Agencies

The EU has established agencies in the area of Home Affairs to support EU States and their citizens in coping with new tasks of specific nature. Each agency is unique and fulfils an individual function. Together, FRONTEX , Europol , CEPOL , EMCDDA and EASO provide information and advice, prepare and take decisions, oversee operations and support policymaking. A new agency for the management of large-scale IT systems will soon be established in Tallin.

FRONTEX: EU external borders agency

 

The European Agency for the Management of Operational Cooperation at the External Borders of the Member States of the European Union (FRONTEX) facilitates and improves the application of existing and future EU measures relating to the management of external borders. It complements EU States' border management systems and contributes to the freedom and security of EU citizens.

FRONTEX coordinates EU States' actions in the implementation of EU border management measures. Thus, it contributes to the efficient, reinforced and uniform control of persons and surveillance of EU States' external borders. FRONTEX assists EU States in training national border guards, including in establishing common training standards. It also carries out risk analyses, follows up developments in research related to the control and surveillance of external borders, assists EU States in circumstances requiring increased technical and operational assistance at external borders and provides EU States with the necessary support in organising joint return operations.

FRONTEX was established in 2004. It is located in Warsaw (Poland).

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Europol: the European Police Office

 

Europol assists EU States' police forces in improving their cooperation on the prevention and fight against the most serious forms of international crime, such as terrorism, drug trafficking and people smuggling, focusing on the targeting of criminal organisations. The assistance offered by Europol to national law enforcement services consists of facilitating exchanges of information, providing criminal analyses, as well as helping and coordinating cross border operations. Unlike national police forces, Europol does not have any autonomous investigative or coercive powers.

Originally established on the basis of a Convention signed by EU States in 1995, Europol has been in operation since 1999. On 1 January 2010, it was conferred the status of EU agency. Europol is located in The Hague (The Netherlands).

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CEPOL: the European Police College

 

CEPOL supports and promotes joint approaches to the major cross-border problems encountered by EU States in the fight against crime, crime prevention and the maintenance of law, order and public security. It started as a network of existing national institutes for the training of senior law enforcement officials on the practical aspects of EU law enforcement cooperation. Its work programme focuses on the organisation of courses, seminars and conferences that cover a wide-range of topics.

CEPOL also runs an exchange programme for police authorities [141 KB] to gain a better understanding of EU States' legal systems, share working methods and network.

Set up in 2000 by Council Decision 2000/820/JHA , the European Police College (CEPOL) became an EU agency in 2005 (Council Decision 2005/681/JHA ). It is based in Bramshill (United Kingdom).

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EMCDDA: the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction

 

Independent, science-based information is vital for helping Europe understand the nature of its drug problem and to better respond to this problem. The role of EMCDDA is to provide the EU and its States with a factual overview of the European drug situation and a solid evidence base to support the drugs debate. EMCDDA supplies data for policymakers to draw up informed drug laws and strategies. It also assists professionals and practitioners working in the field to pinpoint best practice and new areas of research.

To achieve its core task of providing sound and comparable information on drugs in Europe, EMCDDA has developed the infrastructure and tools for national drug monitoring centers to collect country data in a harmonised way. The subsequent analysis of these data by EMCDDA results in a variety of information products that convey the broader European picture.

EMCDDA was established in 1993 and inaugurated in Lisbon in 1995.

Video source: EMCDDA

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EASO: the European Asylum Support Office

 

EASO's objectives are threefold: 

• to develop practical cooperation among EU States on asylum by facilitating exchanges of information on countries of origin, providing EU States with support for translation and interpretation and for training of asylum officials and assisting in the relocation of beneficiaries of international protection
• to support EU States under particular pressure, in particular through the establishment of an early warning system, the coordination of teams of experts to assist in managing asylum applications and the putting in place of appropriate reception facilities
• 
  to contribute to the implementation of the Common European Asylum System by collecting and exchanging information on best practices, drawing up an annual report on the asylum situation in the EU and defining technical orientations on the implementation of the Union's asylum instruments.

Through its support function, EASO assists EU States in fulfilling their European and international obligations in the field of asylum.

EASO was established by Regulation (EU) 439/2010 as an independent and specialised body. It became fully operational in mid-2011. Its headquarters are located in Valletta (Malta).

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EU Agency for large-scale IT systems (eu-LISA)

 

eu-LISA, the EU Agency for the operational management of large-scale IT systems, successfully started operations on December 1, 2012. Its core mission is to fulfill the operational management tasks for SIS II, VIS and EURODAC. The main operational task is to ensure that these systems are kept functioning 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Its other responsibilities include adopting the necessary security measures and ensuring data security and integrity as well as compliance with data protection rules.

The IT agency will be based in Tallinn.

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