1. This Regulation establishes the instrument for financial support for police cooperation, preventing and combating crime, and crisis management (‘the Instrument’), as part of the Internal Security Fund (‘the Fund’).
Jointly with Regulation (EU) No 515/2014, this Regulation establishes the Fund for the period from 1 January 2014 to 31 December 2020.
2. This Regulation lays down:
(a)
the objectives, eligible actions and strategic priorities for financial support to be provided under the Instrument;
(b)
the general framework for the implementation of the eligible actions;
(c)
the resources made available under the Instrument from 1 January 2014 to 31 December 2020 and their distribution.
3. This Regulation provides for the application of the rules set out in Regulation (EU) No 514/2014.
4. The Instrument shall not apply to matters that are covered by the Justice programme, as set out in Regulation (EU) No 1382/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council (10). However the Instrument may cover actions which aim at encouraging cooperation between judicial authorities and law enforcement authorities.
5. Synergies, consistency and complementarity shall be sought with other relevant financial instruments of the Union, such as the Union Civil Protection Mechanism, established by Decision No 1313/2013/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council (11), Horizon 2020, established by Regulation (EU) No 1291/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council (12), the third multiannual programme of Union action in the field of health, established by Regulation (EU) No 282/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council (13), the European Union Solidarity Fund and the external aid instruments, namely the Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance (IPA II) established by Regulation (EU) No 231/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council (14), the European Neighbourhood Instrument established by Regulation (EU) No 232/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council (15), the Development Cooperation Instrument established by Regulation (EU) No 233/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council (16), the Partnership Instrument for cooperation with third countries established by Regulation (EU) No 234/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council (17), the European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights established by Regulation (EU) No 235/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council (18) and the Instrument contributing to Stability and Peace established by Regulation (EU) No 230/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council (19). Actions financed under this Regulation shall not receive financial support for the same purpose from other Union financial instruments.
Article 2 -
Definitions
For the purpose of this Regulation, the following definitions shall apply:
(a)
‘police cooperation’ means the specific measures and types of cooperation involving all the Member States’ competent authorities as referred to in Article 87 TFEU;
(b)
‘exchange of and access to information’ means the secure collection, storage, processing, analysis and exchange of information relevant to the authorities as referred to in Article 87 TFEU in relation to the prevention, detection, investigation, and prosecution of criminal offences, in particular cross-border, serious and organised crime;
(c)
‘crime prevention’ means all measures that are intended to reduce or otherwise contribute to reducing crime and citizens’ feeling of insecurity, as referred to in Article 2(2) of Council Decision 2009/902/JHA (20);
(d)
‘organised crime’ means punishable conduct relating to participation in a criminal organisation, as defined in Council Framework Decision 2008/841/JHA (21);
(e)
‘terrorism’ means any of the intentional acts and offences as defined in Council Framework Decision 2002/475/JHA (22);
(f)
‘risk and crisis management’ means any measure relating to the assessment, prevention, preparedness and consequence management of terrorism, organised crime and other security-related risks;
(g)
‘prevention and preparedness’ means any measure aimed at preventing and/or reducing risks linked to possible terrorist attacks or other security-related incidents;
(h)
‘consequence management’ means the effective coordination of actions taken at national and/or Union level in order to react to and to reduce the impact of the effects of a terrorist attack or any other security-related incident;
(i)
‘critical infrastructure’ means an asset, network, system or part thereof which is essential for the maintenance of vital societal functions, health, safety, security, economic or social well-being of people, and the disruption, breach or destruction of which would have a significant impact in a Member State or in the Union as a result of the failure to maintain those functions;
(j)
‘emergency situation’ means any security-related incident or newly emerging threat which has or may have a significant adverse impact on the security of people in one or more Member States.
