1.   The purpose of this Framework Decision is to establish the rules under which Member States' law enforcement authorities may exchange existing information and intelligence effectively and expeditiously for the purpose of conducting criminal investigations or criminal intelligence operations.

2.   This Framework Decision shall be without prejudice to bilateral or multilateral agreements or arrangements between Member States and third countries and to instruments of the European Union on mutual legal assistance or mutual recognition of decisions regarding criminal matters, including any conditions set by third countries concerning the use of information once supplied.

3.   This Framework Decision covers all information and/or intelligence as defined in Article 2(d). It does not impose any obligation on the part of the Member States to gather and store information and intelligence for the purpose of providing it to the competent law enforcement authorities of other Member States.

4.   This Framework Decision does not impose any obligation on the part of the Member States to provide information and intelligence to be used as evidence before a judicial authority nor does it give any right to use such information or intelligence for that purpose. Where a Member State has obtained information or intelligence in accordance with this Framework Decision, and wishes to use it as evidence before a judicial authority, it has to obtain consent of the Member State that provided the information or intelligence, where necessary under the national law of the Member State that provided the information or intelligence, through the use of instruments regarding judicial cooperation in force between the Member States. Such consent is not required where the requested Member State has already given its consent for the use of information or intelligence as evidence at the time of transmittal of the information or intelligence.

5.   This Framework Decision does not impose any obligation to obtain any information or intelligence by means of coercive measures, defined in accordance with national law, in the Member State receiving the request for information or intelligence.

6.   Member States shall, where permitted by and in accordance with their national law, provide information or intelligence previously obtained by means of coercive measures.

7.   This Framework Decision shall not have the effect of modifying the obligation to respect fundamental rights and fundamental legal principles as enshrined in Article 6 of the Treaty on European Union and any obligations incumbent on law enforcement authorities in this respect shall remain unaffected.

1.   Member States shall ensure that information and intelligence can be provided to the competent law enforcement authorities of other Member States in accordance with this Framework Decision.

2.   Information and intelligence shall be provided at the request of a competent law enforcement authority, acting in accordance with the powers conferred upon it by national law, conducting a criminal investigation or a criminal intelligence operation.

3.   Member States shall ensure that conditions not stricter than those applicable at national level for providing and requesting information and intelligence are applied for providing information and intelligence to competent law enforcement authorities of other Member States. In particular, a Member State shall not subject the exchange, by its competent law enforcement authority with a competent law enforcement authority of another Member State, of information or intelligence which in an internal procedure may be accessed by the requested competent law enforcement authority without a judicial agreement or authorisation, to such an agreement or authorisation.

4.   Where the information or intelligence sought may, under the national law of the requested Member State, be accessed by the requested competent law enforcement authority only pursuant to an agreement or authorisation of a judicial authority, the requested competent law enforcement authority shall be obliged to ask the competent judicial authority for an agreement or authorisation to access and exchange the information sought. The competent judicial authority of the requested Member State shall apply the same rules for its decision, without prejudice to Article 10(1) and (2), as in a purely internal case.

5.   Where the information or intelligence sought has been obtained from another Member State or from a third country and is subject to the rule of speciality, its transmission to the competent law enforcement authority of another Member State may only take place with the consent of the Member State or third country that provided the information or intelligence.

1.   Member States shall ensure that they have procedures in place so that they can respond within at most eight hours to urgent requests for information and intelligence regarding offences referred to in Article 2(2) of Framework Decision 2002/584/JHA, when the requested information or intelligence is held in a database directly accessible by a law enforcement authority.

2.   If the requested competent law enforcement authority is unable to respond within eight hours, it shall provide reasons for that on the form set out in Annex A. Where the provision of the information or intelligence requested within the period of eight hours would put a disproportionate burden on the requested law enforcement authority, it may postpone the provision of the information or intelligence. In that case the requested law enforcement authority shall immediately inform the requesting law enforcement authority of this postponement and shall provide the requested information or intelligence as soon as possible, but not later than within three days. The use made of the provisions under this paragraph shall be reviewed by 19 December 2009.

3.   Member States shall ensure that for non-urgent cases, requests for information and intelligence regarding offences referred to in Article 2(2) of Framework Decision 2002/584/JHA should be responded to within one week if the requested information or intelligence is held in a database directly accessible by a law enforcement authority. If the requested competent law enforcement authority is unable to respond within one week, it shall provide reasons for that on the form set out in Annex A.

4.   In all other cases, Member States shall ensure that the information sought is communicated to the requesting competent law enforcement authority within 14 days. If the requested competent law enforcement authority is unable to respond within 14 days, it shall provide reasons for that on the form set out in Annex A.

