MANAGEMENT BOARD OF EUROPOL

Rules of procedure

(2018/C 37/06)

THE MANAGEMENT BOARD,

Having regard to Regulation (EU) 2016/794 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 May 2016 on the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol) and replacing and repealing Council Decisions 2009/371/JHA, 2009/934/JHA, 2009/935/JHA, 2009/936/JHA and 2009/968/JHA(1) (hereinafter referred to as the ‘Europol Regulation’), and in particular Article 11(1)(t) thereof,

Whereas:

(1) The governance of Europol should be improved through seeking efficiency gains and streamlining procedures;

(2) The Commission and Member States should be represented on the Management Board of Europol to effectively supervise its work;

(3) The Management Board shall adopt its rules of procedure, including provisions concerning the tasks and the functioning of its Secretariat,

HAS ADOPTED THESE RULES OF PROCEDURE:

Article 1

Composition of the Management Board

1. The Management Board shall be composed of one representative from each Member State and one representative of the Commission. Each representative shall have a voting right.

2. Each member of the Management Board shall have an alternate member. The alternate member shall represent the member in his or her absence. Both member and alternate member may attend a Management Board meeting.

3. The members and alternate members of the Management Board shall be appointed taking into account their knowledge of law enforcement cooperation, as well as their relevant managerial, administrative and budgetary skills.

4. The principle of a balanced gender representation on the Management Board shall also be taken into account.

5. Without prejudice to the right of the Member States and of the Commission to terminate the mandate of their respective member and alternate member, the membership of the Management Board shall be for a period of four years, which shall be extendable.

6. All parties represented on the Management Board should make efforts to limit the turnover of their representatives, with a view to ensuring the continuity of the Management Board’s work.

7. Member States and the Commission shall notify the Secretariat of the Management Board of the appointment and cessation of duties of their respective member and alternate member. The Secretariat shall keep the list of Management Board membership up-to-date.

Article 2

Chairperson and Deputy Chairperson

1. The Management Board shall elect a Chairperson and a Deputy Chairperson from within the group of three Member States that have jointly prepared the Council’s 18-month programme. They shall serve for the 18-month period corresponding to that Council programme. During that period, the Chairperson shall not act as the representative of his or her Member State in the Management Board and shall have no voting right. If the Chairperson’s or the Deputy Chairperson’s membership of the Management Board ends at any time during their term of office as Chairperson or Deputy Chairperson, their term of office shall automatically expire at the same time.

2. The Chairperson shall be responsible, in particular, for the efficient operation of the Management Board in the performance of its tasks set out in the Europol Regulation.

3. Where the Chairperson is unable to carry out his or her duties, he or she shall be replaced by the Deputy Chairperson.

4. The Chairperson and the Deputy Chairperson shall be elected by a majority of two-thirds of the members of the Management Board. The election of the Chairperson and Deputy Chairperson shall take place at the latest during the last meeting preceding the next Council’s 18-month programme, referred to in Article 2(1) of these rules.

5. Nominations for Chairperson and Deputy Chairperson shall be submitted to the Secretariat no later than twenty calendar days before the start of the meeting at which the election is to take place. The Secretariat shall send the nominations so received to the members of the Management Board no later than fourteen calendar days before the Management Board meeting at which the election is to take place.

Article 3

Meetings of the Management Board

1. The Chairperson shall convene the meetings of the Management Board. The Management Board shall be informed of the date of an ordinary meeting at the latest at its preceding meeting.

2. The Management Board shall hold at least two ordinary meetings a year. In addition, it shall meet on the initiative of its Chairperson or at the request of the Commission or of at least one-third of its members. In such cases, the Chairperson shall convene the meeting within thirty calendar days of receiving the request or fourteen calendar days in case of urgency.

3. Meetings shall be held at the Europol headquarters, unless decided otherwise by the Chairperson of the Management Board.

Article 4

Agenda of the meetings

1. The Chairperson of the Management Board shall draw up the draft agenda for each meeting. The draft agenda shall be sent by the Secretary of the Management Board to the members and to the Executive Director at least fourteen calendar days before the meeting. Where an extraordinary meeting is called, the draft agenda shall be forwarded during the week prior to the meeting.

2. The draft agenda shall contain the items requested by a member or by the Executive Director, provided that the relevant documents are available to the Chairperson at least sixteen calendar days before the meeting.

3. Only items for which the relevant documents have been forwarded to the members and the Executive Director no later than the date on which the draft agenda is issued may be included on the draft agenda, unless otherwise decided by the Chairperson.