Article 3 -
Objectives
1. The general objective of the Instrument shall be to contribute to ensuring a high level of security in the Union.
2. Within the general objective set out in paragraph 1, the Instrument shall contribute — in accordance with the priorities identified in relevant Union strategies, policy cycles, programmes, threat and risk assessments — to the following specific objectives:
(a)
crime prevention, combating cross-border, serious and organised crime including terrorism, and reinforcing coordination and cooperation between law enforcement authorities and other national authorities of Member States, including with Europol or other relevant Union bodies, and with relevant third countries and international organisations;
(b)
enhancing the capacity of Member States and the Union for managing effectively security-related risks and crises, and preparing for and protecting people and critical infrastructure against terrorist attacks and other security-related incidents.
The achievement of the specific objectives of the Instrument shall be evaluated in accordance with Article 55(2) of Regulation (EU) No 514/2014 using common indicators, as set out in Annex II to this Regulation and programme-specific indicators included in national programmes.
3. To achieve the objectives referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2, the Instrument shall contribute to the following operational objectives:
(a)
promote and develop measures strengthening Member States’ capability to prevent crime and combat cross-border, serious and organised crime including terrorism, in particular through public-private partnerships, exchange of information and best practices, access to data, interoperable technologies, comparable statistics, applied criminology, public communication and awareness raising;
(b)
promote and develop administrative and operational coordination, cooperation, mutual understanding and exchange of information among Member States’ law enforcement authorities, other national authorities, Europol or other relevant Union bodies and, where appropriate, with third countries and international organisations;
(c)
promote and develop training schemes, including regarding technical and professional skills and knowledge of obligations relating to respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, in implementation of European training policies, including through specific Union law enforcement exchange programmes, in order to foster a genuine European judicial and law enforcement culture;
(d)
promote and develop measures, safeguards, mechanisms and best practices for early identification, protection and support of witnesses and victims of crime, including victims of terrorism, and in particular for child witnesses and victims, especially those who are unaccompanied or otherwise in need of guardianship;
(e)
measures strengthening Member States’ administrative and operational capability to protect critical infrastructure in all sectors of economic activity, including through public-private partnerships and improved coordination, cooperation, exchange and dissemination of know-how and experience within the Union and with relevant third countries;
(f)
secure links and effective coordination between existing sector-specific early warning and crisis cooperation actors at Union and national level, including situation centres in order to enable the quick production of comprehensive and accurate overviews in crisis situations, coordinate response measures and share open, privileged and classified information;
(g)
measures strengthening the administrative and operational capacity of the Member States and the Union to develop comprehensive threat and risk assessments, which are evidence based and consistent with priorities and initiatives identified at Union level, in particular those that have been endorsed by the European Parliament and the Council, in order to enable the Union to develop integrated approaches based on common and shared appreciations in crisis situations and to enhance mutual understanding of Member States’ and partner countries’ various definitions of threat levels.
4. The Instrument shall also contribute to the financing of technical assistance at the initiative of the Member States and the Commission.
5. Actions funded under the Instrument shall be implemented in full respect for fundamental rights and human dignity. In particular, actions shall comply with the provisions of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, Union data protection law and the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHR).
In particular, wherever possible, special attention shall be given by Member States when implementing actions to the assistance and protection of vulnerable persons, in particular children and unaccompanied minors.
Article 4 -
Eligible actions under national programmes
1. Within the objectives referred to in Article 3 of this Regulation, in the light of the agreed conclusions of the policy dialogue as provided for in Article 13 of Regulation (EU) No 514/2014 and in accordance with the objectives of the national programme referred to in Article 7 of this Regulation, the Instrument shall support actions in Member States, and in particular those from the following list:
(a)
actions improving police cooperation and coordination between law enforcement authorities, including with and between relevant Union bodies, in particular Europol and Eurojust, joint investigation teams and any other form of cross-border joint operation, access to and exchange of information and interoperable technologies;
(b)
projects promoting networking, public-private partnerships, mutual confidence, understanding and learning, the identification, exchange and dissemination of know-how, experience and best practices, information sharing, shared situation awareness and foresight, contingency planning and interoperability;
(c)
analytical, monitoring and evaluation activities, including studies and threat, risk and impact assessments, which are evidence based and consistent with priorities and initiatives identified at Union level, in particular those that have been endorsed by the European Parliament and the Council;
(d)
awareness raising, dissemination and communication activities;
(e)
acquisition, maintenance of Union IT systems and national IT systems contributing to the achievement of the objectives of this Regulation, and/or further upgrading of IT systems and technical equipment, including testing compatibility of systems, secure facilities, infrastructures, related buildings and systems, especially information and communication technology (ICT) systems and their components, including for the purpose of European cooperation on cyber security and cyber crime, notably with the European Cybercrime Centre;
(f)
exchange, training and education of staff and experts of relevant authorities, including language training and joint exercises or programmes;
(g)
measures deploying, transferring, testing and validating new methodology or technology, including pilot projects and follow-up measures to Union funded security research projects.
