(1)

It is for the Contracting Parties meeting within the Council to adopt rules implementing Article 6a of the Europol Convention.

(2)

The Contracting Parties by adopting this Decision, respect their obligation under the Convention on the Protection of Individuals with regard to Automatic Processing of Personal Data, adopted by the Council of Europe on 28 January 1981.

(3)

The Contracting Parties equally take account of Recommendation No R(87)15 of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe of 17 September 1987 regulating the use of personal data in the police sector,

(a)

‘personal data’ means any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person: an identifiable person is one who can be identified, directly or indirectly, in particular by reference to an identification number or to one or more factors specific to his physical, physiological, mental, economic, cultural or social identity;

(b)

‘processing of personal data’ (‘processing’) means any operation or set of operations which is performed upon personal data, whether or not by automatic means, such as collection, recording, organisation, storage, adaptation or alteration, retrieval, consultation, use, disclosure by transmission, dissemination or otherwise making available, alignment or combination, blocking, erasure or destruction;

(c)

‘computerised system of collected information’ means the system referred to in Article 6(1) of the Europol Convention;

(d)

‘information system’ means the system referred to in Article 7(1) of the Europol Convention;

(e)

‘analysis work file’ means a file opened for the purpose of analysis as referred to in Article 10(1) of the Europol Convention;

(f)

‘Member State’ means a Contracting Party to the Europol Convention;

(g)

‘third party’ means a third State or body as referred to in Article 10(4) of the Europol Convention;

(h)

‘duly authorised Europol official’ means a Europol employee designated by the Europol Directorate to process personal data stored in accordance with this Decision.

(a)

personal data entered into the information system pursuant to Article 9(1) of the Europol Convention;

(b)

personal data offered by a Member State or by a third party for inclusion in a specific analysis work file as well as personal data entered into an analysis work file pursuant to Article 10 of the Europol Convention.