4. The Management Board shall adopt the agenda at the beginning of the meeting.

Article 5

Attendance and deliberations

1. The presence of three-quarters of the members of the Management Board shall constitute a quorum. In the absence of a quorum, the Chairperson shall terminate the meeting and convene another as soon as possible. Two-thirds of the members shall constitute a quorum for the second meeting. Members delegating their vote shall not be counted in the quorum.

2. The Executive Director shall take part in the deliberations of the Management Board.

3. The Management Board may invite any person whose opinion may be relevant for the discussion, including, where appropriate, a representative of the Joint Parliamentary Scrutiny Group (JPSG), to attend its meetings as a non-voting member.

4. The members and the alternate members of the Management Board may be assisted at the meetings by advisers or experts.

5. The Chairperson shall conduct the meeting giving priority to members wishing to raise a question of procedure or a preliminary matter.

6. Upon a proposal from the Chair or at the request of a member, the Management Board may decide to meet in closed session, determining the participation in the meeting.

7. The meetings shall be conducted in compliance with the internal language arrangements of Europol, as decided by the Management Board in accordance with Article 64(2) of the Europol Regulation.

Article 6

Voting rules

1. The Management Board shall take decisions by a majority of its members, unless otherwise stipulated in the Europol Regulation.

2. A majority of two-thirds of the Management Board members shall be required for:

(a) the adoption of Europol’s multiannual programming document and the annual work programme for the following year;

(b) the adoption of the annual budget of Europol;

(d) the decision on any dispute between Europol and Member States over the ultimate responsibility for compensation to any individual who has suffered damage as a result of an unlawful data processing operation;

(e) the decision regarding proposals to be made to the Council on the appointment, extension of the term of office, or removal from office of the Executive Director and Deputy Executive Directors;

(f) the decision on the internal language arrangements of Europol.

3. Each member shall have one vote. In the absence of a voting member, his or her alternate shall be entitled to exercise his or her right to vote.

4. Each member may delegate his or her vote to another Management Board member. Each member may receive only one vote by proxy from another member. The member delegating the vote shall communicate in writing to the Chairperson the name of the member authorised to vote for him or her, as well as any restriction placed on the vote.

5. The Executive Director shall not take part in the vote.

6. The Management Board shall proceed to a vote on the initiative of the Chairperson, who shall also put a matter to a vote at the request of any of its members, provided that a majority of the members agree.

7. The distribution of votes shall be indicated for each decision adopted by the Management Board. The decision shall be accompanied by a note setting out the opinions of the minority should the latter so request. Votes shall be cast by show of hands or by roll call should the result of a show of hands be disputed.

8. Votes on decisions and appointments shall be by secret ballot at the request of one of the members or if the Chairperson so decides. When a secret ballot takes place, the Chairperson, assisted by two other members, shall count the votes and immediately announce the results. The Chairperson may permit any member to give a brief account of the reason for his or her vote.

9. The Management Board may also take decisions by means of written procedure, in accordance with Article 7 of these rules.

Article 7

Written procedure

1. When the Chairperson considers that circumstances so dictate, he or she may invite the Management Board to take a decision or express its opinion on a particular matter through written procedure. If the proposal to use a written procedure was not decided at a meeting, the members may express their objections in writing to the Chairperson.

2. Written procedures shall be adopted through silence procedure, unless otherwise specified.

3. Written procedures shall last for a standard period of fourteen calendar days, unless otherwise decided by the Chairperson on grounds of urgency. The opinion expressed by a Management Board member shall be made available to the other members.

4. The result of a written procedure shall be notified without delay by the Secretariat to the Management Board.

5. The decisions taken by written procedure shall be recorded in the next Management Board meeting.

Article 8

Minutes of the meetings

1. Draft minutes of Management Board meetings shall be drawn up by the Secretariat under the responsibility of the Chairperson and shall include:

(a) a report on the discussions;

(b) the decisions adopted by the Management Board with an indication of the distribution of votes, including a list of votes by proxy, when a formal vote is held;

(d) a list of those present.

2. The Management Board shall approve the draft minutes through written procedure or at its next meeting. The draft minutes shall be submitted for the approval of the Management Board only if they have been sent to the members at least two weeks before the meeting. The draft minutes shall also be sent to the Executive Director.

3. Proposals for amendments to the draft minutes shall be submitted in writing to the Secretariat when adopted through written procedure or shall be proposed at the beginning of the meeting at which they are to be approved.

4. Once approved, the minutes shall be signed by the Chairperson and by the Secretary of the Management Board.

Article 9

Working Groups of the Management Board

1. The Management Board may establish working groups on any matter of its competence, defining their respective scope and tasks.

