The Commission presented a report on the mid-term results obtained by the ‘Justice’ programme 2014-2020 and the qualitative and quantitative aspects of the implementation of the programme.

The report is based on the findings of the evaluation prepared by the European Commission and supported by an external evaluation. The evaluation reference period corresponds to the first half of the implementation of the programme, between 2014 and mid-2017 .

The objective of the ‘Justice’ programme 2014-2020 is to contribute to the further establishment of a European area of justice based on mutual recognition and trust, in particular by (i) promoting judicial cooperation in civil and criminal matters, (ii) supporting judicial training for legal professionals with the aim of fostering a common legal and judicial culture, (iii) facilitating effective access to justice for all and (iv) supporting initiatives in the field of drugs policy.

The main conclusions of the report are as follows:

Relevance : the report confirms the relevance of the programme in contributing to upholding EU values (such as the rule of law, the independence of the judiciary and the effectiveness of the justice) and in supporting Member States to achieve more effective justice systems. Since its very beginning, the Programme has shown its potential in fostering the acquisition of durable legal knowledge and competencies in the Member States.

One of the key features of the programme has been its ability to adapt and modify the priorities in light of emerging needs . For instance, following a string of terrorist attacks in Europe, two calls were issued to combat the radicalisation of inmates in prison. This can be achieved thanks to the unique structure of the Justice programme.

The specific objective concerning the initiatives in the field of drug policies is sometimes difficult to reconcile with other programme priorities. However, in general, the needs identified when the programme was adopted are still relevant , in particular the general objective of pursuing the establishment of a European area of justice based on mutual recognition and trust.

EU added value : over the years, the programme has demonstrated its high EU added value both in its positive impact on participants and target groups and in its role as a complement to other EU funding instruments and policy initiatives. The EU added value of the Justice programme is evident, above all, in the promotion of transnational projects with a European dimension to tackle cross-border issues and in the provision of financial resources to fund activities in key areas that are not necessarily high on the agenda of Member States due to lack of political will (according to stakeholders, this is particularly true for the specific objective on access to justice).

The programme also enables beneficiaries to work with partners in other Member States , which has increased their knowledge of the issues covered by the programme, broadened their expertise and given them access to examples of good practice and tools developed in other Member States.

Moreover, the fact that judicial training figures more prominently in the programme's intervention logic is an important step forward for the European added value of the programme.

Possible improvements : in the framework of the preparation of the future EU budget and funding programmes, the Commission based on the findings of the mid-term evaluation will address all aspects that have been identified for improvement, in particular:

the increase of the Programme's basin of potential recipients of the actions : the Programme could include additional target groups that are relevant to the achievement of its general objective. These groups include staff in regulatory agencies, young judicial professionals and students and judicial professionals in candidate countries and countries within the scope of the European Neighbourhood policy; the revision of the monitoring indicators : the Programme-specific indicators are adequate to monitor progress towards the objectives of the Programme, but sometimes they are difficult to measure or need some improvements; the achievement of a more geographic balance among the beneficiaries : the programme did not involve all Member States homogeneously. Indeed, about 25% of the beneficiaries come from either Italy or Belgium, and about half of the partner organisations come from five countries. The remaining 50% are organisations from the remaining 21 Member States; the strengthening of synergies with other relevant EU funding programmes and initiatives : this is the case, for instance, of the drugs policy area, where the coordination with the Health for Growth Programme could be increased.

Improvements are also needed in the area of equity . The evaluation showed that gender equality is rarely a major theme in the projects developed. The majority of respondents agreed to integrate child rights into the programme. The priority of the rights of people with disabilities , on the other hand, seems to be lower. The programme should strive in the future to distribute its resources in a more balanced manner across the different target groups of beneficiaries and Member States.

PURPOSE: to establish for the period 2014-2020 the Justice Programme following on from the Civil Justice , Criminal Justice , Drug Prevention and Information Programmes from 2007-2013.

LEGISLATIVE ACT: Regulation (EU) No 1382/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a Justice Programme for the period 2014 to 2020.

CONTENT: this Regulation establishes a Justice programme covering the period from 1 January 2014 to 31 December 2020.

European added value : the Programme shall finance actions with European added value which contribute to the further development of a European area of justice. To that end, the Commission shall ensure that the actions selected for funding are intended to produce results with European added value.

The European added value of actions, including that of small-scale and national actions , shall be assessed in the light of criteria such as their contribution to the consistent and coherent implementation of Union law, and to wide public awareness about the rights deriving from it, their transnational impact, their contribution to the elaboration and dissemination of best practices or their potential to contribute to the creation of minimum standards, practical tools and solutions that address cross-border or Union-wide challenges.

General objective : the general objective of the Programme shall be to contribute to the further development of a European area of justice based on mutual recognition and mutual trust, in particular by promoting judicial cooperation in civil and criminal matters.

Specific objectives : the Programme shall have the following specific objectives:

to facilitate and support judicial cooperation in civil and criminal matters; to support and promote judicial training , including language training on legal terminology, with a view to fostering a common legal and judicial culture; to facilitate effective access to justice for all, including to promote and support the rights of victims of crime, while respecting the rights of the defence; to support initiatives in the field of drugs policy as regards judicial cooperation and crime prevention aspects closely linked to the general objective of the Programme, in so far as they are not covered by the Internal security fund for financial support for police cooperation, preventing and combating crime, and crisis management or by the Health for Growth Programme .

The specific objectives shall be pursued through, in particular:

enhancing public awareness and knowledge of Union law and policies; with a view to ensuring efficient judicial cooperation in civil and criminal matters, improving knowledge of Union law, including substantive and procedural law, of judicial cooperation instruments and of the relevant case-law of the Court of Justice of the European Union, and of comparative law; supporting the effective, comprehensive and consistent implementation and application of Union instruments in the Member States and the monitoring and evaluation thereof; promoting cross-border cooperation, improving mutual knowledge and understanding of the civil and criminal law and the legal and judicial systems of the Member States and enhancing mutual trust; improving knowledge and understanding of potential obstacles to the smooth functioning of a European area of justice; improving the efficiency of judicial systems and their cooperation by means of information and communication technology, including the cross-border interoperability of systems and applications.

The Regulation details the type of actions to be financed to respond to these specific objectives (such as the collection of data and statistics; training activities; mutual learning; support for main actors whose activities contribute to the implementation of the objectives of the Programme, such as support for NGOs in the implementation of actions with European added value).

In order to ensure an inclusive perspective, beneficiaries shall encourage the participation of relevant target groups in actions financed by the Programme.

The European Judicial Training Network shall receive an operating grant to co-finance expenditure associated with its permanent work programme.

Mainstreaming : in the implementation of all of its actions, the Programme shall seek to promote equality between women and men and to promote the rights of the child, inter alia by means of child- friendly justice . It shall also comply with the prohibition of discrimination based on any of the grounds listed in Article 21 of the Charter.

Access to the Programme : access to the Programme shall be open to all bodies and entities legally established in the EU and EFTA countries, candidate countries, potential candidates and countries acceding to the Union, in accordance with the general principles and the general terms and conditions laid down in the Regulation. Bodies and entities which are profit-oriented shall have access to the Programme only in conjunction with non-profit or public organisations.

Financial envelope : in accordance with the overall agreement on the financial framework, the financial envelope for the implementation of the Programme for the period 2014 to 2020 is set at EUR 377 604 000 .

This shall be divided in line with the Annex of the Regulation:

to facilitate and support judicial cooperation in civil and criminal matters 30% of budget; to support and promote judicial training, including language training on legal terminology 35%; to facilitate effective access to justice for all 30%; to support initiatives in the field of drugs policy 5%.

The Commission shall not depart from the allocated percentages by more than five percentage points for each group of specific objectives. Should it prove necessary to exceed that limit, the Commission shall be empowered to adopt delegated acts to modify each of the figures.

Work programme : the annual work programme shall determine:

the actions to be undertaken, including the indicative allocation of financial resources; the essential eligibility, selection and award criteria to be used to select the proposals which are to receive financial contributions; the minimum percentage of annual expenditure to be allocated to grants.

Appropriate and fair distribution of financial support between different areas covered by the programme shall be ensured.

Complementarity : the Commission, in cooperation with the Member States, shall ensure overall consistency, complementarity and synergies with other Union instruments including, inter alia, the Rights, Equality and Citizenship Programme, the Instrument for financial support for police cooperation, preventing and combating crime, and crisis management, as part of the Internal Security Fund, the Health for Growth Programme, the Erasmus+ Programme, the Horizon 2020 Framework Programme and the Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance (IPA II).

Monitoring and evaluation of the Programme : the Commission shall monitor the Programme annually. It shall also provide:

an interim evaluation report by 30 June 2018; an ex-post evaluation report by 31 December 2021.

The evaluations shall also assess the way in which gender equality and non-discrimination issues have been addressed across the Programme’s actions.

Performance indicators were also added to better evaluate the effectiveness of the Programme. In addition to the indicators, the evaluation reports shall assess the perceived impact of the Programme on access to justice, as well as the European added value of the actions and the level of finance involved in relation to results achieved (in terms of effectiveness).

ENTRY INTO FORCE: 29.12.2013.

DELEGATED ACTS: in order to ensure that the Programme is sufficiently flexible to respond to changing needs and corresponding policy priorities throughout its duration, the power to adopt acts in accordance with Article 290 TFEU should be delegated to the Commission concerning modification of the percentages set out in the Annex to this Regulation for each group of specific objectives that would exceed those percentages by more than 5 percentage points. To assess the need for such a delegated act, those percentages should be calculated on the basis of the financial envelope of the Programme for its entire duration , and not on the basis of annual appropriations.

The European Parliament or Council may raise objections to a delegated act within two months from the date of notification (which may be extended by two months). If Parliament or Council raise objections, the delegated act will not enter into force.

The European Parliament adopted by 383 votes to 69, with 11 abstentions, a legislative resolution on the proposed Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing the "Justice" Programme 2014-2020.

Parliament adopted its position at first reading, following the ordinary legislative procedure. The amendments adopted in plenary are the result of a compromise negotiated between the European Parliament and the Council.

General objective : the general objective of the Programme shall be to contribute to the further development of a European area of justice based on mutual recognition and mutual trust , in particular by promoting judicial cooperation in civil and criminal matters.

Specific objectives : the specific objectives of "Justice" would also aim to:

· facilitate and support judicial cooperation in civil and criminal matters;

· support and promote judicial training , including language training on legal terminology, with a view to fostering a common legal and judicial culture;

· facilitate effective access to justice for all, including to promote and support the rights of victims of crime, while respecting the rights of the defence;

· support initiatives in the field of drugs policy as regards judicial cooperation and crime prevention aspects closely linked to the Health for Growth Programme .

These objectives shall be pursued through:

· enhancing public awareness and knowledge of Union law and policies;

· improving knowledge of Union law, including substantive and procedural law;

· supporting the effective, comprehensive and consistent implementation and application of Union instruments and policies in the Member States and the monitoring and evaluation thereof;

· promoting cross-border cooperation, improving mutual knowledge and understanding of the civil and criminal law and the legal and judicial systems of the Member States and enhancing mutual trust;

· improving the efficiency of judicial systems and their cooperation by means of information and communication technology.

The type of actions to be funded have been revised to meet these specific objectives. In general, actions covered by the future Programme should contribute to developing mutual trust between the Member States, increasing cross-border cooperation and networking and achieving the correct, coherent and consistent application of Union law. Union intervention in this context can bring additional value compared to the action of Member States alone.

The Programme objectives also include an operating grant to the European Judicial Training Network which shall receive an operating grant to co-finance expenditure associated with its permanent work programme.

Mainstreaming : in the implementation of all of its actions, the Programme shall seek to promote equality between women and men and to promote the rights of the child, inter alia by means of child-friendly justice . It shall also comply with the prohibition of discrimination based on any of the grounds defined in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union.

Access to the Programme : it is specified that bodies and entities which are profit-oriented shall have access to the Programme only in conjunction with non-profit or public organisations . In addition to the entities covered by the Programme, access shall also be open to international organisations active in the areas covered by the Programme.