2. Within the objectives referred to in Article 3, the Instrument may also support the following actions in relation to and in third countries:
(a)
actions improving police cooperation and coordination between law enforcement authorities, including joint investigation teams and any other form of cross-border joint operation, access to and exchange of information and interoperable technologies;
(b)
networking, mutual confidence, understanding and learning, the identification, exchange and dissemination of know-how, experience and best practices, information sharing, shared situation awareness and foresight, contingency planning and interoperability;
(c)
exchange, training and education of staff and experts of relevant authorities.
The Commission and the Member States, together with the European External Action Service, shall ensure coordination as regards actions in and in relation to third countries, as set out in Article 3(5) of Regulation (EU) No 514/2014.
CHAPTER II - FINANCIAL AND IMPLEMENTATION FRAMEWORK
Article 5 -
Global resources and implementation
1. The global resources for the implementation of the Instrument shall be EUR 1 004 million in current prices.
2. Annual appropriations shall be authorised by the European Parliament and the Council within the limits of the multiannual financial framework.
3. The global resources shall be implemented through the following means:
(a)
national programmes, in accordance with Article 7;
(b)
Union actions, in accordance with Article 8;
(c)
technical assistance, in accordance with Article 9;
(d)
emergency assistance, in accordance with Article 10.
4. The budget allocated under the Instrument to Union actions referred to in Article 8 of this Regulation, to the technical assistance referred to in Article 9 of this Regulation and to the emergency assistance referred to in Article 10 of this Regulation shall be implemented under direct management and indirect management in accordance, respectively, with points (a) and (c) of Article 58(1) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council (23).
The budget allocated to the national programmes referred to in Article 7 of this Regulation shall be implemented under shared management in accordance with point (b) of Article 58(1) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012.
5. Without prejudice to the prerogatives of the European Parliament and the Council, the global resources shall be used as follows:
(a)
EUR 662 million for the national programmes of Member States;
(b)
EUR 342 million for Union actions, emergency assistance and technical assistance at the initiative of the Commission.
6. Each Member State shall allocate the amounts for national programmes indicated in Annex III as follows:
(a)
at least 20 % for actions relating to the specific objective referred to in point (a) of the first subparagraph of Article 3(2); and
(b)
at least 10 % for actions relating to the specific objective referred to in point (b) of the first subparagraph of Article 3(2).
Member States may depart from those minimum percentages provided that an explanation is included in the national programmes as to why allocating resources below that level does not jeopardise the achievement of the relevant objective. That explanation will be assessed by the Commission in the context of its approval of national programmes as referred to in Article 7(2).
7. Jointly with the global resources established for Regulation (EU) No 515/2014, the global resources available for the Instrument, as established in paragraph 1 of this Article, constitute the financial envelope for the Fund and serve as the prime reference, within the meaning of point 17 of the Interinstitutional Agreement between the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission on budgetary discipline, on cooperation in budgetary matters and on sound financial management, for the European Parliament and the Council during the annual budgetary procedure.
Article 6 -
Resources for eligible actions in the Member States
1. EUR 662 million shall be allocated to the Member States as follows:
(a)
30 % in proportion to the size of their total population;
(b)
10 % in proportion to the size of their territory;
(c)
15 % in proportion to the number of passengers and 10 % to the tons of cargo processed through their international air and sea ports;
(d)
35 % in inverse proportion to their gross domestic product (purchasing power standard per inhabitant).
