4.12.2009

Official Journal of the European Union

CE 295/149

Tuesday 2 September 2008
Strengthening of Eurojust and amendment of Decision 2002/187/JHA *

P6_TA(2008)0384

European Parliament legislative resolution of 2 September 2008 on the initiative of the Kingdom of Belgium, the Czech Republic, the Republic of Estonia, the Kingdom of Spain, the French Republic, the Italian Republic, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the Republic of Austria, the Republic of Poland, the Portuguese Republic, the Republic of Slovenia, the Slovak Republic and the Kingdom of Sweden with a view to adopting a Council Decision on the strengthening of Eurojust and amending Decision 2002/187/JHA (5613/2008 — C6-0076/2008 — 2008/0804(CNS))

2009/C 295 E/39

(Consultation procedure)

The European Parliament,

having regard to the initiative of the Kingdom of Belgium, the Czech Republic, the Republic of Estonia, the Kingdom of Spain, the French Republic, the Italian Republic, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the Republic of Austria, the Republic of Poland, the Portuguese Republic, the Republic of Slovenia, the Slovak Republic and the Kingdom of Sweden (5613/2008),

having regard to Article 34(2)(b) of the EU Treaty,

having regard to Article 39(1) of the EU Treaty, pursuant to which the Council consulted Parliament (C6-0076/2008),

having regard to Rules 93 and 51 of its Rules of Procedure,

having regard to the report of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (A6-0293/2008),

Approves the initiative of the Kingdom of Belgium, the Czech Republic, the Republic of Estonia, the Kingdom of Spain, the French Republic, the Italian Republic, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the Republic of Austria, the Republic of Poland, the Portuguese Republic, the Republic of Slovenia, the Slovak Republic and the Kingdom of Sweden as amended;

2.	Calls on the Council to amend the text accordingly;

3.	Calls on the Council to notify Parliament if it intends to depart from the text approved by Parliament;

Calls on the Council to consult Parliament again if it intends to amend the initiative of the Kingdom of Belgium, the Czech Republic, the Republic of Estonia, the Kingdom of Spain, the French Republic, the Italian Republic, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the Republic of Austria, the Republic of Poland, the Portuguese Republic, the Republic of Slovenia, the Slovak Republic and the Kingdom of Sweden substantially;

Calls on the Council and the Commission, following the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon, to give priority to any future proposal to amend the Decision in accordance with Declaration No 50 concerning Article 10 of the Protocol on transitional provisions to be annexed to the Treaty on European Union, to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and to the Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community;

6.	Is determined to examine any such future proposal by the urgent procedure in accordance with the procedure referred to in paragraph 5 and in close cooperation with national parliaments;

Instructs its President to forward its position to the Council and Commission, and the governments of the Kingdom of Belgium, the Czech Republic, the Republic of Estonia, the Kingdom of Spain, the French Republic, the Italian Republic, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the Republic of Austria, the Republic of Poland, the Portuguese Republic, the Republic of Slovenia, the Slovak Republic and the Kingdom of Sweden.

TEXT PROPOSED BY 14 MEMBER STATES

AMENDMENTS

Amendment 1

Initiative of the Kingdom of Belgium, the Czech Republic, the Republic of Estonia, the Kingdom of Spain, the French Republic, the Italian Republic, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the Republic of Austria, the Republic of Poland, the Portuguese Republic, the Republic of Slovenia, the Slovak Republic and the Kingdom of Sweden — amending act

Recital 5a (new)

(5a)	In the light of Article 86 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, it is necessary to draw up a Green Paper on the establishment of a European Public Prosecutor's Office.

Amendment 2

Recital 5b (new)

(5b)	The rights of defendants and victims need to be taken into account in determining which Member State is best placed to prosecute or take other law enforcement action.

Amendment 3

Recital 8a (new)

(8a)

Adequate procedural safeguards, including during the investigations, are a necessary precondition for the mutual recognition of judicial decisions in criminal matters. In particular, a framework decision on procedural rights should be adopted as soon as possible in order to lay down certain minimum rules on the availability of legal assistance to individuals in the Member States.

