Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
07USEUBRUSSELS536
2007-02-16 11:55:00
UNCLASSIFIED
USEU Brussels
Cable title:  

EU AGREES ON ACCESS TO POLICE DATABASES FOR

Tags:  CVIS PREL KCRM RS EUN 
pdf how-to read a cable
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VZCZCXRO0432
RR RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDBU RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA
RUEHLN RUEHLZ RUEHROV RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHBS #0536/01 0471155
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 161155Z FEB 07 ZDK ZDK ZDK
FM USEU BRUSSELS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUEAHLC/DHS WASHDC
RUEAWJA/DOJ WASHDC
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 USEU BRUSSELS 000536 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: CVIS PREL KCRM RS EUN
SUBJECT: EU AGREES ON ACCESS TO POLICE DATABASES FOR
BETTER CRIME CONTROL

REF: 2006 Brussels 04068

BRUSSELS 00000536 001.2 OF 003


SUMMARY
-------

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 USEU BRUSSELS 000536

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: CVIS PREL KCRM RS EUN
SUBJECT: EU AGREES ON ACCESS TO POLICE DATABASES FOR
BETTER CRIME CONTROL

REF: 2006 Brussels 04068

BRUSSELS 00000536 001.2 OF 003


SUMMARY
--------------


1. EU ministers for Justice and Home Affairs (JHA
Council) on February 15 agreed to incorporate into
the EU legal order the main provisions of the Treaty
of Pr|m relating to police and judicial cooperation
in criminal matters (issues coming under the so-
called "third pillar") with the exception of the
cross-border police intervention in case of an
imminent danger. The Council agreed on legislation
that will commit member states to accept the
transfer of sentenced persons to the prisoner's home
country in order to improve the chances of
reintegration into society. Ministers also resumed
discussion of a draft Framework Decision on
combating racism and xenophobia. They approved the
Regulation establishing the EU Agency for
Fundamental Rights thus allowing the Agency to start
up work in Vienna on March 1, 2007. Full text of
Council conclusions has been transmitted to EUR/ERA.
END SUMMARY.

INTEGRATION OF PRUM TREATY INTO THE EU LEGAL ORDER
-------------- --------------


2. The Council agreed to incorporate the main
provisions of the Treaty of Pr|m (dealing with data
sharing and police cooperation, especially in the
fight against terrorism, cross-border crime and
illegal migration) into the EU legal order. The
resulting draft decision will be forwarded to the
European Parliament for its comments and the process
is expected to be completed by the end of the German
Presidency in June 2007. The Treaty of Pr|m, which
was signed by seven EU countries (Austria, Belgium,
France, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and
Spain) in May 2005, provides for cross-border
cooperation of police and judicial authorities.
Participating states grant each other automatic
access to specific national databases, amounting to
a quantum leap in the cross-border sharing of
information, according to a statement by the German
Presidency. Because it was intended to further
develop European cooperation, the Treaty of Pr|m was
designed from the start to be incorporated into the
EU legal framework. Nine more EU member states
(Finland, Italy, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia,
Sweden, Bulgaria, Romania and Greece) have since

declared their intention to join it. At the January
14-16 informal JHA ministerial in Dresden, the
German Presidency had rallied strong support for
transposing the treaty into the EU legal framework.


3. Speaking at a joint press conference, German
Interior minister/Council chair Schduble and
Commission Vice-President Frattini said the
conversion into the EU legal order would affect all
aspects related to the EU's "third pillar" except
for Article 18 of the Treaty of Pr|m relating to
cross-border police intervention in case of an
imminent danger that will be further examined at a
later stage. (Frattini hinted he might come back
with proposals to the effect). Minister Schduble
said the UK and Ireland invoked "specific problems"
with Article 18 but reported a "clear willingness"
on the part of all delegations to implement the
Treaty of Pr|m "as a whole." Schduble further
stated, "Transposing the treaty into EU legislation
will enable all 27 EU Member States to benefit from
the enormous added value provided by the treaty.
Our aim is to create a modern police information
network for more effective crime control throughout
Europe. The special value of the treaty lies in the
substantially improved and efficiently organized
procedures for information-sharing. The initial
implementation phase has yielded promising results,
demonstrating that the Pr|m Treaty contributes
significantly to strengthening internal security in
Europe."