National, regional and local authorities should also be included among the bodies and entities having access to the Programme.

Financial envelope : in accordance with the overall agreement on the financial framework, the financial envelope for the implementation of the Programme for the period 2014 to 2020 is set at EUR 377 604 000 .

This shall be divided in line with the Annex of the future Regulation:

· to facilitate and support judicial cooperation in civil and criminal matters 30% of budget;

· to support and promote judicial training, including language training on legal terminology 35%;

· to facilitate effective access to justice for all 30%;

· to support initiatives in the field of drugs policy 5%.

The Commission shall not depart from the allocated percentages by more than five percentage points for each group of specific objectives. Should it prove necessary to exceed that limit, the Commission shall be empowered to adopt delegated acts to modify each of the figures.

Work programme : the annual work programme shall determine:

the actions to be undertaken, including the indicative allocation of financial resources;

· the essential eligibility, selection and award criteria to be used to select the proposals which are to receive financial contributions;

· the minimum percentage of annual expenditure to be allocated to grants.

Appropriate and fair distribution of financial support between different areas covered by the programme shall be ensured.

Monitoring and evaluation of the Programme : the Commission shall monitor the Programme annually. It shall also provide:

an interim evaluation report by 30 June 2018; an ex-post evaluation report by 31 December 2021.

The evaluations shall also assess the way in which gender equality and non-discrimination issues have been addressed across the Programme’s actions.

Performance indicators were also added to better evaluate the effectiveness of the Programme. These last include the number and percentage of persons in a target group reached by the awareness-raising activities; the number of stakeholders participating in training activities; the number of cases, activities and outputs of cross-border cooperation; the geographical coverage of the activities, etc.

In addition to the indicators, the evaluation reports shall assess the perceived impact of the Programme on access to justice , as well as the European added value of the actions and the level of finance involved in relation to results achieved (in terms of effectiveness).

The Committee on Legal Affairs , jointly with the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs , adopted the report by Luigi BERLINGUER (S&D, IT) and Philip CLAEYS (NI, BE) on the proposed Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing the "Justice" Programme 2014-2020.

The parliamentary committee recommended that the position of the European Parliament adopted at first reading, following the ordinary legislative procedure, amend the Commission proposal.

The key amendments aim to:

General objective : the general objective of the Programme shall be to contribute to the further development of a European area of justice based on mutual recognition and mutual trust , in particular by promoting judicial cooperation in civil and criminal matters.

Specific objectives : the specific objectives of "Justice" would also aim to:

· facilitate and support judicial cooperation in civil and criminal matters;

· support and promote judicial training , including language training on legal terminology, with a view to fostering a common legal and judicial culture;

· facilitate effective access to justice for all, including to promote and support the rights of victims of crime, while respecting the rights of the defence;

· support initiatives in the field of drugs policy as regards judicial cooperation and crime prevention aspects closely linked to the Health for Growth Programme.

These objectives shall be pursued through:

· enhancing public awareness and knowledge of Union law and policies;

· improving knowledge of Union law, including substantive and procedural law;

· supporting the effective, comprehensive and consistent implementation and application of Union instruments and policies in the Member States and the monitoring and evaluation thereof;

· promoting cross-border cooperation, improving mutual knowledge and understanding of the civil and criminal law and the legal and judicial systems of the Member States and enhancing mutual trust;

· improving the efficiency of judicial systems and their cooperation by means of information and communication technology.

The type of actions to be funded have been revised to meet these specific objectives. In general, actions covered by the future Programme should contribute to developing mutual trust between the Member States, increasing cross-border cooperation and networking and achieving the correct, coherent and consistent application of Union law. Union intervention in this context can bring additional value compared to the action of Member States alone.

The Programme objectives also include an operating grant to the European Judicial Training Network .

Mainstreaming : in the implementation of all of its actions, the Programme shall seek to promote equality between women and men and to promote the rights of the child, inter alia by means of child-friendly justice . It shall also comply with the prohibition of discrimination based on any of the grounds defined in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union.