Amendment 4

Recital 8b (new)

(8b)

It is also necessary for the Council to adopt as soon as possible a framework decision on the protection of personal data processed in the framework of police and judicial cooperation in criminal matters, providing for an adequate level of data protection. Member States should ensure a level of protection of personal data in their national law at least equal to that provided under the Council of Europe Convention for the Protection of Individuals with regard to Automatic Processing of Personal Data of 28 January 1981 and its Additional Protocol of 8 November 2001 and, in so doing, should take account of Recommendation No R (87) 15 of 17 September 1987 of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe to the Member States regulating the use of personal data in the police sector, as well as ensure the protection of data which are not processed automatically.

Amendment 5

Recital 8c (new)

(8c)

It is important to ensure appropriate protection of personal data for all types of personal data filing systems used by Eurojust. In this respect, the Rules of Procedure on the processing and protection of personal data at Eurojust (1) should also apply to structured manual files, that is to say, to case-related files that are compiled manually by national members or assistants and are organised in a logical way.

Amendment 6

Recital 8d (new)

(8d)	When processing e-mail traffic- related data in accordance with Article 14(1), Eurojust should ensure that the content and titles of e-mails are not disclosed.

Amendment 7

Recital 8e (new)

(8e)	Persons who have been the subject of a criminal investigation based on a Eurojust request but have not been prosecuted should be informed of that investigation no later than one year after the decision not to prosecute was taken.

Amendment 8

Recital 8f (new)

(8f)	The Member States shall provide a judicial remedy where an investigation was carried out at the request of Eurojust on the basis of manifestly insufficient grounds.

Amendment 9

Article 1 — point 3

Decision 2002/187/JHA

Article 5a — paragraph 1

1. In order to fulfil its tasks on an emergency basis, Eurojust shall set up an ‘Emergency Coordination Cell’ (ECC).

1. In order to fulfil its tasks on an emergency basis, Eurojust shall set up an ‘Emergency Coordination Cell’ (ECC) , which shall be contactable via a single contact point .

Amendment 10

Article 1 — point 3

Decision 2002/187/JHA

Article 5a — paragraph 2

2. The ECC shall be composed of one representative per Member State, who may be either the national member, his or her deputy, or an assistant entitled to replace the national member. The ECC shall be contactable and able to act on an around the clock basis.

2. The ECC shall be composed of one representative per Member State, who may be either the national member, his or her deputy, or an assistant entitled to replace the national member. The representative shall be able to act on a 24 hour/7 day basis.

Amendment 11

Article 1 — point 3

Decision 2002/187/JHA

Article 5a — paragraph 3

3. When in urgent cases a request for judicial cooperation needs to be executed in several Member States, the competent authority may forward it to the ECC through the representative of its Member State in the ECC. The representative of the Member State concerned in the ECC shall transmit the request to the competent authorities of the relevant Member States for execution. Where no competent national authority has been identified or it is not possible to identify it in a timely manner, the member of the ECC shall have the power to execute the request himself.

3. When in urgent cases a request for judicial cooperation needs to be executed in several Member States, the competent authority may forward it to the ECC through the representative of its Member State in the ECC. The representative of the Member State concerned in the ECC shall transmit the request to the competent authorities of the relevant Member States for execution. Where is not possible to identify a competent national authority in a timely manner, the member of the ECC shall have the power to execute the request himself. In such a case, the ECC member concerned shall inform the College in writing without delay of the steps taken and the reasons for the failure to identify a competent national authority in a timely manner.

Amendment 12

Article 1 — point 4

Decision 2002/187/JHA

Article 6 — paragraph 1 — point a — subpoint vi

(vi)	take special investigative measures;

deleted

Amendment 13

Article 1 — point 4

Decision 2002/187/JHA

Article 6 — paragraph 1 — point a — subpoint vii

(vii)

take any other measure justified for the investigation or prosecution;

deleted

Amendment 14

Article 1 — point 6

Decision 2002/187/JHA

Article 8

If the competent authorities of the Member States concerned decide not to comply with a request referred to in Articles 6(1)(a), 6(1)(g), 7(1)(a), 7(2) and 7(3), they shall inform Eurojust of their decision and of the reasons for it.

1. If the competent authorities of the Member States concerned decide not to comply with a request referred to in Articles 6(1)(a), 6(1)(g), 7(1)(a), 7(2) and 7(3), they shall inform Eurojust of their decision and of the reasons for it.

2. The Member States shall ensure that a decision of the national competent authority may be judicially reviewed before it is communicated to Eurojust.

