DISCUSSIONS AT U.S.-EU JUSTICE AND HOME AFFAIRS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 08 BRUSSELS 000218

SIPDIS

STATE FOR INL, S/CT, CA, INL/PC, INL/AAE, EUR/ERA, L/LEI;
JUSTICE FOR CRIMINAL DIVISION, OFFICE OF INTERNATIONAL
AFFAIRS;
HOMELAND SECURITY FOR OFFICE OF POLICY, OFFICE OF
INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/12/2019
TAGS: KCRM PGOV PREL SNAR EUM CZ
SUBJECT: DISCUSSIONS AT U.S.-EU JUSTICE AND HOME AFFAIRS
INFORMAL MEETING DEMONSTRATE BROAD CONVERGENCE ON SECURITY
AND CRIME ISSUES

Classified By: COUNSELOR FOR INTERNATIONAL NARCOTICS AND
LAW ENFORCEMENT AFFAIRS JAMES MCANULTY FOR 1.4 B AND D


1. (U) This is an action request telegram; please see
paragraph 29.

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SUMMARY
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2. (C) Participants at the U.S.-European Union (EU) Justice
and Home Affairs (JHA) Informal Meeting in Prague February 5
to 6, 2009, engaged in a wide-ranging discussion of
cooperation against terrorism and transnational crime. Both
sides agreed on most objectives, including the need to
complete ratification of the U.S.-EU Mutual Legal Assistance
and Extradition Agreements, address drug trafficking in
Afghanistan and West Africa, consult more regularly on
technical assistance and training programs, and investigate
and prosecute child exploitation. EU officials pledged to
press three remaining Member States -- Belgium, Greece, and
Italy -- to ratify the mutual legal assistance and
extradition agreements. Although reluctant to commit to a
proposed HLCG work schedule, the Czech Presidency of the
Council of the EU agreed to schedule a digital video
conference (DVC) before April's JHA Ministerial meeting. END
SUMMARY.

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PARTICIPANTS
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3. (U) The U.S. Delegation. co-chaired by INL Deputy
Assistant Secretary (DAS) Elizabeth Verville and Deputy
Assistant Attorney General Bruce Swartz, included State
Department Counter-Terrorism Deputy Coordinator for Homeland
Security Susan Burk, Mission Senior Justice Counselor for the
EU and International Criminal Law Affairs Mary Lee Warren,
INL Counselor James McAnulty, Senior Consular Representative
Paul Fitzgerald, Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
Attache Jackie Bednarz, State Law Enforcement and
Intelligence Attorney-Adviser Kenneth Propp, Justice Office
of International Affairs Multilateral Matters Associate
Director Thomas Burrows, DHS International Affairs Director
Michael Scardaville, INL Policy Coordination and Planning
Foreign Affairs Officer Scott Harris, European Union and
Regional Affairs Foreign Affairs Officer Alessandro Nardi,
Embassy Political-Economic Officer James Connell,
Political-Economic Officer Amy Carnie, and Consular Officer
Scott Riedmann. The EU Delegation, co-chaired by Czech
Interior Ministry Presidency and EU Coordination Department
Head Katerina Flaigova and Czech Justice Ministry
International Law Director Jan Samanek, included EU
Counter-Terrorism Coordinator Gilles de Kerchove, Council
Secretariat JHA Deputy Director-General Rafael
Fernandez-Pita, European Commission Justice, Freedom, and
Security Director Tung-Lai Margue, European Police Office
(EUROPOL) Director Max-Peter Ratzel, European Judicial
Coordination Unit (EUROJUST) Vice President Malci
Gabrijelcic, Czech Interior Ministry Officials Jitka
Gjuricova, Tomas Haisman, and Martin Linhart, JHA Head of
Unit Petr Solsky of the Czech Permanent Representation to the
EU, European Border Management Agency (FRONTEX) External
Relations Officer Rick Weijermans, Council Secretariat JHA
Principal Administrator Wouter Van de Rijt, Commission
External Relations and Enlargement Deputy Head of Unit Heike
Buss, Commission Desk Officer for U.S. and Canada Nora Rolle,
Swedish officials Tora Wigstrand. Paula Wennerblom, Roger
Gustafsson. and Emanuel Allroth, and other officers from the
Czech Ministries of Interior and Justice and the Czech
Permanent Representation to the EU.