2. Management Board members shall be represented in the working groups, which shall be chaired by a Management Board member or a senior expert appointed by the Management Board. The procedure for the appointment of the chairperson of a working group shall be that of Article 2 of these rules. Management Board representatives shall commit to participate actively in the working groups.

3. Europol shall be invited to participate in the meetings of the working groups. Experts may also be invited to attend working group meetings.

4. The working groups shall:

(a) discuss and elaborate proposals to be submitted to the Management Board;

(b) conduct their business on the basis of oral information or documentation submitted at the latest two weeks before their meetings, unless otherwise decided by their chairperson;

(d) be supported by the Secretariat of the Management Board.

(e) be dissolved upon completion of their tasks. If they have a long-term mandate, the need for their continuation shall be assessed regularly by the Management Board.

Article 10

Confidentiality

Without prejudice to Article 11 of these rules, the proceedings and deliberations of the Management Board are covered by the obligation of professional secrecy as stipulated in Article 339 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, except in so far as the Management Board decides otherwise. Members and other persons present at the meetings shall, even after their duties have ceased, be bound by this obligation.

Article 11

Transparency

1. Europol shall publish on its website a list of the Management Board members.

2. The members of the Management Board shall provide the Secretariat with a declaration of interests, which shall be made public on the Europol website in line with the internal rules for the prevention and management of conflicts of interest in respect of the members of the Management Board.

3. Summaries of the outcome of the meetings of the Management Board shall be published in the Europol website by the Secretariat upon the authorisation of the Chairperson and in consultation with the Management Board, in compliance with Article 65(4) of the Europol Regulation. The publication of those summaries shall be temporarily or permanently omitted or restricted if such publication would risk jeopardising the performance of Europol’s tasks, taking into account its obligations of discretion and confidentiality and the operational character of Europol.

4. Access to Management Board documents shall be subject to the detailed rules for applying Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council(2) with regard to Europol documents.

Article 12

Documentation of the Management Board

1. The Secretariat shall maintain electronic and hardcopy archives of the Management Board documentation.

2. Each new Chairperson shall oversee the documentation of the Management Board, drawing up for that purpose a document which shall be submitted to the Board for approval at the first ordinary meeting.

Article 13

Secretariat of the Management Board

1. The Management Board shall be supported by a Secretariat provided by Europol.

2. The Management Board shall appoint a Secretary, who shall be subject to the Staff Regulations and the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants, accountable solely to the Management Board in the performance of his or her duties.

3. The Secretariat shall carry out duties as instructed by the Chairperson and shall be responsible to him or her for its duties. The Secretariat shall in particular:

(a) be closely and continuously involved in organising, coordinating and ensuring the coherence of the Management Board’s work, including that of its working groups, under the responsibility and guidance of the Chairperson;

(b) support the Chairperson in the exercise of his or her functions;

(d) be responsible for the performance of any other duties assigned by the Management Board or the Chairperson in the interest of Europol.

Article 14

Correspondence

Correspondence to the Management Board shall be sent to the Chairperson of the Management Board and shall be dealt with by the Secretariat.

Article 15

Reimbursement of expenses

1. Europol shall meet the travel and accommodation expenses of the Chairperson of the Management Board and of any working group established by the latter.

2. Europol shall meet the travel expenses of the Management Board member and alternate member representing a Member State and up to two experts per delegation. Each delegation shall pay for the accommodation expenses of its members and experts. The expenses of other experts shall be met by the respective delegation.

3. Europol shall meet the travel and accommodation expenses of experts invited to advice the Management Board in accordance with Articles 5(3), 5(4) and 9(3) of these rules of procedure. The costs of participation of the representative designated by the Joint Parliamentary Scrutiny Group shall not be covered by Europol.

4. For the meetings of Management Board working groups, Europol shall meet the travel expenses of one representative per delegation. Each delegation shall pay for the accommodation expenses of its representatives and experts.

Article 16

Final provisions

1. These rules shall enter into force on the date of application of the Europol Regulation.

2. The Decision of the Management Board of Europol of 30 November 2011 establishing the rules of procedure of the Management Board is hereby repealed and replaced by these rules.

3. Any proposal for amendments to these rules shall be considered by the Management Board in accordance with Article 11(1)(t) of the Europol Regulation.

Done at The Hague, on 13 December 2016.

For the Management Board

Arie IJZERMAN

Chairperson

(1)

OJ L 135, 24.5.2016, p. 53

(2)

OJ L 145, 31.5.2001, p. 43