The European Council has finally given the green light to a new EU law that will boost the exchange of digital information between national authorities and Eurojust for terrorism cases. Due to an enhanced information-sharing process on investigations and the prosecution of terrorist acts, authorities of member states and EU agencies will gain access to the most comprehensive and current data on terrorism cases.

Several European authorities have already expressed their satisfaction with the approval of this law, as it represents a qualitative leap in terms of information sharing between the member states and Eurojust, and will allow significant progress in the prosecution of terrorist crimes.

Until now, member states shared information with Eurojust on terrorism-related cases through various, not always secure, channels. In addition, the current judicial anti-terrorist registry does not allow for proper cross-checking of information.

The approved regulation should address these shortcomings and enable Eurojust to play a greater role in supporting coordination and cooperation between national authorities investigating and prosecuting terrorist offences.

Under the new rules, member states will have to provide Eurojust with information on any criminal investigations related to terrorist offences as soon as these cases are transferred to the judicial authorities. As established, the new legislation should:

Create a modern, digital case management system that stores this information and allows it to be cross-referenced.

Empower Eurojust to better detect links between transnational investigations and prosecutions in the field of terrorism and to proactively inform Member States of links found.

Create a secure digital communication channel between Member States and Eurojust.

Simplify cooperation with third countries by granting liaison prosecutors appointed at Eurojust access to the case management system.

_____

Aquest apunt en català / Esta entrada en español / Post en français