Amendment 15

Article 1 — point 7 — subpoint c

Decision 2002/187/JHA

Article 9 — paragraph 4

4. In order to meet Eurojust's objectives, the national member shall have full access to:

4. In order to meet Eurojust's objectives, the national member shall have full access to or at least be able to obtain

(a)	the information contained in the following registers:

the information contained in the following types of national registers when they exist in his or her Member State :

(i)	national criminal records;

(i)	criminal records;

(ii)	registers of arrested persons;

(ii)	registers of arrested persons;

(iii)

investigation registers;

(iii)

investigation registers;

(iv)	DNA registers;

(iv)	DNA registers;

(b)	registers , other than those in (a), of his Member State containing information that is necessary for him to be able to fulfil his tasks

(v)	other registers of his or her Member State containing information that is necessary for him or her to be able to fulfil his or her tasks.

Amendment 16

Article 1 — point 8

Decision 2002/187/JHA

Article 9a — paragraph 3

3. National members may, in urgent cases and where no competent national authority has been identified or it is not possible to identify it in a timely manner, be able to authorise and coordinate controlled deliveries.

3. National members may, in urgent cases and where it is not possible to identify a competent national authority in a timely manner, be able to authorise and coordinate controlled deliveries. In such a case the national member concerned shall inform the College in writing without delay of the steps taken and the reasons for the failure to identify the competent national authority in a timely manner.

Amendment 17

Article 1 — point 11 — subpoint –a (new)

Decision 2002/187/JHA

Article 13, paragraph 1

(–a)	paragraph 1 shall be replaced by the following: 1. The competent authorities of the Member States may exchange with Eurojust any information necessary for the performance of its tasks in compliance with Articles 4 and 5 in accordance with the rules on data protection set out in this Decision.

Amendment 18

Article 1 — point 11 — subpoint b

Decision 2002/187/JHA

Article 13, paragraph 5

5. Member States shall ensure that their national member is informed in a timely manner, at an early stage, and as soon as the information is available of all criminal investigations concerning three or more States, two or more of which are Member States , that fall within the remit of Eurojust and insofar as necessary for the performance of Eurojust's functions, in particular where parallel letters rogatory are needed in several States or where there is a need for coordination by Eurojust or in cases of positive or negative conflicts of jurisdiction. The Member States shall ensure that the obligation to report is supervised at national level.

5. Member States shall ensure that their national member is informed in a timely manner, at an early stage, and as soon as the information is available of any case directly concerning three or more Member States and for which requests for or decisions on judicial cooperation, including those regarding instruments giving effect to the principle of mutual recognition, have been transmitted to at least two Member States.

Amendment 19

Article 1 — point 11 — subpoint b

Decision 2002/187/JHA

Article 13, paragraph 6

6. As a first step, Member States shall implement paragraph 5 with regard to cases relating to the following offences:

(a)	trafficking in drugs;

(a)	trafficking in drugs;

(aa)	sexual exploitation of children and child pornography;

(b)	trafficking in human beings and arms;

(b)	trafficking in human beings and arms;

(c)	trafficking in nuclear waste;

(c)	trafficking in nuclear waste;

(d)	trafficking in works of art;

(d)	trafficking in works of art;

(e)	trading in endangered species;

(e)	trading in endangered species;

(f)	trading in human organs;

(f)	trading in human organs;

(g)	money laundering;

(g)	money laundering;

(h)	fraud, including fraud against the Community's financial interests;

(h)	fraud, including fraud against the Community's financial interests;

(i)	counterfeiting, including of the euro;

(i)	counterfeiting, including of the euro;

(j)	terrorism, including financing of terrorism;

(j)	terrorism, including financing of terrorism;

(k)	environmental crime;

(k)	environmental crime;

(l)	other forms of organised crime .

(l)	other forms of offences where there are factual indications that a criminal organisation or serious crimes are involved .

