Eurojust Annual Report 2014

Abstract:

The number of cases for which Member States requested Eurojust’s assistance increased by 14.5 per cent to 1 804 cases. Eurojust’s unique tool, coordination meetings, brought 1 882 external practitioners to Eurojust – including prosecutors, judges and police officers – to streamline operations, facilitate coordination and cooperation in strategic and operational actions, and resolve legal and practical difficulties resulting from differences in the 30 legal systems in the European Union. In addition, coordination centres provided effective real-time support.

JITs, along with coordination meetings and coordination centres, assist the Member States in the collection and connection of vital case-related information. These tools provide speedy, results-driven cooperation.

Eurojust continues to support the setting up and running of JITs, with the number of JITs supported by Eurojust increasing by more than 20 per cent. The number of JITs funded by Eurojust also increased substantially, showing that this tool is being used more and more by the Member States.

In this year’s report, the focus is on the EAW as well as challenges and best practice in drug trafficking and cybercrime cases. Eurojust held three seminars, on drug trafficking, cybercrime and the EAW. The drug trafficking seminar was dedicated to controlled deliveries, new psychoactive substances and (pre) precursors, the cybercrime seminar to the admissibility of evidence, and the EAW seminar to problems and best practice in the operation of the EAW. These areas raise considerable challenges and difficulties for practitioners, and we must work closely together to find effective solutions.

We also focus on a cybercrime case, BlackShades, one of several success stories in 2014. These successes result from the greater recognition and use Eurojust is experiencing, as witnessed by the increase in casework.

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