TEXT PROPOSED BY THE REPUBLIC OF AUSTRIA

AMENDMENTS BY PARLIAMENT

(4) No single Member State has all the means, resources and expertise at its disposal to deal effectively with all possible kinds of large scale crisis situations requiring special intervention. It is therefore of crucial importance that each Member State be able to request the assistance of another Member State.

(4) No single Member State has all the means, resources and expertise at its disposal to deal effectively with all possible kinds of specific or large scale crisis situations requiring special intervention. It is therefore of crucial importance that each Member State be able to request the assistance of another Member State.

(5) This Decision sets out some general rules on liability, including rules on criminal liability, in order to provide a legal framework for circumstances in which Member States concerned agree to request and provide assistance. The availability of this legal framework and of a declaration indicating the competent authorities will allow the Member States to react speedily and gain time in the event a crisis situation arises,

(5) Council Decision 2007/ …/JHA on the stepping up of cross-border cooperation, particularly in combating terrorism and cross-border crime (‘the Prüm Decision’), and in particular Article 18 thereof, regulates forms of police assistance between Member States in connection with mass gatherings and similar major events, disasters and serious accidents. This Decision does not cover mass gatherings, natural disasters or serious accidents within the meaning of Article 18 of the Prüm Decision, but complements those provisions of the Prüm Decision which provide for forms of police assistance between Member States provided through special intervention units in other situations, namely in crisis situations caused by human factors or terrorist situations presenting a serious direct physical threat to persons, property, infrastructure or institutions, in particular hostage taking, hijacking and similar events. With this in view, each Member State should indicate the competent national authorities from which the other Member States concerned may request assistance or intervention.

(5a) The availability of this legal framework and of a compendium indicating the competent authorities will allow the Member States to react speedily and gain time in the event that such a crisis or terrorist situation arises. Moreover, with a view to enhancing the ability of Member States to prevent and respond to such situations, and in particular terrorist incidents, it is essential for the special intervention units to meet regularly and organise joint training sessions, so as to benefit from each other's experiences.

This Decision lays down general rules and conditions to allow for special intervention units of one Member State to provide assistance and/or operate on the territory of another Member State (hereinafter referred to as the ‘requesting Member State’) in cases where they have been invited by the latter Member State and have agreed to do so in order to deal with a crisis situation.

This Decision lays down general rules and conditions to allow for special intervention units of one Member State (hereinafter referred to as the ‘addressee Member State’) to provide assistance and/or operate on the territory of another Member State (hereinafter referred to as the ‘requesting Member State’) in cases where they have been invited by the latter Member State and have agreed to do so in order to deal with a crisis situation. The practical details and arrangements for implementing this Decision shall be agreed directly between the requesting Member State and the addressee Member State.

(2) ‘crisis situation’ shall mean any man-made situation in a Member State presenting a serious direct physical threat to persons or institutions in that Member State, in particular hostage-taking, hijacking and similar incidents.

(2) ‘crisis situation’ shall mean any man-made situation in a Member State giving rise to reasonable grounds for believing that a criminal act has been, is being or will be committed, which presents a serious direct physical threat to persons, property, infrastructure or institutions in that Member State, in particular the situations referred to in Article 1(1) of Council Framework Decision 2002/475/JHA of 13 June 2002 on combating terrorism (1).

(2a) ‘competent authority’ shall mean the national authority which may make requests and give authorisations regarding the deployment of the special intervention units.

General rules on liability

Civil and criminal liability

1. Where , in accordance with this Decision, officers of a Member State operate in the territory of another Member State , the latter Member State shall be liable for any damage caused by them during their operations.

Where officers of a Member State operate within the territory of another Member State and/or equipment is used under this Decision, the provisions on civil and criminal liability set out in Articles 21 and 22 of the Prüm Decision shall apply.

2. By way of derogation from paragraph 1, where the damage results from actions that were contrary to directions given by the requesting Member State or were beyond the limits of the of the relevant officers' powers under their national law, the following rules shall apply:

(a) a Member State in whose territory the damage was caused shall make good such damage under the conditions applicable to damage caused by its own officers;

(b) a Member State whose officers have caused damage to any person in the territory of another Member State shall reimburse the latter in full any sums it has paid to the victims or persons entitled on their behalf;

(c) without prejudice to the exercise of its rights vis-à-vis third parties and with the exception of point (b), each Member State shall refrain in the circumstances provided for in this paragraph from requesting reimbursement of damages it has sustained from another Member State.

Article 5

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Criminal liability

During the operations referred to in Article 3, officers operating in the territory of another Member State shall be regarded as officers of that Member State with respect to offences committed against them or by them.

Member States shall ensure that their relevant authorities hold meetings and organise joint training and exercises, whenever necessary, with a view to exchanging experience, expertise and general, practical and technical information about providing assistance in crisis situations.

All participating Member States shall ensure that their special intervention units hold meetings and regularly organise joint training courses and exercises, with a view to exchanging experience, expertise and general, practical and technical information about providing assistance in crisis situations. Such meetings, training courses and exercises may be funded under certain financial programmes of the Union and obtain grants financed from the general budget of the European Union. In this context, the Member State holding the Presidency of the EU shall endeavour to ensure that such meetings, training courses and exercises take place.

Each Member State shall bear its own costs, unless otherwise agreed between the Member States concerned.

The requesting Member State shall bear the operational costs incurred by the addressee Member State's special intervention units in connection with the application of Article 3, including transport and accommodation costs, unless otherwise agreed between the Member States concerned.

4a. Nothing in this Decision shall be construed as permitting the application of these rules governing cooperation among the law enforcement agencies of the Member States to relations with the relevant agencies of third countries in circumvention of the existing rules of national legal systems applicable to international police cooperation.