Amendment 20

Article 1 — point 11 — subpoint b

Decision 2002/187/JHA

Article 13, paragraph 8

8. Member States shall ensure that their national member is also informed of:

(a)	all requests for judicial cooperation regarding instruments adopted under Title VI of the Treaty, including instruments giving effect to the principle of mutual recognition, sent by their competent authorities in cases involving at least three States, two or more of which are Member States;

(a)	cases where conflicts of jurisdiction have arisen or are likely to arise;

(b)	all controlled deliveries and undercover investigations affecting at least three States, at least two of which are Member States;

(b)	all controlled deliveries and undercover investigations affecting at least three States, at least two of which are Member States;

(c)	all refusals of requests for judicial cooperation regarding instruments adopted under Title VI of the Treaty, including instruments giving effect to the principle of mutual recognition;

(c)	repeated difficulties or refusals regarding the execution of requests for, and decisions on , judicial cooperation, including instruments giving effect to the principle of mutual recognition;

(d)	all requests for mutual legal assistance emanating from a non-Member State where it appears that these requests are part of an investigation involving other requests sent by that non-Member State to, at least, two other Member States.

Amendment 21

Article 1 — point 11 — subpoint b

Decision 2002/187/JHA

Article 13, paragraph 9

9. In addition, competent authorities shall provide the latter with any other information which the latter deems necessary to fulfil its tasks.

deleted

Amendment 22

Article 1 — point 11 — subpoint b

Decision 2002/187/JHA

Article 13, paragraph 10a (new)

10a. By … (2), the Commission shall establish, on the basis of information transmitted by Eurojust, a report on the implementation of this Article, accompanied where appropriate by any proposals, including proposals considering the addition of offences other than those referred to in paragraph 6.

Amendment 23

Article 1 — point 13

Decision 2002/187/JHA

Article 14, paragraph 4 and Article 16, paragraph 1

(13)	in Articles 14(4) and 16(1), the words ‘an index of’ shall be replaced by ‘a Case Management System containing’

deleted

Amendment 24

Article 1 — point 14

Decision 2002/187/JHA

Article 15, paragraph 4 and Article 16, paragraphs 1 and 2

(14)	in Articles 15(4), 16(1) and 16(2), the word ‘index’ shall be replaced by ‘Case Management System’ and the words ‘an index’ in Article 16(1) by ‘a Case Management System’;

deleted

Amendment 25

Article 1 — point 15 — subpoint a — subpoint i

Decision 2002/187/JHA

Article 15 — paragraph 1 — introductory part

1. When processing data in accordance with Article 14(1), Eurojust may process personal data on persons who, under the national legislation of the Member States concerned, are the subject of a criminal investigation or prosecution for one or more of the types of crime and the offences defined in Article 4 , such as :

1. When processing data in accordance with Article 14(1), Eurojust may process only the following personal data on persons who, under the national legislation of the Member States concerned, are the subject of a criminal investigation or prosecution for one or more of the types of crime and the offences defined in Article 4:

Amendment 26

Article 1 — point 15 — subpoint a — subpoint ii

Decision 2002/187/JHA

Article 15 — paragraph 1 — point l

(l)	telephone numbers, vehicle registration data, e-mail accounts, phone and e-mail traffic related data, DNA records and photographs.

(l)	DNA identification patterns, i.e. a letter or a number code which represents a set of identification characteristics of the non-coding part of an analysed human DNA sample, i.e. the particular chemical form of the various DNA locations (loci);

(la)	photographs;

(lb)	telephone numbers;

(lc)	telephone and e-mail traffic-related data excluding the transmission of content data;

(ld)	e-mail accounts;

(le)	vehicle registration data.

Amendment 27

Article 1 — point 15 — subpoint b

Decision 2002/187/JHA

Article 15 — paragraph 2

(b)	in paragraph 2, the word ‘only’ shall be deleted;

deleted

Amendment 28

Article 1 — point 17a (new)

Decision 2002/187/JHA

Article 23 — paragraph 12

(17a)

Article 23(12) shall be replaced by the following:

12. The Joint Supervisory Body shall submit an annual report to the European Parliament and the Council.

Amendment 29

Article 1 — point 18 — subpoint a

Decision 2002/187/JHA

Article 26 — paragraph 1a

1a. Member States shall ensure that the College may actually be able to open a Europol Analytical Work File and that it may participate in its functioning.

1a. Member States shall ensure that the College may actually be able to open a Europol Analytical Work File , as referred to in Article 10 of the Convention based on Article K.3 of the Treaty on European Union on the establishment of a European Police Office (Europol Convention) (3) and that it may participate in its functioning.