2. The reference figures for the data referred to in paragraph 1 shall be the latest statistics produced by the Commission (Eurostat), on the basis of data provided by Member States in accordance with Union law. The reference date is 30 June 2013. The allocations for national programmes calculated on the basis of the criteria referred to in paragraph 1 are set out in Annex III.
Article 7 -
National programmes
1. The national programme to be prepared under the Instrument and the one to be prepared under Regulation (EU) No 515/2014 shall be proposed to the Commission as one single national programme for the Fund, in accordance with Article 14 of Regulation (EU) No 514/2014.
2. Under the national programmes to be examined and approved by the Commission pursuant to Article 14 of Regulation (EU) No 514/2014, Member States shall, within the objectives referred to in Article 3 of this Regulation, pursue in particular the strategic Union priorities listed in Annex I to this Regulation, taking account of the outcome of the policy dialogue referred to in Article 13 of Regulation (EU) No 514/2014. Member States shall not use more than 8 % of their total allocation under the national programme for the maintenance of Union IT systems and national IT systems contributing to the achievement of the objectives of this Regulation and not more than 8 % for actions in relation to or in third countries which implement the strategic Union priorities listed in Annex I to this Regulation.
3. The Commission shall be empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 11 to amend, add or delete strategic Union priorities listed in Annex I to this Regulation.
Article 8 -
Union actions
1. At the Commission’s initiative, the Instrument may be used to finance transnational actions or actions of particular interest to the Union (‘Union actions’) concerning the general, specific and operational objectives referred to in Article 3.
2. To be eligible for funding, Union actions shall be consistent with the priorities and initiatives identified at Union level, in particular those that have been endorsed by the European Parliament and the Council, in relevant Union strategies, policy cycles, programmes, threat and risk assessments, and support in particular:
(a)
preparatory, monitoring, administrative and technical activities, and the development of an evaluation mechanism required to implement the policies on police cooperation, preventing and combating crime, and crisis management;
(b)
transnational projects involving two or more Member States or at least one Member State and one third-country;
(c)
analytical, monitoring and evaluation activities, including threat, risk and impact assessments, which are evidence based and consistent with priorities and initiatives identified at Union level, in particular those that have been endorsed by the European Parliament and the Council and projects monitoring the implementation of Union law and Union policy objectives in the Member States;
(d)
projects promoting networking, public-private partnerships, mutual confidence, understanding and learning, identification and dissemination of best practices and innovative approaches at Union level, training and exchange programmes;
(e)
projects supporting the development of methodological, notably statistical, tools and methods and common indicators;
(f)
the acquisition, maintenance and/or further upgrading of technical equipment, expertise, secure facilities, infrastructures, related buildings and systems, especially ICT systems and their components at the Union level, including for the purpose of European cooperation on cyber security and cybercrime, notably the European Cybercrime Centre;
(g)
projects enhancing awareness of Union policies and objectives among stakeholders and the general public, including corporate communication on the political priorities of the Union;
(h)
particularly innovative projects developing new methods and/or deploying new technologies with a potential for transferability to other Member States, especially projects aiming at testing and validating the outcome of Union funded security research projects;
(i)
studies and pilot projects.
3. Within the objectives referred to in Article 3, the Instrument shall also support actions in relation to and in third countries, and in particular the following:
(a)
actions improving police cooperation and coordination between law enforcement authorities and, where applicable, international organisations, including joint investigation teams and any other form of cross-border joint operation, access to and exchange of information and interoperable technologies;
(b)
networking, mutual confidence, understanding and learning, identification, exchange and dissemination of know-how, experience and best practice, information sharing, shared situation awareness and foresight, contingency planning and interoperability;
(c)
acquisition, maintenance, and/or further upgrading of technical equipment, including ICT systems and their components;
(d)
exchange, training and education of staff and experts of relevant authorities, including language training;
(e)
awareness raising, dissemination and communication activities;
(f)
threat, risk and impact assessments;
(g)
studies and pilot projects.