1.   Information and intelligence may be requested for the purpose of detection, prevention or investigation of an offence where there are factual reasons to believe that relevant information and intelligence is available in another Member State. The request shall set out those factual reasons and explain the purpose for which the information and intelligence is sought and the connection between the purpose and the person who is the subject of the information and intelligence.

2.   The requesting competent law enforcement authority shall refrain from requesting more information or intelligence or setting narrower time frames than necessary for the purpose of the request.

3.   Requests for information or intelligence shall contain at least the information set out in Annex B.

1.   Exchange of information and intelligence under this Framework Decision may take place via any existing channels for international law enforcement cooperation. The language used for the request and the exchange of information shall be the one applicable for the channel used. Member States shall, when making their declarations in accordance with Article 2(a), also provide the General Secretariat of the Council with details of the contacts to which requests may be sent in cases of urgency. These details may be modified at any time. The General Secretariat of the Council shall communicate to the Member States and the Commission the declarations received.

2.   Information or intelligence shall also be exchanged with Europol in accordance with the Convention based on Article K.3 of the Treaty on European Union, on the establishment of a European Police Office (Europol Convention) (6) and with Eurojust in accordance with the Council Decision 2002/187/JHA of 28 February 2002 setting up Eurojust with a view to reinforcing the fight against serious crime (7), insofar as the exchange refers to an offence or criminal activity within their mandate.

1.   Without prejudice to Article 10, the competent law enforcement authorities shall, without any prior request being necessary, provide to the competent law enforcement authorities of other Member States concerned information and intelligence in cases where there are factual reasons to believe that the information and intelligence could assist in the detection, prevention or investigation of offences referred to in Article 2(2) of Framework Decision 2002/584/JHA. The modalities of such spontaneous exchange shall be regulated by the national law of the Member States providing the information.

2.   The provision of information and intelligence shall be limited to what is deemed relevant and necessary for the successful detection, prevention or investigation of the crime or criminal activity in question.

1.   Each Member State shall ensure that the established rules on data protection provided for when using the communication channels referred to in Article 6(1) are applied also within the procedure on exchange of information and intelligence provided for by this Framework Decision.

2.   The use of information and intelligence which has been exchanged directly or bilaterally under this Framework Decision shall be subject to the national data protection provisions of the receiving Member State, where the information and intelligence shall be subject to the same data protection rules as if they had been gathered in the receiving Member State. The personal data processed in the context of the implementation of this Framework Decision shall be protected in accordance with the Council of Europe Convention of 28 January 1981 for the Protection of Individuals with regard to Automatic Processing of Personal Data, and, for those Member States which have ratified it, the Additional Protocol of 8 November 2001 to that Convention, regarding Supervisory Authorities and Transborder Data Flows. The principles of Recommendation No. R(87) 15 of the Council of Europe Regulating the Use of Personal Data in the Police Sector should also be taken into account when law enforcement authorities handle personal data obtained under this Framework Decision.

3.   Information and intelligence provided under this Framework Decision may be used by the competent law enforcement authorities of the Member State to which it has been provided solely for the purposes for which it has been supplied in accordance with this Framework Decision or for preventing an immediate and serious threat to public security; processing for other purposes shall be permitted solely with the prior authorisation of the communicating Member State and subject to the national law of the receiving Member State. The authorisation may be granted insofar as the national law of the communicating Member State permits.

4.   When providing information and intelligence in accordance with this Framework Decision, the providing competent law enforcement authority may pursuant to its national law impose conditions on the use of the information and intelligence by the receiving competent law enforcement authority. Conditions may also be imposed on reporting the result of the criminal investigation or criminal intelligence operation within which the exchange of information and intelligence has taken place. The receiving competent law enforcement authority shall be bound by such conditions, except in the specific case where national law lays down that the restrictions on use be waived for judicial authorities, legislative bodies or any other independent body set up under the law and made responsible for supervising the competent law enforcement authorities. In such cases, the information and intelligence may only be used after prior consultation with the communicating Member State whose interests and opinions must be taken into account as far as possible. The receiving Member State may, in specific cases, be requested by the communicating Member State to give information about the use and further processing of the transmitted information and intelligence.

1.   Without prejudice to Article 3(3), a competent law enforcement authority may refuse to provide information or intelligence only if there are factual reasons to assume that the provision of the information or intelligence would:

2.   Where the request pertains to an offence punishable by a term of imprisonment of one year or less under the law of the requested Member State, the competent law enforcement authority may refuse to provide the requested information or intelligence.

3.   The competent law enforcement authority shall refuse to provide information or intelligence if the competent judicial authority has not authorised the access and exchange of the information requested pursuant to Article 3(4).

