EU APPOINTS DE KERCHOVE AS NEW CT COORDINATOR

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BRUSSELS 002951

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

STATE FOR S/CT, INL, INL/PC, EUR/ERA
JUSTICE FOR CRIMINAL DIVISION, OFFICE OF INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PTER KJUS PINR PREL EUN
SUBJECT: EU APPOINTS DE KERCHOVE AS NEW CT COORDINATOR


SUMMARY
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1. EU ministers for Justice and Home Affairs (JHA Council) on
September 18 concurred on the designation of Gilles de Kerchove, a
senior Belgian official in the Council Secretariat, as the EU's new
Counter-Terrorism Coordinator. Ministers also endorsed a compromise
plan for sharing criminal data among Member States, narrowing it to
personal data shared by one Member State with another and setting
conditions for sharing data with non-EU states. There was also
agreement to discuss counter-terrorism "in-depth" at the informal
meeting of the JHA Council in Lisbon on October 1-2. Migration and
Schengen issues debated at the Council have been reported SEPTEL.
Full text of Council conclusions has been transmitted to EUR/ERA.
END SUMMARY.

COUNTER-TERRORISM: A NEW COORDINATOR, AT LAST
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2. The JHA Council on September 18 agreed on a revamped profile for
the job of EU Counter-Terrorism Coordinator. They also concurred on
the designation of Gilles de Kerchove, a senior Belgian official in
the Council Secretariat, to succeed the Dutchman Gijs de Vries in a
position that has been vacant for six months following the
resignation of de Vries for "personal reasons." Speaking at a press
conference, Portuguese Interior Minister/Council chair Rui Pereira
said ministers agreed that the new Coordinator "should have a
largely technical profile and role." Pereira declined to announce
the name of the new Coordinator (a prerogative of HR Solana) but
mentioned that the incumbent would be "particularly concerned with
bundling and pooling forces" and with "ensuring smooth cooperation
between all the European institutions."


3. The appointment of de Kerchove was subsequently confirmed on
September 19 by Solana, who said in his announcement that de
Kerchove would coordinate the Council's work in the field of CT,
"maintain an overview of all the instruments at the Union's
disposal, closely monitor the implementation of the EU
counter-terrorism strategy, and ensure that the Union plays an
active role in the fight against terrorism." Solana separately told
journalists regarding the powers of his new aide: "It will be
powers that will be -- I don't have to call them expanded -- they
will be deeper and in a much closer relation with the ministers and
the different countries that have a lot to say on the fight against
terrorism."


4. Comment. The position of CT Coordinator was created by the EU
as an urgent response to the March 2004 attacks in Madrid but the
powers of the first job-holder, a former Dutch State Secretary,
proved limited as de Vries came to face resistance from national
security chiefs. As revamped by the Council, the revised profile
suggests that the new Coordinator will not be expected to interfere
in the operational activities of the various departments and
ministries involved in CT activities in the individual Member
States. De Kerchove, a close USEU contact in his capacity as
Director in the Council Secretariat with responsibility for police
and judicial cooperation in criminal matters, worked closely with de
Vries and will no doubt be aware of the limitations of his brief.
End comment.


5. Pereira said the Council heard presentations from the German,
Austrian and Danish delegations concerning the terrorist plots and
arrests in their respective countries. Pereira said the Council
congratulated the three countries, emphasizing the need for
cooperation among Member States. In Pereira's words, "terrorism
continues to be a threat to all Member States of the EU.
Cooperation has to be ever-closer." Pereira announced that
counter-terrorism would be discussed "in-depth" at the informal
meeting of the JHA Council in Lisbon on October 1-2.

DATA PROTECTION IN THE "THIRD PILLAR"
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6. Meeting in the Mixed Committee with their Schengen counterparts
from Norway, Iceland and Switzerland, EU ministers agreed on the
scope of a draft Framework Decision for the protection of personal
data within the framework of police and judicial cooperation (the
EU's "third pillar"). The purpose of this legislation is to ensure
a high level of protection of the basic rights and freedoms, and in
particular the privacy, of individuals, while guaranteeing a high
level of public safety when exchanging personal data. Following
protracted negotiations, the Portuguese Presidency tabled a
compromise implying that the piece of legislation will only apply to
the cross-border exchange of personal data. There will be an
evaluation by the Commission of the data protection system,
including the limitation of the scope, three years after the
Framework Decision enters into force.

BRUSSELS 00002951 002 OF 002




7. The Council also agreed that personal data transmitted to
another Member State may be transferred to non-EU countries or
international bodies (to include EUROPOL and EUROJUST) only if a
number of conditions, including prior consent, are met. Notably,
personal data may be transferred without prior consent, but with
after-the-fact notice, in emergency situations. The Council bodies
will continue their review of other aspects of the draft Framework
Decision.

MISCELLANEOUS
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8. The Council also:

-- Adopted a "Civil Justice" program aimed at improving mutual
understanding of the legal and judicial systems of the Member States
with a 109 million EUR budget for the period 2007-2013. The program
is expected to contribute to lowering barriers to judicial
cooperation in civil matters within the EU;

-- Heard a presentation by the President of the Court of Justice
(ECJ),Vassilios Skouris, who submitted a Court's request to amend
its statute with a view to instituting an emergency preliminary
ruling procedure;

-- Held an orientation debate on a draft Framework Decision on the
European supervision order, also noting a progress report in respect
of a draft Framework Decision on "probation". These two draft legal
instruments aim at reinforcing the application of the principle of
mutual recognition in the common area of freedom, security and
justice. Both are intended to allow persons to comply in their
Member State of residence with a non-custodial supervision or
probation measure imposed in another Member State.

MURRAY