EU AMENDS ITS LEGISLATION ON COMBATING

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BRUSSELS 000608

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

STATE FOR S/CT, EUR, INL, EUR/ERA, INL/PC, L/LEI

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PTER CVIS PREL KCRM EUN
SUBJECT: EU AMENDS ITS LEGISLATION ON COMBATING
TERRORISM: THREE NEW OFFENCES INCLUDED


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


1. EU Home Affairs ministers in the April 18 JHA
Council agreed to amend the 2002 EU Framework
Decision on combating terrorism by making public
provocation to commit a terrorist offense, and
recruitment and training for terrorism punishable
acts throughout the EU, including when committed
through the internet. The Council also agreed to
establish the European Police Office (EUROPOL) as a
fully-fledged Community agency. Ministers adopted
an Action Plan on Enhancing the Security of
Explosives. Full text of Council conclusions has
been transmitted to EUR/ERA and can be found on the
EU Council website (http://consilium.europa.eu).
END SUMMARY.

FRAMEWORK-DECISION ON COMBATING TERRORISM
--------------

2. The April 18 JHA Council reached a "common
approach" on amendments to the 2002 EU Framework
Decision on combating terrorism. The changes will
make public provocation to commit a terrorist
offense, and recruitment and training for terrorism
punishable acts, including when committed through
the internet. Under the updated legislation (still
subject to formal approval at the June 5-6 Council
meeting),individuals disseminating terrorist
propaganda and bomb-making expertise though the
internet can be prosecuted and sentenced to prison
in so far as such dissemination is committed
intentionally. In such cases, courts or
administrative authorities will be able to request
Internet service providers to remove this
information in accordance with national rules
implementing the EU Directive on electronic
commerce.


3. EU sources in Luxembourg said the agreed wording
of the amendments would bring the EU piece of
legislation "as close as possible" to the Council of
Europe (COE) Convention on the prevention of
terrorism (COMMENT: Provisions in COE Conventions
often gain support for subsequent inclusion in EU
legislation. END COMMENT). Slovenian Justice
Minister St|rm and the Commission commented that the
amendments were striking a sensitive balance between
criminalization and ensuring safeguards in terms of
freedom of speech and respect for human rights.
Speaking to reporters on the fringes of the meeting,
a Commission official noted that several Member
States (not specified, but which may include the
Nordics and the UK) might have to change their
internal legislation to bring it into line with the
updated EU legislation.


4. The Council conclusions further said inclusion
of the three offences would lead to a more
integrated framework. "There will be rules in
respect of the type and level of criminal penalties
and compulsory rules on jurisdiction which will be
applicable to the offences." Furthermore, EU
cooperation mechanism (such as the 2005 Decision on
sending terrorist-related information to EUROPOL and
EUROJUST) will be triggered as "they have as their
scope of application the Framework Decision."

EUROPOL
--------------


5. The Council reached a political agreement on a
Decision establishing the European Police Office
(EUROPOL) as a fully-fledged Community agency. A
Commission spokesman said the new legal basis (to be
effective on January 1, 2010) would extend the
mandate of EUROPOL to criminality that is not
strictly related to organized crime. Council
sources specified this would ease support provided
by EUROPOL to the Member States in relation to
cross-border criminal investigations where
involvement of organized crime is not demonstrated
from the start. Another change highlighted by the
Commission spokesman is that EUROPOL will be funded
(again from January 1, 2010 onward) by the Community
budget. This is intended to simplify procedures for
managing the budget and staff of the agency; the

BRUSSELS 00000608 002 OF 002


role of the European Parliament (one of the two
branches of the EU budgetary authority) in the
control of EUROPOL will increase in the process.


6. EU sources further said EUROPOL should ensure
that its data processing systems are interoperable
with the data processing systems in the Member
States and with the data processing systems in use
by EU-related bodies with which Europol may have
relations. A number of interim provisions will
guarantee that the change in the legal basis will
not interfere with EUROPOL's operational work and
that existing rights of staff are not prejudied.

ENHANCING THE SECURITY OF EXPLOSIVES
--------------


7. The Concil agreed on an Action Plan on
Enhancing the Security of Explosives, based on a
packag of 47 recommendations tabled by an expert
grup. This is one of the measures in the
Commision's package of counter-terrorism measures,
proposed in November 2007. The strategic objective
of the Action Plan is to combat the use of explosive
devices by terrorists within the EU. The primary
focus is on security issues but some of the
activities put forward in the Action Plan is also
intended to have positive implications for safety.

STRENGTHENING OF EUROJUST
--------------


8. Member state delegations also concurred on
specific aspects of a draft Decision strengthening
EUROJUST, the EU's judicial cooperation unit. In
particular, ministers agreed on provisions
concerning the composition of EUROJUST, its tasks,
the status of its national members and EurojustQs
staff. Work on the other provisions will continue
at expert level. This proposal was tabled in
January 2008 by Slovenia, France, the Czech
Republic, Sweden, Spain, Belgium, Poland, Italy,
Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Slovakia, Estonia,
Austria and Portugal.

MISCELLANEOUS
--------------


9. Among other issues, the Council.

-- Adopted conclusions endorsing the idea of
developing a Russian Organized Crime Threat
Assessment (ROCTA). The conclusions note the
need for EUROPOL and the enforcement
authorities of the EU Member States to collect
all relevant information on Russian organized
crime that impacts on Member States in order to
obtain a more comprehensive and detailed
assessment of the specific threats to be used
for intelligence-based law enforcement
operations;

-- Noted good progress on an initiative for a
Framework Decision on enhancing the procedural
rights of persons and fostering the application
of the principle of mutual recognition in
respect of decisions rendered in the absence of
the person (trials "in absentia"). The aim is
to determine clear and common grounds for non-
recognition of decisions rendered following a
trial at which person concerned did not appear
and thus amending the existing instruments on
mutual recognition, including the Framework
Decisions on the European arrest warrant, on
financial penalties, and on confiscation
orders. Once adopted, the text will establish
that Member States should recognize judgments
rendered "in absentia" where the person
concerned has been given a right to a retrial.

-- Endorsed a report on the setting up of a Common
Frame of Reference for European contract law.

MURRAY