The nine EU Agencies active in the field of freedom, security and justice convened today in Budapest for a high-level meeting, chaired by CEPOL, to take stock of the main achievements in 2022, which includes the ongoing engagement with Ukraine and Moldova.
The European Union’s Justice and Home Affairs (JHA) agencies - CEPOL,
EIGE,
EMCDDA,
EUAA, eu-LISA,
Eurojust,
Europol,
FRA and
Frontex - have taken significant steps in supporting Member States and Institutions in responding to Russia’s military aggression over Ukraine. As discussed in the meeting, further efforts are underway to monitor the situation and help ensure the collective response meets the changing needs.
eu-LISA contributes to the Integrated Political Crisis Response (ICPR) working group, the Blueprint migration network, as well as by providing expertise in monitoring cyber threats to the central systems of the large-scale IT systems it manages.
The event gathered also representatives from the European Commission, the European Parliament, the General Secretariat of the Council, the European External Action Service, as well as the Czech EU Presidency.
Monique Pariat, European Commission’s Director General for Migration and Home Affairs stated: “Thanks to the Justice and Home Affairs Agencies, our presence as European Union where it is needed on the ground, is stronger, more timely and efficient. Together, we respond to the ongoing challenges and we stand ready to tackle any future ones.”
CEPOL's Executive Director, Montserrat Marín López, highlighted the importance of the JHA Agencies' Network in the implementation of the EU's objectives on migration, asylum and external border management, the fight against organised crime, drug trafficking and terrorism, gender equality and respect for fundamental rights.
"Let us continue on our path to forging stronger strategic links in these particularly challenging times", she added.
The Interim Executive Director of eu-LISA, Luca Tagliaretti, stressed that:
"eu-LISA strongly believes in the value of close inter-agency cooperation and is committed to continue working together to ensure the maximum synergies and efficiencies to drive Europe’s security ecosystem forward."
Other topics on the agenda included a presentation of the extended mandate of Eurojust to help the work of Ukrainian authorities in investigating war crimes, an update on the EU Innovation Hub for Internal Security by Europol, as well as an overview by Frontex on border management under crisis and its impact on security architecture. Also, CEPOL outlined their new strategy for the period 2023-2027 while the EU Agency for Asylum (EUAA) presented their work programme for the incoming presidency of the network in 2023. The European Commission and the JHA Agencies also discussed steps to strengthen cooperation in the field of cyber and information security.
Further reading
The main achievements of the JHAA network in 2022:
JHAA network:
