Council of the European Union Brussels, 17 February 2020 (OR. en) 5758/20 LIMITE COSI 23 JAI 121 CATS 12 ASIM 12 NOTE From:                Europol To:                  Delegations Subject:             JHA Agencies' Network Activities 2019 Delegations will find in annex a note to the Report on the JHA Agencies' Network Activities for 2019, submitted by Europol. 5758/20                                                                JRS/dk                   1 JAI.1            LIMITE                       EN

ANNEX The Hague, 09 February 2020 EDOC#1097158v3 Cover Note COSI Report on the JHA Agencies Network Activities 2019 The number of different areas of cooperation and subjects relevant to JHA agencies touched upon during Europol’s chair of the JHA Agencies’ Network demonstrated once more the importance of the agencies in the EU area of freedom, justice and security. While each agency is striving to deliver results according to its respective mandate, there are several horizontal challenges that can be addressed only through interagency cooperation. This was confirmed during the Heads of JHA Agencies meeting on 22 November 2019, which strongly focused on the implementation of the European Council’s Strategic Agenda 2019 – 2024. In the recent performance audit on the EU agencies, the European Court of Auditors reported that JHA was the only policy area in which the agencies and the related European Commission services meet regularly, underlining the well-established and strong cooperation. The priorities of the European Council of June 2019, formulated in the Strategic Agenda, are closely interlinked therefore will require common efforts from all of the JHA Agencies. Functional migration policy and the EU asylum system will not be achieved without effective control of external borders, which is also crucial for the proper functioning of the Schengen Area. 5758/20                                                                    JRS/dk                     2 ANNEX                                            JAI.1              LIMITE                        EN

Ensuring the full use of existing and future large-scale information systems and their interoperability is key. JHA agencies would benefit from the development of common training curricula on interoperability as well as ad hoc communication tools (videos, booklets, etc.). JHA agencies should be involved in the consultation process promoted at both EU and national level when adopting implementing decisions of the Interoperability Regulations. JHA agencies’ work can represent the integrated approach to security concerning the entire security chain, including enhanced operational and interagency cooperation between police, border guards, judiciary, immigration and asylum authorities. It is a way to contribute to the safety of the EU citizens by continuous support in preventing terrorist plots, drugs and firearms seizures and in the fight against the trafficking of human beings. The agencies focused their discussions on two emerging threats in the field of internal security: foreign terrorist fighters (FTFs) and hybrid threats. In both cases, developing training packages for national authorities (of the EU Member States and third countries) based on the expertise of the agencies should be considered. The agencies and national authorities need to enhance cooperation by using the EMPACT platform and interoperability of the databases. JHA agencies should exploit, where possible, the available ‘big’ data on a strategic and operational level in order to discern relevant information and intelligence designed to combat and mitigate the risk from the FTFs phenomenon. Cooperation with third countries is also an important element. Finding synergies should be the leading principle in developing and using new technologies. The goal is to pool resources at EU level to create innovative policing solutions for EU law enforcement. This way, instead of investing in 27 different solutions, JHA agencies invest and work together at the EU level to create one solution suitable to all. The task requires a structured approach, including a joint mapping exercise to combine different foresights and to describe different needs. Data protection (by design) and fundamental rights should be at the core of any initiative. 5758/20                                                                     JRS/dk                    3 ANNEX                                             JAI.1              LIMITE                       EN

The JHA agencies’ robust data protection regime can be taken as an example. There has been wide consent among the JHA agencies about the importance of the agencies’ Data Protection Officers’ regular meetings to coordinate their work to ensure the highest level of data protection. JHA agencies ensure that respect of fundamental rights remains the guiding principle when performing their tasks. The respect for the rule of law in particular is key to the good functioning of the area of freedom, justice and security and for the protection of fundamental rights of EU Citizens. The agencies remain committed to gender equality. The JHA agencies’ network broadened its discussions in 2019 by focussing on diversity and inclusion. JHA agencies ensured alignment with the diversity and inclusion strategy for the European Commission staff and encouraged exchanges among the agencies on diversity and inclusion matters to balance the lack of resources invested in awareness raising activities and to avoid duplication of efforts. Adequate resourcing for JHA agencies was another topic covered during this year. Discussions focused on the risk of mismatch between the increasing number of tasks given to the JHA agencies through new policy/legislative initiatives and the resources made available for their implementation (human resources, budget/MFF, capabilities, etc.). All the JHA agencies agreed on the importance of accessing additional funding opportunities and to better coordinate the pooling resources together when possible. 5758/20                                                                    JRS/dk                      4 ANNEX                                            JAI.1              LIMITE                         EN