EU Agencies shape future cooperation and mark 25 years of the Fundamental Rights Charter

Heads of EU Justice and Home Affairs (JHA) Agencies met in Vienna from 4 to 5 December to reflect on their joint achievements and align future cooperation.

The meeting covered key topics of interest including the EU Internal Security Strategy ‘ProtectEU’, the EU Innovation Hub for Internal Security and the AI Act. A discussion with Javier Zarzalejos, Chair of the European Parliament’s Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE), served to align the Agencies’ work with the Committee’s priorities.

The thematic discussions were part of a broader effort to align the work of the Justice and Home Affairs Agencies’s Network (JHAAN) more closely with the wider priorities of the EU. This approach will continue under the 2026 Work Programme of the network, which was adopted at the meeting and will be implemented under the 2026 Presidency of the European Union Drugs Agency (EUDA).

The Heads of Agencies also marked the 25^th anniversary of the proclamation of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights by:

• signing a joint statement pledging to intensify their efforts to uphold and actively promote fundamental rights in all their activities;
• presenting a joint report with promising practices and examples of how the Charter is integrated into the Agencies’ policies and programmes in the following areas: fundamental rights protection in regular operations, training, gender equality and diversity initiatives, and compliance mechanisms.

Participants took stock of key joint initiatives. These included the Eurojust-EIGE report on the European Protection Order, the FRA-EUAA practical tool for guardians, the Frontex-EUAA-Europol Screening Toolbox and the eu-LISA-Eurojust report on AI in criminal justice.

The meeting brought together the Heads of the JHA agencies, alongside representatives from the European Parliament, the Danish and Cypriot Presidencies of the Council of the EU, the General Secretariat of the EU, the Danish coordinator of the European Multidisciplinary Platform Against Criminal Threats (EMPACT), European Commission, the European External Action Service, and the EU Agencies Network.

Established in 2010, the network enhances cooperation among the nine agencies in the areas of freedom, security, and justice – CEPOL, EIGE, EUAA, EUDA, eu-LISA, Eurojust, Europol, FRA and Frontex. FRA holds the 2025 presidency of the network. EUDA will preside in 2026, followed by EIGE in 2027.