1.   Member States shall take the necessary measures to comply with the provisions of this Framework Decision before 19 December 2006.

2.   Member States shall transmit to the General Secretariat of the Council and to the Commission the text of the provisions transposing into their national laws the obligations imposed on them under this Framework Decision. On the basis of this and other information provided by the Member States on request, the Commission shall, before 19 December 2006, submit a report to the Council on the operation of this Framework Decision. The Council shall before 19 December 2006 assess the extent to which Member States have complied with the provisions of this Framework Decision.

1.   The provisions of Article 39(1), (2) and (3) and of Article 46 of the Convention Implementing the Schengen Agreement (8), in as far as they relate to exchange of information and intelligence for the purpose of conducting criminal investigations or criminal intelligence operations as provided for by this Framework Decision, shall be replaced by the provisions of this Framework Decision.

2.   The Decision of the Schengen Executive Committee of 16 December 1998 on cross-border police cooperation in the area of crime prevention and detection (SCH/Com-ex (98) 51 rev 3) (9) and the Decision of the Schengen Executive Committee of 28 April 1999 on the improvement of police cooperation in preventing and detecting criminal offences (SCH/Com-ex (99) 18) (10) are hereby repealed.

3.   Member States may continue to apply bilateral or multilateral agreements or arrangements in force when this Framework Decision is adopted in so far as such agreements or arrangements allow the objectives of this Framework Decision to be extended and help to simplify or facilitate further the procedures for exchanging information and intelligence falling within the scope of this Framework Decision.

4.   Member States may conclude or bring into force bilateral or multilateral agreements or arrangements after this Framework Decision has come into force in so far as such agreements or arrangements allow the objectives of this Framework Decision to be extended and help to simplify or facilitate further the procedures for exchanging information and intelligence falling within the scope of this Framework Decision.

5.   The agreements and arrangements referred to in paragraphs 3 and 4 may in no case affect relations with Member States which are not parties to them.

6.   Member States shall no later than 19 December 2006, notify the Council and the Commission of the existing agreements and arrangements referred to in paragraph 3 which they wish to continue applying.

7.   Member States shall also notify the Council and the Commission of any new agreement or arrangement as referred to in paragraph 4, within three months of their signature or, for those instruments which had already been signed before the adoption of this Framework Decision, their entry into force.

Requested authority (name, address, telephone, fax, e-mail, Member State)

Details of the handling agent (optional):

Reference number of this answer

Date and reference number of previous answer

Answering to the following requesting authority

Date and time of the request

Reference number of the request

Normal time limit under Article 4 of Framework Decision 2006/960/JHA

The offence falls under Article 2(2) of Framework Decision 2002/584/JHA and the requested information or intelligence is held in a database directly accessible by a law enforcement authority in the requested Member State Urgency requested  8 hours

Urgency not requested  1 week

Other cases  14 days

Information transmitted under Framework Decision 2006/960/JHA: information and intelligence provided

1. Use of transmitted information or intelligence  may be used solely for the purposes for which it has been supplied or for preventing an immediate and serious threat to public security;  is authorised also for other purposes, subject to the following conditions (optional):

2. Reliability of the source  Reliable  Mostly reliable  Not reliable  Cannot be assessed

3. Accuracy of the information or intelligence  Certain  Established by the source  Hearsay-confirmed  Hearsay- not confirmed

4. The result of the criminal investigation or criminal intelligence operation within which the exchange of information has taken place has to be reported to the transmitting authority  No  Yes

5. In case of spontaneous exchange, reasons for believing that the information or intelligence could assist in the detection, prevention or investigation of offences referred to in Article 2(2) of Framework Decision 2002/584/JHA:

DELAY – It is not possible to respond within the applicable time limit under Article 4 of Framework Decision 2006/960/JHA

The information or intelligence cannot be provided within the given time-limit for the following reasons: It is likely to be given within:  1 day  2 days  3 days  … weeks  1 month

 The authorisation of a judicial authority has been requested. The procedure leading up to the granting/refusal of the authorisation is expected to last … weeks

REFUSAL — The information or intelligence:  could not be provided and requested at national level; or  cannot be provided, for one or more of the following reasons:

A — Reason related to judicial control which prevents the transmission or requires the use of mutual legal assistance

 the competent judicial authority has not authorised the access and exchange of the information or intelligence

 the requested information or intelligence has previously been obtained by means of coercive measures and its provision is not permitted under the national law

 the information or intelligence is not held by law enforcement authorities; or by public authorities or by private entities in a way which makes it available to law enforcement authorities without the taking of coercive measures

 B — The provision of the requested information or intelligence would harm essential national security interests or would jeopardise the success of a current investigation or a criminal intelligence operation or the safety of individuals or would clearly be disproportionate or irrelevant with regard to the purposes for which it has been requested.

