Police and judicial cooperation in criminal matters: framework programme AGIS for 2003-2007

This is the Commission’s second Annual Report on the implementation of the AGIS programme and covers the year 2004. To recall, the AGIS programme, adopted in 2002, brings together, under one legislative act, a number of disparate, though related Community judicial co-operation programmes.

The AGIS programme has a total budget of EUR 77 million covering the period 2003-2007. For the new financial perspective running from 2007-2013 the Commission has proposed that the AGIS programme be replaced by a new “Framework Programme on Security and Safeguarding Liberties”. For a summary of this proposal see CNS/2005/0035.

The total AGIS budget for 2004 was EUR 15 270 000. Of this amount EUR 14 470 000 was dedicated to project grants, EUR 400 000 for operating grants and EUR 400 000 for evaluation reports. The Commission received a total of 217 proposals of which only one was for an operating grant (later rejected). Of the 217 proposals received the Commission adopted 112 projects. A complete list and description of the projects can be found in Annex to the Annual Report. Projects funded include, for example, an International Conference on Fighting Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs in the Baltic Sea Area, the purpose of which was to exchange information and experience in the fight against this form of criminality and a UK led European Healthcare Fraud and Corruption Conference.

The Annual Report for 2004 makes the following overall findings:

-          The amount co-financed by the Commission was down slightly in 2004 compared to 2003 – from EUR 3.53 million in 2003 to EUR 3.37 million in 2004.

-          The total amount of funding requested was also down marginally – a negligible EUR 6000 per project.

-          The amount awarded to research and studies increased significantly from EUR 3.16 million to EUR 7.22 million.

-          The amount awarded to training also increased significantly – from EUR 1.99 million to EUR 3.09 million.

-          The average cost per project increased by 65%. The average cost per project in 2004 was EUR 128 000 compared to an average cost of EUR 83 000 per project in 2003.

-          95.7% of the total 2004 budget was committed. In total the Commission approved funding totalling EUR 13 843 255.48 million (out of the EUR 14 470 000 million allocated for project grants)

The rise in the average cost per project the Commission attributes to an increase in the number of research studies as opposed to the number of conferences and seminars funded. The Commission is also pleased that 95.7% of the budget for 2004 was committed – all the more so given that there was a strict respect of the formal criteria of eligibility. Indeed a number of proposals were not accepted on the grounds that they were not eligible (including the only proposal submitted for an operating grant). Were the Commission to include the funding given to an outside contractor for an evaluation report the Commission’s execution rate of the AGIS funding would amount to 98.1% of the total.