Covid-19 pandemic and the
development of various new online methods by criminals, this Laboratory could be
considered as a measure in the right direction, highlighting new technologies to
combat this phenomenon. However, as it is mentioned in the relevant written
contribution, additional resources are needed for its structure and effective