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