TRANSFERING SENTENCED PERSONS TO THE HOME COUNTRY
-------------- --------------


4. The Council reached the necessary consensus on a
draft Framework Decision designed to allow the
transfer of sentenced EU citizens to another country

BRUSSELS 00000536 002.2 OF 003


for the purpose of enforcement of the sentence
imposed. German Justice Minister/Council chair
Zypries said the legislation was meant to increase
the proportion of sentences served in the prisoner's
home country, where he or she would have the best
chances of reintegration into society. The new
rules will only apply to prisoners convicted after
member states will have implemented the Framework
Directive (for which they will have a two years'
delay). At the JHA Council in December 2006
(REFTEL),Poland refused to take extra prisoners and
shocked its (then) 24 partners and the Commission by
vetoing the draft. Following long discussions with
the Poles, the Germans rallied the necessary
consensus, based on the recognition that Poland
needs more time than the other member states to cope
with the practical and material consequences of the
transfer of its citizens convicted in other member
states. A temporary derogation of a limited scope
for a maximum period of five years was granted to
Poland by its initially reluctant partners.
Commission Vice-President Frattini explained that
Poland would "at any time be able to notify its
partners that it no longer avails itself of this
derogation." The Poles also agreed that Polish
citizens could only be transferred with their
consent.

COMBATING RACISM AND XENOPHOBIA
--------------


5. Over lunch, Ministers resumed discussion of a
draft Framework Decision on combating racism and
xenophobia, which the Council failed to approve in
spite of protracted negotiations in the years 2003-

2005. The draft had then been resisted by Italy and
the Nordics, who saw the proposed common rules as
infringing on freedom of speech and fundamental
liberties. Following the change of government in
Italy, a key obstacle appears to have been lifted
and the German Presidency is willing to win support
for a proposal perceived as a moral imperative.
Speaking to the press, Minister Zypries declined to
go into specifics but declared herself confident
that all delegations were now prepared to consider
the adoption of legislation that would "give a clear
message that the EU will not tolerate racism and
xenophobia."


6. German officials in Brussels are privately
complaining about the presentation of this proposal
in the media, saying the press was wrong to present
the plan as banning the wearing of Nazi uniforms or
symbols (e.g. the swastika). Such a ban, they say,
would not be based on the EU legislation but it
would be up to the individual member states to make
it a punishable offence. EU sources said the
Presidency was actually trying to rally delegations
around a text establishing that the following
intentional conduct will be punishable in all EU
countries:

-- Publicly inciting to violence or hatred, even by
dissemination or distribution of tracts, pictures or
other material, directed against a group of persons
or a member of such a group defined by reference to
race, color, religion, descent or national or ethnic
origin.

-- Publicly condoning, denying or grossly
trivializing:

- Crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity and
war crimes as defined in the Statute of the
International Criminal Court (Articles 6, 7 and
8) directed against a group of persons or a
member of such a group defined by reference to
race, color, religion, descent or national or
ethnic origin, and

- Crimes defined by the Tribunal of N|remberg
(Article 6 of the Charter of the International
Military Tribunal, London Agreement of 1945)
directed against a group of persons or a member
of such a group defined by reference to race,
color, religion, descent or national or ethnic
origin.


7. Under the draft Framework Decision (FD),member

BRUSSELS 00000536 003 OF 003


states would be required to ensure that such
activities are punishable by a maximum of at least 1
to 3 years of imprisonment. The FD would not have
the effect of modifying the obligation to respect
fundamental rights and fundamental legal principles,
including freedom of expression and association, as
enshrined in Article 6 of the TEU. Member states
would not have to modify their constitutional rules
and principles relating to the freedom of
association, freedom of the press and freedom of
expression (which would reassure the Nordics).

OTHER ISSUES
--------------


8. Ministers also:

-- Formally approved the Regulation establishing
the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (following
the political agreement concluded under the
Finnish Presidency in December 2006; see
REFTEL),thus allowing the Agency to start up
work in Vienna on March 1, 2007;

-- Authorized the Director of EUROPOL to conclude
a draft agreement with Australia and to enter
into negotiations on an agreement with
Montenegro.

COMMENT
--------------


9. The Pr|m Convention is of particular interest to
U.S. officials interested in gaining access to
database information on fingerprints, DNA, and
vehicle registration in EU member states to prevent
and combat terrorism and other serious transnational
crimes. As reported by Embassy Berlin, U.S. and
German officials have initiated discussions of a
possible bilateral Pr|m-like Convention that would
incorporate selected concepts and procedures from
the Treaty but not all the EU data privacy
provisions. Successful negotiation of such an
agreement would likely have applications for the
entire European Union. END COMMENT.

GRAY