New Eurojust Regulation
PURPOSE: to revise the Eurojust Regulation with a view to strengthening its role in coordinating complex cross-border investigations.
PROPOSED ACT: Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council.
ROLE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: the European Parliament decides in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure and on an equal footing with the Council.
BACKGROUND: Eurojust, established in 2002 and transformed into an EU agency by Regulation (EU) 2018/1727, supports coordination and cooperation between national investigating and prosecuting authorities in tackling serious cross-border crime. The 2025 evaluation of Eurojust identified structural and operational shortcomings, including governance inefficiencies, inconsistent application of the Regulation across Member States, and limitations in cooperation with EU partners and third countries.
This proposal for a new Eurojust Regulation responds to the evolving challenges posed by serious and organised cross-border crime in the European Union. In particular it aims to enhance Eurojust's role in supporting and strengthening coordination and cooperation between national investigating and prosecuting authorities in cross-border cases and thus strengthen its role as a hub of criminal justice cooperation in the Union's justice and security architecture.
This revision is part of a broader legislative package (see COD/2026/0165 on the revision of Europol)) intended to ensure a high level of security across the EU through measures that prevent and combat crime, and that foster coordination and cooperation between competent authorities in the criminal justice domain.
CONTENT: the proposal modernises Eurojust's legal framework to ensure it remains effective in addressing evolving forms of serious cross-border crime and technological developments. It strengthens Eurojust's operational mandate, streamlines its governance and aligns its framework with the evolving EU area of freedom, security and justice. It also expected to deliver significant, measurable impacts for Member States, victims, and EU citizens by strengthening Eurojust’s operational role in combating serious cross-border crime, including, most notably, organised crime, terrorism, cybercrime, and financial crime.
Given the scale of the changes, Regulation (EU) 2018/1727 is repealed and replaced in its entirety, while ensuring the continuity of Eurojust's legal status and its cooperation agreements with third countries, international organisations and EU bodies.
More specifically, the new mandate will significantly strengthen Eurojust's capacity to support national authorities. It strengthens Eurojust across the following key areas:
- stronger capabilities and operational support: Eurojust will be able to act on its own initiative to identify links between cases, anticipate and decide on the need for coordination, help resolve jurisdiction issues, and support national authorities early in the process;
- further support in emerging areas of crime: Eurojust's mandate will also be expanded to strengthen its involvement in emerging areas of crime, such as cybercrime, the violations of EU restrictive measures, or gender-based violence;
- stronger governance and decision-making: streamline decision-making, with more agile processes, administrative efficiency gains, and faster action in urgent and complex cases;
- an integrated EU criminal justice system: Eurojust will improve and strengthen its cooperation with Europol and the European Public Prosecutor's Office. A new information system will allow to easily identify information and cases of relevance to both Eurojust and Europol;
- stronger international engagement by allowing engagement with third countries from an earlier point, making cooperation with third countries more flexible. The proposal provides for the adoption of a four-year cooperation strategy and the posting of Eurojust liaison magistrates to third countries to facilitate judicial cooperation. Stronger cooperation will also be possible where financial commitments are needed or liaison prosecutors are seconded to Eurojust.
Budgetary implications
The revision of the Eurojust Regulation will require an increase of the EU contribution to the agency of approximately EUR 119 million over the 2028-2034 period (EUR 83 million of which on top of the financial programming, and EUR 36 million coming from contribution agreements which will be incorporated into the Agency's regular budget). The total EU contribution to Eurojust over the next MFF will total EUR 625 million. This increase will support the Agency’s expanded mandate, including proactive case handling, enhanced analytical capabilities, and stronger cooperation with EU and international partners.