PURPOSE: to establish a European Union agency for law enforcement training (Cepol).
LEGISLATIVE ACT: Regulation (EU) 2015/2219 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Training (CEPOL) and replacing and repealing Council Decision 2005/681/JHA.
CONTENT: this Regulation establishes the European Police College (CEPOL) was established by Council Decision 2005/681/JHA as an entity of the Union with the aim of training senior police officers of the Member States and facilitating cooperation between national police forces by organising and coordinating training activities with a European policing dimension.
CEPOL, as established by this Regulation, shall replace and succeed CEPOL as established by Decision 2005/681/JHA.
Objectives of CEPOL: in response to the call from the European Council in the Stockholm Programme to step up training on Union-related issues and to make such training systematically accessible to law enforcement officials of all ranks, and to the request from the European Parliament for a stronger Union framework for judicial and police training.
CEPOL shall support, develop, implement and coordinate training for law enforcement officials, while putting particular emphasis on the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the context of law enforcement, in particular:
- in the areas of prevention of and fight against serious crime affecting two or more Member States and terrorism,
- maintenance of public order, in particular international policing of major events, and planning and command of Union missions.
More specifically, CEPOL shall:
- support Member States in providing training in order to raise awareness and knowledge of: (i) the implementation and use of international and Union instruments on law enforcement cooperation; (ii) Union bodies, in particular Europol, Eurojust and Frontex, their functioning and role; (iii) police and judicial aspects of law enforcement cooperation and practical knowledge about access to information exchange channels;
- support Member States, at their request, in the development of regional and bilateral cooperation through law enforcement training between Member States, Union bodies and third countries;
- develop, implement and coordinate training addressing specific criminal or policing thematic areas;
- develop, implement and coordinate training which aims to support Member States and Union bodies in training law enforcement officials for participation in Union missions and law enforcement capacity-building activities in third countries;
- train trainers and assist in improving and exchanging best learning practices.
In its training activities, CEPOL should promote common respect for, and understanding of, fundamental rights in law enforcement, such as privacy, data protection and the rights, support and protection of victims, witnesses and suspects of crime, including safeguarding the rights of victims of gender-based violence.
CEPOL shall:
- develop and upgrade learning tools and methodologies and shall apply them in a lifelong learning perspective;
- bring together a network of Member State training institutes for law enforcement officials and shall liaise with a single national unit in each Member State functioning within the network;
- promote the mutual recognition of law enforcement training in Member States and the recognition by Member States of training provided at Union level with due regard to the principle of subsidiarity.
- Administrative and management structure of CEPOL: this shall comprise:
- a Management Board: The Management Board shall be composed of one representative from each Member State and the Commission. Each representative shall have voting rights. The Management Board shall elect a Chairperson and a Deputy Chairperson from among its members representing the group of three Member States that have jointly prepared the Council's 18-month programme;
- an Executive Director: the Executive Director shall be appointed, for a period of four years, by the Management Board, following an open and transparent selection procedure. The Executive Director shall report to the European Parliament on the performance of his or her duties when invited to do so;
- where appropriate, a Scientific Committee for Training, an independent advisory body ensuring the scientific quality of CEPOL's training-related work.
Multi-annual programming and annual work programmes: the Management Board shall, by 30 November each year, adopt a document containing CEPOL's multi-annual programming and annual work programme, based on a draft put forward by the Executive Director, taking into account the opinion of the Commission and, as regards the multi-annual programming, after having consulted the European Parliament. The Management Board shall forward that document to the European Parliament, the Council, the Commission and the national parliaments.
Budget: estimates of all revenue and expenditure for CEPOL shall be prepared each financial year, which shall correspond to the calendar year, and shall be shown in CEPOL's budget. CEPOL's budget shall be balanced in terms of revenue and expenditure. Each year, the Executive Director shall draw up a draft statement of estimates of CEPOL's revenue and expenditure for the following financial year, including an establishment plan, and shall send it to the Management Board.
ENTRY INTO FORCE: 24.12.2015.
APPLICATION: from 01.07.2016 except for certain provisions which shall apply from 24.12.2015.