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COUNCIL OF

THE EUROPEAN UNION

Brussels, 6 October 2008 (08.10)

(OR. fr)





13800/08

LIMITE





JAI 498

CATS 76



NOTE

from:	Presidency

to:	COREPER/COUNCIL

No. prev. doc:	13459/1/08 JAI 476 CATS 70

Subject:	Draft Council conclusions on the principle of convergence and
the structuring of internal security



Delegations will find attached draft Council conclusions on the
principle of convergence and the structuring of internal security,
including the amendments discussed at the meeting of the Article 36
Committee on 2 October 2008. 



1.	Following the discussions which took place at the informal meeting in
Cannes on 7 July 2008, during which the "principle of convergence" was
presented, conclusions seeking to define and give substance to that
principle are submitted to the Council. They are illustrated with a
number of high-visibility concrete and operational projects.

2.	The EU's response to threats may make progress if we work better
together on real specific operational projects. This pragmatic approach
is, potentially, a fruitful one.

	While the institutional problems are genuine and must of course be
resolved, it is nonetheless possible to move ahead by means of an
operational approximation of law enforcement authorities and convergence
of their actions.

3.	These conclusions should constitute guiding principles for the
post-Hague programme, which would thus focus on operational cooperation
to be developed further.

4.	The conclusions are divided into two parts.

5.	The first part seeks to set out some key points, such as:

closer cooperation among personnel,

approximation of equipment and practice, 

approximation through joint action,

approximation of legal frameworks.

6.	The second part seeks to set out how the dynamic might be expressed
at European level, i.e. how to make it sustainable by improving the
common framework for analysis and action which we already have (December
2006 conclusions relating to the internal security mechanism).

It is proposed that

-	the threat assessment mechanism and the capacity to establish
strategic and operational priorities should be improved;



-	the "implementation" aspect should be more specific, grounding EU
action on a project-based approach, with projects which may cover all
Member States or particular geographical regions depending on the
interests of the Member States concerned;

-	the emphasis should be on exchanges of information and personal data
protection, and also on the external dimension of JHA, which are all
closely linked to operational activity.

7.	These conclusions do not seek to enhance institutional coordination
mechanisms: to a large extent these will depend on the forthcoming
reforms.

8.	Coreper/Council is invited to approve the conclusions in the Annex. 

ANNEX

Draft

COUNCIL CONCLUSIONS

ON THE PRINCIPLE OF CONVERGENCE

AND THE STRUCTURING OF INTERNAL SECURITY

Recalling the Council agreement of 1 and 2 June 2006 outlining a process
for the establishment of a reference framework for the internal security
of the European Union, approved by the Council at its meeting on 1 and 2
June 2006,

Considering the avenues for future work and the guidelines identified by
the Ministers for Home Affairs of the European Union at their informal
meeting on 7 July 2008 in Cannes,

Taking account of the report by the High-Level Advisory Group on the
Future of European Home Affairs Policy,

Taking account of the strategy for the external dimension of the area of
freedom, security and justice, approved by the Council at its meeting on
1 and 2 December 2005,

In view of the substantial progress achieved in the area of justice and
home affairs in connection with the implementation of the Tampere and
Hague programmes,

Given the need to strengthen the action of the European Union, by giving
it a real operational aspect, to guarantee a high level of security for
European citizens within the common area of freedom, security and
justice,

In view also of European citizens' desire to see the added value of
action undertaken at the European level,

Considering that regular evaluation would contribute to enhancing the
effectiveness and coherence of actions undertaken in the area of the
internal security of the European Union,

The Council of the European Union:

Supports the consolidation and reinforcement of the European Union's
work in protecting the safety and security of its citizens, within the
framework of a process of convergence consisting in promoting closer
operational cooperation among the law enforcement authorities of the
Member States,

Considers that this convergence may, in addition to the principles of
mutual recognition and availability of information, constitute a guiding
principle for the continued construction of the common European area of
security and for improved operational cooperation between law
enforcement agencies,

Invites the Member States to develop approaches that facilitate
operational cooperation among their law enforcement authorities, where
such cooperation will deliver practical benefit to the partners, while
taking account of the legal, operational and other constraints in place
in the Member States, in terms of:

closer cooperation among personnel, promoted by

developing joint training programmes for the personnel of the law
enforcement authorities of the Member States, taking advantage in
particular of the potential offered by the European Police College,

establishing temporary exchanges of personnel among the law enforcement
authorities of the Member States, in particular within the framework of
European police stations,

creating and developing networks of senior police officers drawn from
the law enforcement authorities of the Member States, or of senior
personnel in the judicial field,

promoting the learning of European Union languages in the law
enforcement authorities of the Member States,

approximation of equipment and practice, promoted by

reinforcing the interoperability of equipment, maximising opportunities
to pool equipment, and developing standard approaches for its use at the
level of the European Union, in border areas in particular,

producing manuals and guides to best practice, where they will provide
added value, that can be made available to all Member States,



strengthening links with the security technology research sector,

-	approximation through joint actions, promoted by

developing shared platforms and databases, where these represent added
value for Member States,

organising joint operations which enable operational cooperation between
the Member States to be strengthened, including joint investigation
teams;

jointly preparing and organising joint exercises;

approximation of legal frameworks, promoted by 

establishing common legislative instruments, where these represent added
value for citizens;

establishing common definitions, in particular where the fight against
organised crime is concerned,

progressively simplifying procedures for exchange and cooperation
between Member States in the context of cross-border criminal
investigations within the European Union,

Wishes, in addition to these initiatives, to strengthen the coherence of
existing and future arrangements in the area of security and promote a
clear understanding by European citizens of the policies conducted by
the European Union,

on the basis of the common framework for analysis and action, in order
to:

assess the threat facing European citizens,

identify the European Union's priorities for responding to this threat,

define a working method for implementing those priorities, and

carry out regular evaluations of action taken,

-	by improving the threat assessment mechanism and particularly OCTA,
but also by including contributions from the judicial authorities and
assistance from agencies; 

	by defining strategic and operational objectives more clearly, and
having them approved at political level,

by developing a project-based approach for achieving the strategic and
operational objectives set within the above framework,

by accepting that some of the projects may be conducted at regional
level, by the Member States most concerned,



by establishing precise rules for evaluating the actions undertaken,

by continuing to improve the exchange of information within the European
Union, in particular by implementing the provisions of the Council
Framework Decision of 18 December 2006 on simplifying the exchange of
information and intelligence between law enforcement authorities of the
Member States of the European Union and the Council Decision of 23 June
2008 on the stepping up of cross-border cooperation, particularly in
combating terrorism and cross-border crime,

by ensuring a high level of protection of personal data in the European
Union,

by taking the external dimension of internal security into account in
all actions undertaken by the European Union, 

by establishing the resources and structures needed to coordinate action
by the various European Union actors in the area of security, in
particular the agencies of the Union, and by making the fullest possible
use of their resources for priority actions,

by improving the definition of the architecture of internal security,
particularly through taking the judicial aspect into account;

by making greater use of the Council's working structures in pursuing
those objectives and by continuing the process of reflection on their
modus operandi, their mandates and the relationships between them.

________________________

	9596/06 JAI 271 CATS 104.

	11657/08 JAI 373 and 11960/08 JAI 388

	15446/05 JAI 488 RELEX 741.

 

 

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