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JHA PRIORITIES
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4. (U) Flaigova and Samanek briefly outlined Czech Presidency
priorities, including use of technologies for promoting
security, maintaining balance between security and civil

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rights, fighting drug trafficking and diversion of precursor
chemicals, combating child exploitation and illicit content
on the Internet, and promoting cooperation on civil law
matters. With the caveat that it was too early in the new
U.S. Administration to offer any specifics, Verville and
Swartz noted considerable overlap between the delegations'
U.S. and Czech Presidency priorities. They reiterated U.S.
interest in thwarting terrorist attacks, promoting rule of
law, fighting drug trafficking in Afghanistan and West
Africa, ratifying the U.S.-EU Mutual Legal Assistance and
Extradition Agreements, completing HLCG work on data privacy
principles, coordinating technical assistance, fighting
organized crime in the Western Balkans, and closing
Guantanamo Bay detention facilities.

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HIGH LEVEL CONTACT GROUP
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5. (C) The U.S. underlined the importance of completing the
vital work of the HLCG in preparing for a binding
international agreement on data privacy principles governing
the transatlantic sharing of law enforcement information.
Swartz proposed an energetic agenda of meetings and digital
video conferences (DVCs) to complete the few remaining issue
discussions and begin work on the foundation, framework, and
objectives for negotiation of a binding international
agreement. Flaigova commended the "great progress" achieved
to date, but said a binding agreement could not be negotiated
until the Lisbon Treaty entered into force. (N.B., The treaty
faces a second referendum in Ireland later this year after
suffering a "no" vote last June; also, the Czech Republic and
Germany have yet to complete their ratification process).
Warning that premature activities could risk results already
achieved, she suggested keeping discussions at the "experts"
level. Although Commission Director Margue said he agreed
with continuing technical meetings "as far as possible," he
characterized the proposed schedule as optimistic. He
envisioned the Irish holding their second referendum in
October, to be followed by entry into force of the treaty on
January 1, 2010. He stated that any further discussion
should be deferred until that time. Swartz underscored the
importance of laying a "foundation" for moving quickly
towards a formal agreement. Warren warned that a lapse in
discussions could lead to repeat discussions of settled
issues and interruption of law enforcement sharing under the
EU Framework Decision on Data Protection. Verville stressed
the importance of both sides proceeding towards final
agreement. Margue declared that the Framework Decision would
have little immediate impact, as Member States would take a
full two years to implement it. Warren declined to comment
on Member States' pace but rather focused on the possible
harm that could be suffered if vigorous sharing of law
enforcement information were impaired by the uncertainly of
such a hiatus. Saying she understood all these factors,
Flaigova expressed hope for reaching "middle" ground and,
near the close of the meeting, agreed on scheduling one DVC
HLCG experts meeting before the late April Ministerial.


6. (C) COMMENT: It became clear, during and on the margins
of the meeting, that the pace of the HLCG experts' work was
not a unanimously held position within the EU delegation.
Generally, the Commission intended to hold off further
discussions, and the Presidency was not prepared to take on
the necessary leadership tasks. On the other hand, Council
representatives pressed for the HLCG to finish its work and
planned to work behind-the-scenes to this end. The U.S.
delegation considered the fiat for delay a predictable but
substantial set-back in a priority area that has implications
for slowing progress on several other issues. END COMMENT.

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MUTUAL LEGAL ASSISTANCE AND EXTRADITION AGREEMENTS
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7. (C) Propp reported that the United States had completed
its ratification procedures for the U.S.-EU Mutual Legal
Assistance and Extradition Agreements and inquired about EU

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progress. Samanek reported that Italy and Greece had just
submitted the agreements to their parliaments, and Belgium
planned to do so shortly. The Council Secretariat planned to
raise the issue again at the Article 36 Committee Meeting in
February. Propp advocated applying pressure at more senior
levels, noting that U.S. Ambassadors had already approached
Foreign Ministers and Parliamentary leaders. Verville
observed that final ratification would be a "huge
achievement." Samanek said he understood the urgency, given
the need to ratify them before entry into force of the Lisbon
Treaty. De Kerchove said he raised this issue at the JHA
Council in November and followed up with the Greek Foreign
Minister and Belgian Parliament. He wrote to Italian Foreign
Minister Franco Frattini, but had not yet received a reply.
Margue said JHA Commissioner Jacques Barrot would apply
pressure to the three remaining Member States. Propp noted
that the exchange of designation points required by the new
agreements was proceeding in a "rolling" fashion and would
not be a cause for delay of the final entry into force.