If case A or B is used, provide, if deemed necessary, additional information or reasons for refusal (optional):

 D — The requested authority decides to refuse execution because the request pertains, under the law of the requested Member State, to the following offence (nature of the offence and its legal qualification to be specified) … which is punishable by one year or less of imprisonment

 E — The requested information or intelligence is not available

 F — The requested information or intelligence has been obtained from another Member State or from a third country and is subject to the rule of speciality and that Member State or third country has not given its consent to the transmission of the information or intelligence.

I — Administrative information

Requesting authority (name, address, telephone, fax, e-mail, Member State):

Details of the handling agent (optional):

To the following Member State:

Date and time of this request:

Reference number of this request:

Previous requests

 This is the first request on this case

 This request follows previous requests in the same case

Previous request(s) Answer(s)

Date Reference number (in the requesting Member State) Date Reference number (in the requested Member State)

1.

2.

3.

4.

If the request is sent to more than one authority in the requested Member State, please specify each of the channels used:

 ENU/Europol Liaison Officer  For information  For execution

 Interpol NCB  For information  For execution

 Sirene  For information  For execution

 Liaison Officer  For information  For execution

 Other (please specify):  For information  For execution

If the same request is sent to other Member States, please specify the other Member States and the channel used (optional)

II — Time limits

Reminder: time limits under Article 4 of Framework Decision 2006/960/JHA

A — The offence falls under Article 2(2) of Framework Decision 2002/584/JHA and the requested information or intelligence is held in a database directly accessible by a law enforcement authority The request is urgent Time limit: 8 hours with possibility to postpone The request is not urgent Time limit: 1 week B — Other cases: time limit: 14 days

 Urgency IS requested

 Urgency is NOT requested

Grounds for urgency (e.g.: suspects are being held in custody, the case has to go to court before a specific date):

Information or intelligence requested

Type of crime(s) or criminal activity(ies) being investigated

Description of the circumstances in which the offence(s) was (were) committed, including the time, place and degree of participation in the offence(s) by the person who is the subject of the request for information or intelligence:

Nature of the offence(s)

A — Application of Article 4(1) or 4(3) of the Framework Decision 2006/960/JHA

 A.1. The offence is punishable by a maximum term of imprisonment of at least three years in the requesting Member State AND A.2. The offence is one (or more) of the following:

 Participation in a criminal organisation  Terrorism  Trafficking in human beings  Sexual exploitation of children and child pornography  Illicit trafficking in narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances  Illicit trafficking in weapons, munitions and explosives  Corruption  Fraud, including that affecting the financial interests of the European Communities within the meaning of the Convention of 26 July 1995 on the protection of the European Communities' financial interests  Organised or armed robbery  Illicit trafficking in cultural goods, including antiques and works of art  Swindling  Racketeering and extortion  Counterfeiting and piracy of products  Forgery of administrative documents and trafficking therein  Forgery of means of payment  Illicit trafficking in hormonal substances and other growth promoters  Laundering of the proceeds of crime  Counterfeiting of currency, including the euro  Computer-related crime  Environmental crime, including illicit trafficking in endangered animal species and in endangered plant species and varieties  Facilitation of unauthorised entry and residence  Murder, grievous bodily injury  Illicit trade in human organs and tissue  Kidnapping, illegal restraint and hostage-taking  Racism and xenophobia  Illicit trafficking in nuclear or radioactive materials  Trafficking in stolen vehicles  Rape  Arson  Crimes within the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court  Unlawful seizure of aircraft/ships  Sabotage

The offence therefore falls under Article 2(2) of Framework Decision 2002/584/JHA Article 4(1) (urgent cases) and 4(3) (non urgent cases) of Framework Decision 2006/960/JHA are therefore applicable as regards time limits for responding to this request

Or  B — The offence(s) is(are) not covered under A. In this case, description of the offence(s):

Purpose for which the information or intelligence is requested

Connection between the purpose for which the information or intelligence is requested and the person who is the subject of the information or intelligence

Identity(ies) (as far as known) of the person(s) being the main subject(s) of the criminal investigation or criminal intelligence operation underlying the request for information or intelligence

Reasons for believing that the information or intelligence is in the requested Member State

Restrictions on the use of information contained in this request for purposes other than those for which it has been supplied or for preventing an immediate and serious threat to public security

 use granted  use granted, but do not mention the information provider  do not use without authorisation of the information provider  do not use