Access to the Programme : it is specified that bodies and entities which are profit-oriented shall have access to the Programme only in conjunction with non-profit or public organisations . In addition to the entities covered by the Programme, access shall also be open to international organisations active in the areas covered by the Programme

National, regional and local authorities should also be included among the bodies and entities having access to the Programme.

Financial envelope : in accordance with the overall agreement on the financial framework, the financial envelope for the implementation of the Programme for the period 2014 to 2020 is set at EUR 377,604 million .

This shall be divided in line with the Annex of the future Regulation:

· to facilitate and support judicial cooperation in civil and criminal matters 30% of budget;

· to support and promote judicial training, including language training on legal terminology 35%;

· to facilitate effective access to justice for all 30%;

· to support initiatives in the field of drugs policy 5% .

The Commission shall not depart from the allocated percentages by more than five percentage points for each group of specific objectives. Should it prove necessary to exceed that limit, the Commission shall be empowered to adopt delegated acts to modify each of the figures.

Work programme : the annual work programme shall determine:

· the actions to be undertaken, including the indicative allocation of financial resources;

· the essential eligibility, selection and award criteria to be used to select the proposals which are to receive financial contributions;

· the minimum percentage of annual expenditure to be allocated to grants.

Appropriate and fair distribution of financial support between different areas covered by the programme shall be ensured.

Monitoring and evaluation of the Programme : the Commission shall monitor the Programme annually. It shall also provide:

· an interim evaluation report by 30 June 2018;

· an ex-post evaluation report by 31 December 2021.

The evaluations shall also assess the way in which gender equality and non-discrimination issues have been addressed across the Programme’s actions.

Performance indicators were also added to better evaluate the effectiveness of the Programme. These last include the number and percentage of persons in a target group reached by the awareness-raising activities; the number of stakeholders participating in training activities; the number of cases, activities and outputs of cross-border cooperation; the geographical coverage of the activities, etc.

In addition to the indicators, the evaluation reports shall assess the perceived impact of the Programme on access to justice , as well as the European added value of the actions and the level of finance involved in relation to results achieved (in terms of effectiveness).

The Council reached a partial general approach on two proposals for regulations establishing the financing programmes in the area of justice and fundamental rights within the framework of the Multiannual Financial Framework for the period 2014-2020. Those texts will now form the basis for the negotiations with the European Parliament with a view to reaching agreement.

In both proposals, the provisions regarding the financial envelope are excluded from the scope of the partial general approach since they will be negotiated at a horizontal level.

- The first proposal concerns the Justice programme (see Council doc. 10645/12 ), a funding programme aiming to support actions with European added value in the area of judicial cooperation in civil and criminal matters and judicial training. The Council reached agreement on Article 12 (protection of financial interests of the Union) which was also negotiated at horizontal level.

- The second proposal concerns the Rights, Equality and Citizenship programme which is the successor to three existing programmes: Fundamental Rights and Citizenship, Daphne III and the "Antidiscrimination and Diversity" and "Gender Equality" sections of the Programme for Employment and Social Solidarity (PROGRESS).

PURPOSE: to establish for the period 2014-2020 the Justice Programme following on from the Fundamental Rights and Citizenship , Daphne III , The Sections "Antidiscrimination and Diversity" and "Gender Equality" of the Programme for Employment and Social Solidarity ( PROGRESS ) from 2007-2013.

PROPOSED ACT: Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council.

BACKGROUND: i n the post-Lisbon era and after the abolition of the third pillar the area of justice develops dynamically in order to respond to all challenges. Legislative and policy measures as well as their coherent implementation are key tools. Funding can contribute to the development of this area through supporting legislation and policy-making and promoting their implementation.

In accordance with the Communication on the EU Budget Review , a fresh look was taken at the existing funding instruments and delivery mechanisms to ensure clear focus on European added value and to cater for rationalisation and simplification of the funding mechanisms . In ‘ A Budget for Europe 2020’ , the Commission identified the need for a simpler and more transparent budget to overcome the problems that arise from the complexity of programme structures and the existence of multiple programmes. The area of Rights was mentioned as an example of the existing fragmentation, where action should be taken.