4. Union actions shall be implemented in accordance with Article 6 of Regulation (EU) No .514/2014.
Article 9 -
Technical assistance
1. At the initiative of and/or on behalf of the Commission, the Instrument may contribute up to EUR 800 000 annually for technical assistance to the Fund, in accordance with Article 9 of Regulation (EU) No .514/2014.
2. At the initiative of a Member State, the Instrument may finance technical assistance activities, in accordance with Article 20 of Regulation (EU) No 514/2014. The amount set aside for technical assistance shall not exceed, for the period 2014-2020, 5 % of the total amount allocated to a Member State plus EUR 200 000.
Article 10 -
Emergency assistance
1. The Instrument shall provide financial assistance to address urgent and specific needs in the event of an emergency situation, as defined in point (j) of Article 2.
2. Emergency assistance shall be implemented in accordance with Articles 6 and 7 of Regulation (EU) No 514/2014.
CHAPTER III - FINAL PROVISIONS
Article 11 -
Exercise of the delegation
1. The power to adopt delegated acts is conferred on the Commission subject to the conditions laid down in this Article.
2. The power to adopt delegated acts referred to in Article 7(3) shall be conferred on the Commission for a period of seven years from 21 May 2014. The Commission shall draw up a report in respect of the delegation of power no later than nine months before the end of the seven-year period. The delegation of power shall be tacitly extended for a period of three years, unless the European Parliament or the Council opposes such extension not later than three months before the end of the seven-year period.
3. The delegation of power referred to in Article 7(3) may be revoked at any time by the European Parliament or by the Council. A decision to revoke shall put an end to the delegation of the power specified in that decision. It shall take effect the day following the publication of the decision in the Official Journal of the European Union or at a later date specified therein. It shall not affect the validity of any delegated acts already in force.
4. As soon as it adopts a delegated act, the Commission shall notify it simultaneously to the European Parliament and to the Council.
5. A delegated act adopted pursuant to Article 7(3) shall enter into force only if no objection has been expressed either by the European Parliament or by the Council within a period of two months of notification of that act to the European Parliament and the Council or if, before the expiry of that period, the European Parliament and the Council have both informed the Commission that they will not object. That period shall be extended by two months at the initiative of the European Parliament or of the Council.
Article 12 -
Applicability of Regulation (EU) No 514/2014
The provisions of Regulation (EU) No 514/2014 shall apply to the Instrument.
Article 13 -
Repeal
Decision 2007/125/JHA is repealed with effect from 1 January 2014.
Article 14 -
Transitional provisions
1. This Regulation shall not affect the continuation or modification, including the total or partial cancellation of the projects until their closure or the financial assistance approved by the Commission on the basis of Decision 2007/125/JHA, or any other legislation applying to that assistance on 31 December 2013.
2. When adopting decisions on co-financing under the Instrument, the Commission shall take account of measures adopted on the basis of Decision 2007/125/JHA before 20 May 2014 which have financial repercussions during the period covered by that co-financing.
3. Sums committed for co-financing approved by the Commission between 1 January 2011 and 31 December 2014 for which the documents required for closure of the operations have not been sent to the Commission by the deadline for submitting the final report shall be automatically decommitted by the Commission by 31 December 2017, giving rise to the repayment of amounts unduly paid.
Amounts relating to operations which have been suspended due to legal proceedings or administrative appeals having suspensive effect shall be disregarded in calculating the amount to be automatically decommitted.
4. The Commission shall submit to the European Parliament and the Council, by 31 December 2015, an ex-post evaluation of Decision 2007/125/JHA concerning the period 2007-2013.
Article 15 -
Review
The European Parliament and the Council shall, on the basis of a proposal of the Commission, review this Regulation by 30 June 2020.
Article 16 -
Entry into force and application
This Regulation shall enter into force on the day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.
It shall apply from 1 January 2014.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in the Member States in accordance with the Treaties.
