Activities of Tomáš ZDECHOVSKÝ related to 2023/2169(DEC)
Opinions (1)
OPINION on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol) for the financial year 2022
Amendments (5)
Amendment 1 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3 a. Recalls the Court’s observation on the legality and regularity of transactions connected to operational grant to fund the activities of a national police force in a member state; notes that the Court observed that part of the grant, amounting to EUR 0.2 million was irregular; notes Europol’s response reacting that the operational grant concerned the activities of SIUs coordinated by one member state therefore Article 186(4)(c) of the Financial Regulation 2018/1046 and the corresponding specific implementation guidance of the Commission on grant administration, Value Added Tax (VAT) was an eligible cost; welcomes that Europol will assess the eligibility of VAT in operational grants in light of the ECA’s observations;
Amendment 2 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 b (new)
Paragraph 3 b (new)
3 b. Notes with satisfaction that in 2022, Europol accepted 98 068 operational contributions and supported 2 758 operations; welcomes Europol’s cooperation with Ukraine and the support provided to Member States and bordering countries increased early in the year in the context of the war; also notes support provided in the context of migratory flows from Belarus and welcomes that Europol suspended its cooperation with Russia;
Amendment 3 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 c (new)
Paragraph 3 c (new)
3 c. Recalls substantial increase (+44% compared to 2021), in the number of operations supported by the European Serious Organised Crime Centre (ESOCC) notably to 1 069 exceeding the target set for 2022 (500 operations); welcomes the European Migrant Smuggling Centre (EMSC) which supported several Operational Task Forces (OTF) in connection with migrant smuggling: OTF Flow – focused on the Belarussian route, OTF Dune – focused on small boat trafficking, and OTF Pathfinder – focused on 14 HVTs along the Western - Balkan route;
Amendment 6 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Notes that on 16 September 2022, the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) requested that the Court of Justice of the European Union annul two provisions of the amended Europol Regulation, namely Articles 74a and 74b; further notes the Order of the General Court in Case T-578/22 from 6 September 2023 by which the action brought by EDPS against the amended Europol regulation was deemed inadmissible thereby upholding the objection of inadmissibility raised by the Council; further recalls, as regards any effects of the contested provisions on the EDPS’s decision of 3 January 2022, EDPS cannot rely on them in support of his action, since an administrative decision cannot affect legislative acts, such as the amended Europol regulation, or affect the content thereof; welcomes the efforts by Europol to address EDPS recommendations which substantially increased in 2022 in particular that all contributions from before the entry into force of the amended Europol Regulation have meanwhile been assigned with a Data Subject Category (DSC);
Amendment 7 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4 a. Welcomes the cooperation between Europol and Frontex, particularly in the context of Frontex’s PeDRA program ‘Processing of Personal Data for Risk Analysis' concerning the information and operational personal data transmition of persons suspected of involvement in cross- border crime and terrorism; recalls that cooperation among Europol and other JHA Agencies is fully transparent and subject to an adequate framework of oversight and accountability; recalls that EDPS audit report recommended Frontex to assess strict neccessity of data sharing with Europol; recalls that Frontex stopped transmitting the data to Europol; welcomes the impementation of joint concept note between the agecies on the exchange of information including operational personal data which establishes a new governance model in line with EDPS recommendation;