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1. Europol shall perform the following tasks in order to achieve the objectives set out in Article 3:

(a) collect, store, process, analyse and exchange information, including criminal intelligence;

(b) notify the Member States, via the national units established or designated pursuant to Article 7(2), without delay of any information and connections between criminal offences concerning them;

(c) coordinate, organise and implement investigative and operational actions to support and strengthen actions by the competent authorities of the Member States, that are carried out:

(i) jointly with the competent authorities of the Member States; or (ii) in the context of joint investigation teams in accordance with Article 5 and, where appropriate, in liaison with Eurojust;

(d) participate in joint investigation teams, as well as propose that they be set up in accordance with Article 5;

(e) provide information and analytical support to Member States in connection with major international events;

(f) prepare threat assessments, strategic and operational analyses and general situation reports;

(g) develop, share and promote specialist knowledge of crime prevention methods, investigative procedures and technical and forensic methods, and provide advice to Member States;

(h) support Member States' cross-border information exchange activities, operations and investigations, as well as joint investigation teams, including by providing operational, technical and financial support;

(ha) provide administrative and financial support to Member States’ special intervention units as referred to in Council Decision 2008/617/JHA ();

(i) provide specialised training and assist Member States in organising training, including with the provision of financial support, within the scope of its objectives and in accordance with the staffing and budgetary resources at its disposal in coordination with the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Training (CEPOL);

(j) cooperate with the Union bodies established on the basis of Title V of the TFEU, with OLAF and the European Union Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA) established by Regulation (EU) 2019/881 of the European Parliament and of the Council (), in particular through the exchange of information and provision of analytical support in areas that fall within their respective competences;

(k) provide information and support to EU crisis management structures and missions established on the basis of the TEU, within the scope of Europol's objectives as set out in Article 3;

(l) develop Union centres of specialised expertise for combating certain types of crime falling within the scope of Europol's objectives, in particular the European Cybercrime Centre;

(m) support Member States’ actions in preventing and combating forms of crime listed in Annex I which are facilitated, promoted or committed using the internet, including by:

(i) assisting the competent authorities of the Member States, upon their request, in responding to cyberattacks of suspected criminal origin;

(ii) cooperating with competent authorities of the Member States with regard to removal orders, in accordance with Article 14 of Regulation (EU) 2021/784; and (iii) making referrals of online content to the online service providers concerned for their voluntary consideration of the compatibility of that content with their own terms and conditions;

(r) support Member States in identifying persons whose criminal activities fall within the forms of crime listed in Annex I and who constitute a high risk for security;

(s) facilitate joint, coordinated and prioritised investigations regarding persons referred to in point (r);

(t) support Member States in processing data provided by third countries or international organisations to Europol on persons involved in terrorism or in serious crime and propose the possible entry by the Member States, at their discretion and subject to their verification and analysis of those data, of information alerts on third-country nationals in the interest of the Union (‘information alerts’) in the Schengen Information System (SIS), in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2018/1862 of the European Parliament and the Council ();

(u) support the implementation of the evaluation and monitoring mechanism to verify the application of the Schengen acquis under Regulation (EU) No 1053/2013, within the scope of Europol’s objectives, through the provision of expertise and analyses, where relevant;

(v) proactively monitor research and innovation activities that are relevant for the achievement of Europol’s objectives and contribute to such activities by supporting related activities of Member States and by implementing its own research and innovation activities, including projects for the development, training, testing and validation of algorithms for the development of specific tools for the use by law enforcement authorities, and disseminate the results of the activities to the Member States in accordance with Article 67;

(w) contribute to creating synergies between the research and innovation activities of Union bodies that are relevant for the achievement of Europol’s objectives, including through the EU Innovation Hub for Internal Security, and in close cooperation with Member States;

(x) support, upon their request, Member States’ actions in addressing online crisis situations, in particular by providing private parties with the information necessary to identify relevant online content;

(y) support Member States’ actions in addressing the online dissemination of online child sexual abuse material;

(z) cooperate, in accordance with Article 12 of Directive (EU) 2019/1153 of the European Parliament and of the Council (), with Financial Intelligence Units (FIUs) established pursuant to Directive (EU) 2015/849 of the European Parliament and of the Council (), through the relevant Europol national unit or, if allowed by the relevant Member State, by direct contact with the FIUs, in particular through the exchange of information and the provision of analyses to Member States to support cross-border investigations into the money laundering activities of transnational criminal organisations and terrorist financing.

In order for a Member State to inform, within a period of 12 months after Europol has proposed the possible entry of an information alert referred to in the first subparagraph, point (t), other Member States and Europol on the outcome of the verification and analysis of the data and on whether an alert has been entered in SIS, a periodic reporting mechanism shall be put in place. Member States shall inform Europol of any information alerts entered in SIS and of any hit on such information alerts, and may inform, through Europol, the third country or international organisation that provided the data leading to the entry of the information alert on hits on such information alert, in accordance with the procedure set out in Regulation (EU) 2018/1862.

2. Europol shall provide strategic analyses and threat assessments to assist the Council and the Commission in laying down strategic and operational priorities of the Union for fighting crime. Europol shall also assist in the operational implementation of those priorities, in particular in the European Multidisciplinary Platform Against Criminal Threats (EMPACT), including by facilitating and providing administrative, logistical, financial and operational support to operational and strategic activities led by Member States. ◄ 3. Europol shall provide strategic analyses and threat assessments to assist the efficient and effective use of the resources available at national and Union level for operational activities and the support of those activities. Europol shall also provide threat assessment analyses based on the information it holds on criminal phenomena and trends to support the Commission and the Member States in carrying out risk assessments. ◄

4. Europol shall act as the Central Office for combating euro counterfeiting in accordance with Council Decision 2005/511/JHA (). Europol shall also encourage the coordination of measures carried out to fight euro counterfeiting by the competent authorities of the Member States or in the context of joint investigation teams, where appropriate in liaison with Union bodies and the authorities of third countries.

4a. Europol shall assist the Member States and the Commission in identifying key research themes. Europol shall assist the Commission in drawing up and implementing the Union framework programmes for research and innovation activities that are relevant to achieve Europol’s objectives. Where appropriate, Europol may disseminate the results of its research and innovation activities as part of its contribution to creating synergies between the research and innovation activities of relevant Union bodies in accordance with paragraph 1, first subparagraph, point (w).

Europol shall take all necessary measures to avoid conflicts of interest. Europol shall not receive funding from a given Union framework programme where it assists the Commission in identifying key research themes and in drawing up and implementing that programme. When designing and conceptualising research and innovation activities regarding matters covered by this Regulation, Europol may, where appropriate, consult the Joint Research Centre of the Commission.

4b. Europol shall support the Member States in the screening, as regards the expected implications for security, of specific cases of foreign direct investments into the Union under Regulation (EU) 2019/452 of the European Parliament and of the Council () that concern undertakings that provide technologies, including software, used by Europol for the prevention and investigation of crimes that fall within Europol’s objectives.

5. Europol shall not apply coercive measures in carrying out its tasks.

Europol staff may provide operational support to the competent authorities of the Member States during the execution of investigative measures, at their request and in accordance with their national law, in particular by facilitating cross-border information exchange, by providing forensic and technical support and by being present during the execution of those measures. Europol staff shall not, themselves, have the power to execute investigative measures.

5a. Europol shall respect the fundamental rights and freedoms enshrined in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (‘the Charter’), in the performance of its tasks.