Within this framework and aiming at simplification and rationalisation, the Rights and Citizenship Programme is the successor of three current programmes:

Fundamental Rights and Citizenship, Daphne III, The Sections "Antidiscrimination and Diversity" and "Gender Equality" of the Programme for Employment and Social Solidarity (PROGRESS).

The merge of these programmes will allow for a comprehensive funding approach in this area .

IMPACT ASSESSMENT: one impact assessment was carried out concerning the future funding activities for the whole area of justice, rights and equality, which currently comprises six programmes ( Civil Justice Programme, the Criminal Justice Programme, the Fundamental Rights and Citizenship Programme, the Daphne III Programme, the Drug Prevention and Information Programme and the sections "Antidiscrimination and Diversity" and "Gender Equality" of the Programme for Employment and Social Solidarity ( PROGRESS )).

The impact assessment has considered three options:

Option A: to maintain six programmes and to address some of the identified problems through changes in the internal management of the programmes.; Option B: to maintain all measures of option A and additionally to merge the current six programmes into two programmes . This option would allow for flexibility in the use of funds and in addressing annual policy priorities. It would achieve increased simplification (both for the beneficiaries and the administration) and efficiency of the programmes, since significantly fewer procedures would be needed. The effectiveness of the programmes would also be improved as the fragmentation and dilution of funds would be addressed better within two programmes. Human resources could be freed, since fewer procedures would reduce the administrative burden and they would be allocated to activities improving the effectiveness of the programmes (dissemination of results, monitoring, providing information, etc). Option C: to implement only one programme . This option addresses all problems caused by the multiple legal instruments and by the increased administrative burden of managing multiple programmes. However, due to legal constraints the scope of this programme would not be able to cover the funding needs of all policy areas. A choice would have to be made between the area of justice and the area of rights and citizenship. Although this solution can deliver maximum impact in terms of management, however it would not be possible to address sufficiently the policy priorities and needs of the whole policy area.

Resulting from the analysis and comparison of the options, the preferred option is the implementation of two programmes which would cover the funding needs of all policy areas ( option B ). In comparison to the status quo option B presents clear advantages and no disadvantage.

LEGAL BASIS: Article 81(1) and (2), Article 82(1) and Article 84 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU).

CONTENT: with this proposal, the Commission proposes to establish a new European Union programme on Justice 2014-2020.

General objective : the general objective of the Programme shall be to contribute to the creation of a European area of justice by promoting judicial cooperation in civil and criminal matters.

To achieve the general objective, the Programme shall have the following specific objectives:

to promote effective, comprehensive and consistent application of Union legislation in the areas of judicial cooperation in civil and criminal matters; to facilitate access to justice; to prevent and reduce drug demand and supply.

The proposal states that the indicator to measure the achievement of this objective shall be, inter alia , the number of cases of trans-border cooperation. The Programme shall aim to promote equality between women and men and combat discrimination based on sex, racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation in all its activities.

Actions financed : the Programme shall finance inter alia the following types of actions:

analytical activities , such as collection of data and statistics; development of common methodologies and, where appropriate, indicators or benchmarks; studies, researches, analyses and surveys; evaluations and impact assessments; training activities , such as staff exchanges, workshops, seminars, train-the-trainers events; mutual learning, cooperation, awareness raising and dissemination activities , such as identification of, and exchanges on, good practices, innovative approaches and experiences, organisation of peer review and mutual learning; support for main actors , such as support for Member States when implementing Union law and policies; support for key European level networks whose activities are linked to the implementation of the objectives of the Programme; funding of experts' networks; funding of European level observatories.

European added value : the Commission shall ensure that the actions selected for funding are intended to produce results with European added value and shall monitor whether European added value was actually achieved through the final results of the actions financed by the Programme.

Implementation : in implementing this Regulation the Commission will establish annually the funding priorities in the respective policy areas. The Programme can make use of all financial instruments foreseen in the Financial Regulation . The Commission may use, on the basis of a cost-benefit analysis, an existing executive agency for the implementation of the programme, as provided for in Council Regulation (EC) No 58/2003 of 19 December 2002 laying down the statute for executive agencies to be entrusted with certain tasks in the management of Community programmes.

The programme may share resources with other Union instruments, in particular the Rights and Citizens Programme , in order to implement actions meeting the objectives of both programmes.

