Competition or Cooperation?: State of Play and Future Perspectives on the Relations between Europol,Eurojust and the European Judicial Network

Abstract

This article analyses the cooperation between EU agencies and bodies active in the fight against serious cross-border crime. It focuses on the cooperation between Europol and Eurojust on the one hand, and between Eurojust and the European Judicial Network on the other hand. Considering the existence of grey areas in which their respective mandates overlap, the complementarity of their actions and their smooth cooperation are essential to ensure coherence within the EU area of criminal justice. In both situations, the analysis of the current state of their cooperation allows the identification of good practices as well as points of concern. The current negotiations for regulations on Europol and Eurojust offer the opportunity to reflect on future perspectives and to suggest possible improvements.