Amendment 30

Article 1 — point 18 — subpoint b

Decision 2002/187/JHA

Article 26 — paragraph 2 — point b

(b)

without prejudice to Article 13 of this Decision and in accordance with Article 4(4) of Decision …/…/JHA, the contact points of the European Judicial Network shall, on a case-by-case basis, inform Eurojust on cases involving two Member States and entering the field of competence of Eurojust:

—	in cases where conflicts of jurisdiction are likely to arise, or

—	in cases of a refusal of a request for judicial cooperation regarding instruments adopted under Title VI of the Treaty, including instruments giving effect to the principle of mutual recognition.

The contact points of the European Judicial Network shall, also on a case-by-case basis, inform Eurojust on all cases entering the field of competence of Eurojust and involving at least three Member States.

(b)

without prejudice to Article 13 of this Decision and in accordance with Article 4 of Decision …/…/JHA, the contact points of the European Judicial Network shall, on a case-by-case basis, inform their national member of Eurojust of all other cases with which Eurojust is deemed to be in a better position to deal.

National members shall, on a case-by-case basis, inform European Judicial Network contact points on all cases with which the network is deemed to be in a better position to deal;

National members shall, on a case-by-case basis, inform their respective national correspondents of the European Judicial Network of all cases with which the Network is deemed to be in a better position to deal.

Amendment 31

Article 1 — point 19a (new)

Decision 2002/187/JHA

Article 27 — paragraph 4

(19a)

Article 27(4) shall be replaced by the following:

4. Without prejudice to paragraph 3, the transmission of personal data by Eurojust to the entities referred to in paragraph 1(b) and to the authorities referred to in paragraph 1(c) of third States which are not subject to the Council of Europe Convention of 28 January 1981 may be effected only when an adequate level of data protection is ensured , which shall be assessed in accordance with Article 28(3) of the Rules of Procedure on the processing and protection of personal data at Eurojust.

Amendment 32

Article 1 — point 19b (new)

Decision 2002/187/JHA

Article 27 — paragraph 5a (new)

(19b)

in Article 27 the following paragraph shall be inserted after paragraph 5:

5a. Once every two years the Joint Supervisory Body, together with the respective third State or entity referred to in paragraph 1(b) and (c), shall evaluate the implementation of the provisions of the relevant cooperation agreement relating to the protection of the data exchanged. The report on this evaluation shall be sent to the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission.

Amendment 33

Article 1 — point 22 — indent 1a (new)

Decision 2002/187/JHA

Article 32 — paragraph 1 — subparagraph 1

—	the first subparagraph of paragraph 1 shall be replaced by the following: 1. The President, on behalf of the College, shall report every year to the European Parliament and the Council in writing […] on the activities and management, including budgetary management, of Eurojust.

Amendment 34

Article 1 — point 22 — indent 1b (new)

Decision 2002/187/JHA

Article 32 — paragraph 1 — subparagraph 2

—

the second subparagraph of paragraph 1 shall be replaced by the following:

To that end, the College shall prepare an annual report on the activities of Eurojust and on any criminal policy problems within the Union highlighted as a result of Eurojust's activities. In that report, Eurojust shall also include analyses of situations when national members have exercised their powers as referred to in Article 5a(3) and in Article 9a(3). The report may also make proposals for the improvement of judicial cooperation in criminal matters.

Amendment 35

Article 1 — point 22 — indent 1c (new)

Decision 2002/187/JHA

Article 32 — paragraph 2

—	paragraph 2 shall be replaced by the following: 2. Each year the representative of the Joint Supervisory Body shall report to the European Parliament on its activities […].

Amendment 36

Article 1 — point 26

Decision 2002/187/JHA

Article 42 — paragraph 2

2. The Commission shall at regular intervals examine the implementation by the Member States of this Decision and shall submit a report thereon to the Council together with, if appropriate, necessary proposals to improve judicial cooperation and the functioning of Eurojust. This shall in particular apply to Eurojust's capacities to support Member States in fighting terrorism

2. The Commission shall at regular intervals examine the implementation by the Member States of this Decision and shall submit a report thereon to the European Parliament and the Council together with, if appropriate, necessary proposals to improve judicial cooperation and the functioning of Eurojust. This shall in particular apply to Eurojust's capacities to support Member States in fighting terrorism

(1) OJ C 68, 19.3.2005, p. 1 .

(2) Three years after the entry into force of this Decision.

(3) OJ C 316, 27.11.1995, p. 2 .