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On 5 October 2022, Europol and the Ministry of Interior of the State of Qatar signed a Working Arrangement to prevent and combat serious crime and terrorism. Under the arrangement, parties can exchange information under a secure system as well as specialist knowledge, general situation …

On 18 October 2022, the European Commission published its Work Programme for the year 2023. Several new initiatives and ideas were presented in the area of justice and home affairs.

According to an analysis by the World Justice Project, 4.4 billion people live in a country where rule of law is declining. The adherence to the rule of law fell in 61% of countries, the 2022 WJP Rule of Law Index says.

In an opinion of 5 October 2022, the German Bundesrat welcomed the Commission's objective to combat child sexual abuse online, but it also raises several criticisms regarding the draft EU Regulation.

In a resolution of 5 October 2022, MEPs called on Member States to step up the fight against illegal trade in wildlife fauna and flora, saying that EU legislation needs to be revised and expanded.

On 16 September 2022, the EDPS requested the CJEU to annul two provisions of the newly amended Europol Regulation, which retroactively legalised Europol’s practice of processing large volumes of individuals’ personal data with no established link to criminal activity. This runs counter to the EDPS' order of January 2022.

According to AG Ćapeta, a European Arrest Warrant can be refused if the person concerned was absent in the proceedings revoking the suspension of the prison sentence or in the proceedings finding guilt and determining the sentence for the second offence that triggered the revocation. However, this is under the condition that no exceptional case as defined in Art. 4a(1)(a)-(d) applies in the case at issue.

In his opinion of 14 July 2022, AG Richard de la Tour took the view that a judicial authority cannot refuse to execute a European Arrest Warrant on the basis of the risk of violation of the right to a fair trial of the person sought if the existence of systemic or generalised deficiencies affecting the judicial system of the issuing Member State has not been demonstrated.

On 13 October 2022, the ECA published its statement on the EU's general budget in 2021. It found that errors in spending from the EU budget were on the rise and issued an adverse opinion in this regard. Furthermore, it is stressed that several risks exist in relation to the EU funds made available in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the war of aggression in Ukraine.

The Regional Court of Berlin referred several questions to the CJEU on the activities of law enforcement authorities in conjunction with the cracking of the EncroChat communications service. They relate to the interpretation of the EIO Directive. The Berlin court believes that the collection of data in the EncroChat operation was unlawful and that the data cannot be used as evidence in German criminal proceedings against persons who used EncroChat for criminal activities.