After only two years

Austrian Schmid becomes head of EU justice agency

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(Bild: APA/Herbert Pfarrhofer)

The Austrian Michael Schmid was elected as the new President of the EU justice agency Eurojust on Tuesday. He will take up his four-year term of office on Friday. Schmid is a lawyer and has only been with the agency since 2022.

The 40-year-old succeeds Ladislav Hamran from Slovakia, who was not allowed to be re-elected after two terms in office. "My aim is to strengthen Eurojust's support for judicial authorities throughout Europe," said the new President-designate Schmid. Criminal prosecution has become increasingly complicated in recent years, for example due to digitalization and an increasingly interconnected network of criminal networks. "We will only be able to meet these challenges effectively together and ensure a safer Europe."

After completing his law degree, Schmid worked as a public prosecutor in Vienna, where he also dealt with white-collar crime cases. He joined Eurojust ten years ago as a trainee and later became a deputy national member and deputy head of the Eurojust counter-terrorism network. Two years ago, Schmid succeeded him as the Austrian representative of the authority in The Hague, where he was responsible for the organizational structure, among other things.

Coordination of cross-border criminal proceedings
Eurojust coordinates cross-border criminal proceedings between the judicial authorities of the 27 EU member states. Its work focuses on combating terrorism, trafficking in weapons, drugs and human beings, child pornography and money laundering. However, the European Public Prosecutor's Office, which is based in Luxembourg, is authorized to prosecute criminal offences across borders.