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LEXICON Joint Parliamentary Scrutiny Group on Europol (JPSG)

JPSG on Europol website

  1. The Joint Parliamentary Scrutiny Group on Europol shall politically monitor Europol's activities in fulfilling its mission, including as regards the impact of those activities on the fundamental rights and freedoms of natural persons. It was established by virtue of the Regulation (EU) 2016/794 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol*). Competences of the JPSG were defined in Article 51 of the regulation. The Group has the right to receive from Europol document’s categories listed in the regulation. The organisation and the rules of procedure of the group are determined together by the European Parliament and the national parliaments.
  2. The constituent meeting of the JPSG took place on 9-10 October 2017 in Brussels, on the basis of EUSC decisions adopted in Luxembourg (22-24 May 2016) and Bratislava (23-24 April 2017). At the meeting works on the Rules of Procedure began. The rules were adopted during the second meeting of the group, on 19 March 2018 in Sofia (amended in Brussels 2019, 2021).
  3. The JPSG is composed of delegations of the European Parliament (16 members) and of the national parliaments of the EU Member States (maximum four members; in the case of bicameral parliaments - maximum two members from each Chamber, with the possibility of transferring seats between the chambers of a parliament). Members of the JPSG are selected individually by each Parliament/Chamber, bearing in mind the necessity to ensure substance matter expertise and long-term continuity. Where possible, members of the JPSG are nominated for the duration of their parliamentary mandate.
    The Chairperson of the Europol Management Board, the Executive Director or their Deputies, and the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) should appear before the JPSG at its request.
  4. The JPSG has two Members as representatives entitled to attend, in accordance with Article 14 of the Europol Regulation and for a duration determined by the JPSG, the meetings of the Management Board of Europol as a non-voting observers. The representatives report back to the JPSG after each meeting of the Management Board on their main findings in writing.
  5. Meetings of the JPSG are held twice a year: in the first half of the year, in the Member State holding the rotating presidency of the EU Council, in the second half of the year - in the European Parliament in Brussels. The JPSG is presided jointly by the Parliament of the Member State holding the rotating presidency of the EU Council and the European Parliament. The Secretariat is provided by the Presidential Troika (heads of delegations of the current, preceding and following Presidency Parliaments and of the European Parliament). The JPSG may draw up summary conclusions on the outcome of its meetings relating to the political monitoring of Europol's activities, and submit them to the European Parliament and the national parliaments. The European Parliament forwards the adopted conclusions, for information purposes, to the Council, the Commission and Europol. Documents originating from Europol are addressed to each national parliament and the European Parliament. The respective parliaments bear the responsibility to forward them to the appointed JPSG Members. Information and documents regarding JPSG meetings are published in the workin languages, English and French, on the IPEX website (subpage - JPSG on Europol) and their translations into Polish – on the OIDE website.
  6. At the JPSG meeting in Ghent, 18-19 February 2024, in order to implement Article 52a of the revised Europol Regulation (EU 2016/794, EU 2022/991), an annex to the JPSG Rules of Procedure was adopted concerning the establishment of the Consultative Forum on Fundamental Rights. The purpose of the forum is to support the JPSG – upon its request – by providing independent advice on fundamental rights issues.

See: Meetings and documents  (OIDE website) 


 * Europol supports and strengthens action by the competent authorities of the Member States and their mutual cooperation in preventing and combating serious crime affecting two or more Member States, terrorism and forms of crime which affect a common interest covered by a Union policy, as listed in Annex I to the Regulation.

 Updated: 22.02.2024