Category: Intelligence

Source: Eurojust

Commenting on his election as President by his fellow National Members, Mr Schmid stated: I am obviously delighted by the election and would like to thank my colleagues for giving me their confidence. As we look ahead, my goal is to further strengthen Eurojust’s support for the judicial authorities across Europe. In recent years, criminal proceedings have grown increasingly complex, driven by the rise of digitalisation, increasing links to non-European countries, and a more interconnected web of criminal networks. It is only together that we will be able to effectively tackle these challenges and care for a more secure Europe.

The President of Eurojust represents the Agency and oversees the meetings of the National Members who meet regularly in the College, which elected Mr Schmid today. The President also directs and monitors Eurojust’s activities and management, in close cooperation with Administrative Director Mr Vincent Jamin. Mr Schmid will also cooperate closely with the two Vice-Presidents of Eurojust, Mr Boštjan Škrlec and Ms Margarita Šniutytė-Daugėlienė.

Eurojust has been a thread throughout the career of Mr Schmid. In 2014, he came to the Agency as a trainee via the European Judicial Trainee Network (EJTN) and later worked as a Seconded National Expert and assistant to the National Member. In 2017, Mr Schmid became Deputy National Member, in which capacity he held the role of Vice-Chair of the Counter-Terrorism Team.

In April 2021, the new Eurojust President took up the role of Justice Counsellor at the Permanent Representation of Austria to the European Union in Brussels. In this role, he participated in numerous Council negotiations on criminal and procedural law, as well as the Digital Services Act. In April 2022, he returned to Eurojust as National Member for Austria. Recently, he chaired the Advisory Group on Organisational Development, a panel which designed the priorities and internal procedures of the Agency.

Mr Schmid graduated in law from the University of Vienna in 2007, joining the Austrian judiciary the same year. After completing the national training programme in 2011, he became a prosecutor in Vienna, dealing with general criminal cases and later economic crimes. During his first period at Eurojust, Mr Schmid undertook a Master’s programme in criminal justice at Leiden University in the Netherlands, graduating cum laude in 2021.

The new Eurojust President in the past served as a guest lecturer at numerous universities in Austria and abroad and was a teacher for practitioners at the Austrian Ministry of Justice, EJTN, the European Legal Academy (ERA) in Trier (Germany) and the EU Agency for Law Enforcement Training (CEPOL) in Budapest. Mr Schmid speaks German, English, Dutch and French.

Source: Eurojust

The fake art recovered by the authorities included forged works by famous artists such as Banksy, Andy Warhol, Pablo Picasso, Joan Miró, Francis Bacon, Wassily Kandinsky, Gustav Klimt, Claude Monet, Vincent van Gogh and Salvador Dalí. Investigations into the fake works revealed a network of forgers in Spain, France and Belgium. Once the fake works of art were produced, the network would work with several complicit auction houses in Italy to sell the pieces. To ensure the credibility of the auctions, exhibitions were organised throughout Italy and a catalogue of the art was published. Catching the forgers made it possible to avoid the works being auctioned off at prices close to the original works by the real artists.

The investigation into the network began in March 2023, when Italian authorities found around 200 fake works of art during a search order against an entrepreneur. This led investigators to monitor e-commerce platforms of auction houses to find similar works for sale and the sellers of these pieces. The investigation identified two forgers and two painting workshops that were used to produce the fake works of art.

As the investigation uncovered a European forgery network, cross-border judicial cooperation was initiated at Eurojust. Eurojust ensured that three European Investigation Orders were issued against six suspects in Spain, France and Belgium. The searches led to the discovery of forgery workshops and the seizure of 1 000 fake works of art and more than 500 forged certificates and stamps of authenticity.

The investigation led to charges against 38 suspects in the forgery network for conspiracy to forge and deal in contemporary art. Experts from the Italian authorities confirmed that the works of art were not originals and estimated the economic damage at approximately EUR 200 million if the pieces had been auctioned. By preventing these works from reaching the market, the authorities averted a major disruption to the art auction industry.

In agreement with the authorities involved and with the support of Eurojust, all the fake works of art and items seized in Spain, France and Belgium have been handed over to the Italian authorities for further analysis.

The following authorities were involved in the actions:

• Italy: Public Prosecutor’s Office of Pisa, Carabinieri Command for the Protection of Cultural Heritage (TPC) – Unit of Rome
• Belgium: Investigative Judge of the Court of Walloon Brabant: Local Police of La Mazerine
• France: Judicial Court Paris; Central Office for Combating Illicit Trafficking in Cultural Property (OCBC)
• Spain: Juzgado Instruccion 1 of Olot (Girona); Guardia Civil

Source: Eurojust

The first meeting, which took place from 6-7 November, covered the topic of surrender between EU Member States and the United Kingdom. Partners from the United Kingdom presented an introduction to the UK legal system concerning surrender. This included identifying common legal challenges and sharing best practices on how to overcome them. The meeting included representatives from 29 countries.

From 7-8 November, a second meeting was hosted on extradition, organized with partners from the United States. During this meeting, the U.S. delegation presented best practices on extradition procedures and faciliated a drafting exercise of an extradition request. Representatives from 26 Member States and 7 third countries attended this meeting.

Both meetings also included participation from members of the European Judicial Network and European Commission. The meetings aimed to increase cooperation and understanding between the EU and its key partners, the UK and the US, on judicial matters. By sharing knowledge and expertise, practitioners will be able to better navigate the complexities of these procedures, ultimately leading to more effective and efficient cooperation.

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The UK delegation was led by representatives from:

• Crown Prosecution Service – Serious Economic, Organised Crime and International Directorate
• Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service – International Co-operation Unit
• Public Prosecution Service – High Court and International Section
• Crown Solicitor’s Office

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The US delegation was led by representatives from:

• U.S. Department of State, Office of the Legal Adviser
• U.S. Department of Justice, Criminal Division, Office of International Affairs