Judicial practitioners tackling serious cross-border crime benefit from the tools and services provided by Eurojust to quickly identify the right counterpart, efficiently exchange information and solve practical issues in order to successfully coordinate investigations.

Eurojust provides complex forms of assistance and coordination mechanisms, which may be combined as required to support major operations at each stage of the criminal justice process. The Agency:

• coordinates parallel investigations;
• organises case-specific coordination meetings;
• sets up and/or funds joint investigation teams (JITs) in which judicial authorities and law enforcement work together on transnational criminal investigations; and
• plans joint action days, steered in real time via coordination centres held at Eurojust, to facilitate the simultaneous arrest of perpetrators, dismantling of organised crime groups and seizure of assets across borders.

In 2021, Eurojust supported 457 coordination meetings, and 22 coordination centres, with videoconferencing and new hybrid solutions added to the traditional in-person meeting formats. One measure taken to allow for limited and safe physical presence was to fully equip one of the Eurojust coordination meeting rooms so that it could also serve as a coordination centre. This room was used on several occasions during the pandemic to ensure the continuity of vital support needed for these complex action days. The tools and services provided through these meetings and centres proved crucial in ensuring justice for a large number of cases handled by Eurojust in 2021.

Eurojust also offers rapid responses, sometimes provided within hours, to support judicial authorities with time-sensitive cases. For cases that require immediate action, Eurojust’s National Desks operate on-call services 24/7, 365 days a year. Such services include assisting national authorities to connect with the correct counterparts in other countries, understand the legal requirements and prepare judicial cooperation requests in line with national legislation.

In 2021, Eurojust supported 1 928 cases through a rapid response.

Rapid assistance provided for immediate arrest of Swedish murder suspect in Spain

Crime: A suspect was allegedly involved in the accidental killing of a 12-year-old Swedish girl at a petrol station in the town of Botkyrka in 2020. The suspect was part of an OCG of five who allegedly wanted to murder a member of a rival criminal network. Apparently, the girl was killed by accident, and the suspect later fled to Spain.

Action: The Spanish authorities quickly located the suspect in close cooperation with their Swedish counterparts and had him under surveillance before he was arrested in July 2021.

Eurojust's Role: Eurojust ensured rapid judicial cooperation between the Swedish and Spanish authorities for the immediate arrest of the murder suspect.

Judicial Tools: Through on-call coordination via Eurojust, the Spanish authorities were able to arrest the suspect almost immediately after a European Arrest Warrant (EAW) was issued by the Swedish Prosecution Authority. The warrant was instantly transferred to Spain via rapid coordination between the Eurojust Swedish and Spanish Desks, ensuring the prompt arrest of the suspect by the Spanish authorities.