Internal Security Fund 2021–2027
The European Parliament adopted by 481 votes to 142, with 49 abstentions, a legislative resolution on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing the Internal Security Fund (ISF).
The European Parliament's position adopted at first reading under the ordinary legislative procedure amended the Commission's proposal as follows:
Subject matter
This Regulation seeks to establish the Internal Security Fund for the period from 1 January 2021 to 31 December 2027. While national security remains solely a competence of the Member States, protecting it requires cooperation and coordination at Union level.
Objectives
Its objectives are to:
- contribute to ensuring a high level of security in the Union in particular by preventing and combating terrorism and violent extremism, including radicalisation, serious and organised crime, cybercrime, as well as by assisting and protecting victims of crime;
- support preparedness for and management of security-related incidents;
- improve and facilitate the exchange of relevant and accurate information among and within law enforcement and judicial authorities of the Member States, other competent authorities of the Member States and other relevant Union bodies, in particular Europol and Eurojust, and, where relevant, with third countries and international organisations;
- improve and intensify cross-border coordination and cooperation;
- develop a common intelligence culture by supporting contacts and mutual trust, understanding and learning, the dissemination of know-how and best practices among the intelligence services of the Member States and with Europol, notably through joint training and the exchange of experts.
Operations funded shall be implemented in full compliance with fundamental rights and human dignity and the values. The funding shall be interrupted and recovered in case of clear and substantiated evidence that the actions contribute to violation of such rights. Special attention shall be given when implementing operations relating to vulnerable persons, in particular children and unaccompanied minors.
Implementation measures
The Fund shall contribute to achieving the specific objectives by focusing on the following implementation measures:
- ensuring uniform application of the Union acquis on security, supporting the exchange of relevant information;
- setting up security-relevant Union IT systems and communication networks;
- increasing relevant law enforcement operations between Member States, including, where appropriate, with other relevant actors, in particular facilitating and improving the use of joint investigation teams, joint patrols, hot pursuits, discreet surveillance and other operational cooperation mechanisms, with special emphasis on cross-border operations;
- increasing coordination and cooperation of law enforcement and other competent authorities within and between Member States and with other relevant actors, for example through networks of specialised national units, Union networks and cooperation structures, Union centres;
- increasing training, exercises and mutual learning of law enforcement authorities;
- promoting measures and best practices for the early identification, protection and support of witnesses, informants and victims of crime, and
- detecting, assessing and addressing vulnerabilities in critical infrastructures and IT equipment that are widely available on the market.
Funding
The financial envelope for the implementation of the Fund for the period 2021-2027 shall be EUR 2 209 725 000 in 2018 prices (EUR 2 500 000 000 in current prices). It shall be broken down as follows: (i) EUR 1 325 835 000 in 2018 prices (EUR 1 500 000 000 in current prices) shall be allocated to the programmes implemented under shared management; (ii) EUR 883 890 in 2018 prices (EUR 1 000 000 000 in current prices) shall be allocated to the thematic facility.
Co-financing rates
The contribution from the Union budget may be increased to 100 % of the total eligible expenditure for technical assistance at the initiative of the Member States.
Information, communication and publicity
The recipient of Union funding shall promote the actions and their results by providing coherent, effective and meaningful information to multiple relevant audiences, including media and the public in the relevant language. To ensure the visibility of Union funding, recipients of Union funding shall make reference to its origin when communicating the action. To that end, recipients shall ensure that any communication to the media and the general public displays the Union’s emblem and mentions explicitly the Union’s financial support.
The Commission shall also publish the list of operations selected for support under the thematic facility on a publicly available website and shall update that list regularly.
Emergency assistance
The Commission may decide to provide financial assistance from the Fund to address urgent and specific needs in the event of a duly justified emergency situation. Where necessary for the implementation of the action, emergency assistance may cover expenditure that was incurred prior to the date of submission of the grant application or the request for assistance, but not prior to 1 January 2021.
Evaluation
By 31 December 2024, the Commission shall present a mid-term evaluation of this Regulation in order to examine the effectiveness, efficiency, relevance and coherence of the Fund. By 31 January 2030, it shall carry out a retrospective evaluation of this Regulation. These evaluations shall be made publicly available and submitted to the Parliament without delay to ensure full transparency. The Commission shall ensure that the evaluations do not include information the dissemination of which may create a risk for the safety or privacy of individuals or jeopardise security operations.