Participation of the programme : ac cess to the Programme shall be open to all public and/or private bodies and entities legally established in: (a) Member States; (b) EFTA countries which are party to the EEA Agreement; (c) accession countries, candidate countries and potential candidates;(d) Denmark, on the basis of an international agreement. Under the Programme, the Commission may cooperate with international organisations active in the areas covered by the Programme, such as the Council of Europe, the United Nations and the Hague Conference on Private International Law. Access to the Programme shall be open to those international organisations.

Monitoring and evaluation : the Commission shall monitor the Programme regularly. The monitoring will also provide a means of assessing the way in which gender equality and anti-discrimination issues have been addressed across the programme’s activities. Where relevant, indicators should be disaggregated by sex, age and disability. The Commission shall provide the European Parliament and the Council with: (a) an interim evaluation report, by mid-2018 at the latest; (b) an ex-post evaluation report.

Complementarity : the Commission shall ensure overall consistency, complementarity and synergies with other Union instruments, inter alia , with the Rights and Citizenship Programme, the Instrument for financial support for police cooperation, crime prevention and the fight against cross-border, serious and organised crime, the Health for Growth Programme, the Erasmus for all Programme, the Horizon 2020 Framework Programme and the Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance.

BUDGETARY IMPLICATION: the financial envelope for the implementation of the Justice Programme for the period 1 January 2014 to 31 December 2020 shall amount to EUR 472 million .

PURPOSE: to establish for the period 2014-2020 the Justice Programme following on from the Fundamental Rights and Citizenship , Daphne III , The Sections "Antidiscrimination and Diversity" and "Gender Equality" of the Programme for Employment and Social Solidarity ( PROGRESS ) from 2007-2013.

PROPOSED ACT: Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council.

BACKGROUND: i n the post-Lisbon era and after the abolition of the third pillar the area of justice develops dynamically in order to respond to all challenges. Legislative and policy measures as well as their coherent implementation are key tools. Funding can contribute to the development of this area through supporting legislation and policy-making and promoting their implementation.

In accordance with the Communication on the EU Budget Review , a fresh look was taken at the existing funding instruments and delivery mechanisms to ensure clear focus on European added value and to cater for rationalisation and simplification of the funding mechanisms . In ‘ A Budget for Europe 2020’ , the Commission identified the need for a simpler and more transparent budget to overcome the problems that arise from the complexity of programme structures and the existence of multiple programmes. The area of Rights was mentioned as an example of the existing fragmentation, where action should be taken.

Within this framework and aiming at simplification and rationalisation, the Rights and Citizenship Programme is the successor of three current programmes:

Fundamental Rights and Citizenship, Daphne III, The Sections "Antidiscrimination and Diversity" and "Gender Equality" of the Programme for Employment and Social Solidarity (PROGRESS).

The merge of these programmes will allow for a comprehensive funding approach in this area .

IMPACT ASSESSMENT: one impact assessment was carried out concerning the future funding activities for the whole area of justice, rights and equality, which currently comprises six programmes ( Civil Justice Programme, the Criminal Justice Programme, the Fundamental Rights and Citizenship Programme, the Daphne III Programme, the Drug Prevention and Information Programme and the sections "Antidiscrimination and Diversity" and "Gender Equality" of the Programme for Employment and Social Solidarity ( PROGRESS )).

The impact assessment has considered three options:

Option A: to maintain six programmes and to address some of the identified problems through changes in the internal management of the programmes.; Option B: to maintain all measures of option A and additionally to merge the current six programmes into two programmes . This option would allow for flexibility in the use of funds and in addressing annual policy priorities. It would achieve increased simplification (both for the beneficiaries and the administration) and efficiency of the programmes, since significantly fewer procedures would be needed. The effectiveness of the programmes would also be improved as the fragmentation and dilution of funds would be addressed better within two programmes. Human resources could be freed, since fewer procedures would reduce the administrative burden and they would be allocated to activities improving the effectiveness of the programmes (dissemination of results, monitoring, providing information, etc). Option C: to implement only one programme . This option addresses all problems caused by the multiple legal instruments and by the increased administrative burden of managing multiple programmes. However, due to legal constraints the scope of this programme would not be able to cover the funding needs of all policy areas. A choice would have to be made between the area of justice and the area of rights and citizenship. Although this solution can deliver maximum impact in terms of management, however it would not be possible to address sufficiently the policy priorities and needs of the whole policy area.

