Commission proposes strengthened Europol mandate and EU Police Cloud

The European Commission has submitted an Impact Assessment (SWD(2026) 580 final) accompanying a Proposal for a Regulation to strengthen the mandate, capabilities and interoperability of the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol), amending Regulation (EU) 2018/1726 and Regulation (EU) 2024/982 and repealing Regulation (EU) 2016/794.

• Main announcement: The Commission proposes a combined package (preferred option) that merges elements of two policy directions to increase data availability, simplify Data Subject Categorisation (DSC), and embed operational tools into national workflows — including a proposed EU Police Cloud (one-off Europol cost ~EUR 143.3m; recurring ~EUR 39.8m/year) and strengthened authorised Europol access under the Prüm II framework (including an EU DNA matching capability). The Impact Assessment is published as SWD(2026)580 final and accompanies COM(2026)580 (proposal package) on 24 June 2026.
• Background and implementation details: The package combines targeted upgrades (automated data-loaders, SIENA/EIS/EAS/QUEST upgrades) and legal changes (DSC reform aligning with EUDPR/LED) with inter-agency measures (structural Europol–EPPO cooperation; automated Europol–Eurojust hit/no-hit enhancement). Estimated aggregated one-off costs for the preferred package: Member States EUR 254.85m, Europol EUR 239.8m; cumulative recurring costs 2028–2034: Member States ~EUR 335.3m, Europol ~EUR 548.8m. The Commission will evaluate implementation four years after entry into force per Article 68.