Resulting from the analysis and comparison of the options, the preferred option is the implementation of two programmes which would cover the funding needs of all policy areas ( option B ). In comparison to the status quo option B presents clear advantages and no disadvantage.

LEGAL BASIS: Article 81(1) and (2), Article 82(1) and Article 84 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU).

CONTENT: with this proposal, the Commission proposes to establish a new European Union programme on Justice 2014-2020.

General objective : the general objective of the Programme shall be to contribute to the creation of a European area of justice by promoting judicial cooperation in civil and criminal matters.

To achieve the general objective, the Programme shall have the following specific objectives:

to promote effective, comprehensive and consistent application of Union legislation in the areas of judicial cooperation in civil and criminal matters; to facilitate access to justice; to prevent and reduce drug demand and supply.

The proposal states that the indicator to measure the achievement of this objective shall be, inter alia , the number of cases of trans-border cooperation. The Programme shall aim to promote equality between women and men and combat discrimination based on sex, racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation in all its activities.

Actions financed : the Programme shall finance inter alia the following types of actions:

analytical activities , such as collection of data and statistics; development of common methodologies and, where appropriate, indicators or benchmarks; studies, researches, analyses and surveys; evaluations and impact assessments; training activities , such as staff exchanges, workshops, seminars, train-the-trainers events; mutual learning, cooperation, awareness raising and dissemination activities , such as identification of, and exchanges on, good practices, innovative approaches and experiences, organisation of peer review and mutual learning; support for main actors , such as support for Member States when implementing Union law and policies; support for key European level networks whose activities are linked to the implementation of the objectives of the Programme; funding of experts' networks; funding of European level observatories.

European added value : the Commission shall ensure that the actions selected for funding are intended to produce results with European added value and shall monitor whether European added value was actually achieved through the final results of the actions financed by the Programme.

Implementation : in implementing this Regulation the Commission will establish annually the funding priorities in the respective policy areas. The Programme can make use of all financial instruments foreseen in the Financial Regulation . The Commission may use, on the basis of a cost-benefit analysis, an existing executive agency for the implementation of the programme, as provided for in Council Regulation (EC) No 58/2003 of 19 December 2002 laying down the statute for executive agencies to be entrusted with certain tasks in the management of Community programmes.

The programme may share resources with other Union instruments, in particular the Rights and Citizens Programme , in order to implement actions meeting the objectives of both programmes.

Participation of the programme : ac cess to the Programme shall be open to all public and/or private bodies and entities legally established in: (a) Member States; (b) EFTA countries which are party to the EEA Agreement; (c) accession countries, candidate countries and potential candidates;(d) Denmark, on the basis of an international agreement. Under the Programme, the Commission may cooperate with international organisations active in the areas covered by the Programme, such as the Council of Europe, the United Nations and the Hague Conference on Private International Law. Access to the Programme shall be open to those international organisations.

Monitoring and evaluation : the Commission shall monitor the Programme regularly. The monitoring will also provide a means of assessing the way in which gender equality and anti-discrimination issues have been addressed across the programme’s activities. Where relevant, indicators should be disaggregated by sex, age and disability. The Commission shall provide the European Parliament and the Council with: (a) an interim evaluation report, by mid-2018 at the latest; (b) an ex-post evaluation report.

Complementarity : the Commission shall ensure overall consistency, complementarity and synergies with other Union instruments, inter alia , with the Rights and Citizenship Programme, the Instrument for financial support for police cooperation, crime prevention and the fight against cross-border, serious and organised crime, the Health for Growth Programme, the Erasmus for all Programme, the Horizon 2020 Framework Programme and the Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance.

BUDGETARY IMPLICATION: the financial envelope for the implementation of the Justice Programme for the period 1 January 2014 to 31 December 2020 shall amount to EUR 472 million .