8. (U) Warren briefed on the mutual legal assistance seminar
for practitioners sponsored by the U.S., EUROJUST, and the
Commission at The Hague last November. She observed that the
agreements contain many innovative tools that investigators
and judges will find useful in fighting transnational crime
and terrorism. The EU-EUROJUST-U.S. organizers will explore
an array of follow-on seminars and workshops and prepare an
implementation manual. Samanek, who heard "extremely
positive" reports, suggested distributing materials more
widely. Margue echoed the positive reports and signaled that
the Commission would find the funds to support follow-on
efforts.

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LOST AND STOLEN PASSPORTS
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9. (C) Margue summarized the Commission's review of Member
State implementation of the EU Common Position on reporting
stolen and lost passports through the International Criminal
Police Organization (INTERPOL). EU Member States had
submitted over two-thirds of INTERPOL's entries and made over
half the queries to its database. Scardaville said DHS had
deployed an automated system to all international U.S.
airports and seaports and would soon expand it to land border
stations. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) inspectors now
check 3 to 3.5 million records monthly and are "thrilled"
with the program, including EU compliance with INTERPOL Best
Practices and the EU Common Position. At Bednarz's request,
Margue agreed to look into making the source data of the
Commission's evaluation report available.

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COORDINATION ON TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE
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10. (U) Verville advocated more frequent coordination on
technical assistance where both sides have "compatible"
interests. She expressed appreciation for fact sheets
exchanged last July on the Western Balkans, noting that most
programs appeared free of conflicts. She suggested more
systematic exchanges of information among those planning and
managing technical assistance programs. Meetings of U.S. and
EU experts in Washington and Brussels would be helpful.
Margue agreed. Swartz advocated joint meetings of Commission
and U.S. Liaison Officers in the region and Margue concurred,
noting that a first meeting could occur on a trial or ad hoc
basis and should have a specific, focused agenda. De
Kerchove added that such meetings should also include Member
State Liaison Officers.


11. (C) Verville expressed concern over rising crime in
Croatia and noted that the U.S. had recently extended by one
year its organized crime program there. Margue agreed with
this assessment of Croatia, which remained engaged in the EU
enlargement process. He welcomed applying pressure on
Croatia in areas that need improvement, including a more
independent judiciary and measures against organized crime

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and corruption. The EU wanted to avoid mistakes from past
instances of EU enlargement. Overall, he advocated a more
regional approach and welcomed feedback on effective programs
and exchanges of best practices. (COMMENT: Coordinated
strategic planning marks an important step forward,
especially in resource-scarce times. END COMMENT.)


12. (C) Swartz praised the operational activities of the
South East European Cooperation Initiative (SECI) Center in
fighting organized crime in the Balkans. Ratzel said the
Council had prepared a "road map" for finishing a South East
European Law Enforcement Center (SELEC) Convention, which
needed to include data protection commitments. Verville
cautioned that upgrading SECI's charter must not hinder
ongoing cooperation among members. (COMMENT: The following
week, Warren, McAnulty, and Resident Legal Advisor Justin
Weddle met with EUROPOL officials in Brussels to discuss
SECI's future. EUROPOL interlocutors agreed to explore the
idea of assigning a liaison officer at SECI as part of a
pilot project. END COMMENT.)


13. (C) Verville said the U.S. remained concerned over
potential instability in West Africa, citing the attempted
coup in Guinea Bissau as an example. Flaigova said organized
crime, corruption, and the flow of cocaine through the region
presented serious challenges to the entire EU. Margue noted
that the Commission supported the Regional Action Plan agreed
in Praia last October. As a result of Member State
cooperation with the Maritime Analysis and Operations Center
(MAOC),authorities had seized 34 metric tons of cocaine and
21 metric tons of hashish since June 2007. He praised
cooperation by Joint Interagency Task Force -- South
(JIATF-South) in contributing to such successes. Warren
commended efforts of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration
(DEA) in sharing information and promoting best practices
with police commissioners and mid-level police officers in
the region. Verville noted INL efforts to promote
capacity-building in various countries, including Nigeria and
Liberia, to fight money laundering, effect asset seizures,
and prepare mutual legal assistance requests. Remarking on
earlier, "very close" cooperation by INL officials with the
Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) and the Economic and
Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) in Nigeria, she lamented
recent personnel changes that "decimated" these institutions.
Commission representatives, for their part, agreed to look
into and monitor this situation more closely.

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AFGHANISTAN
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14. (C) Verville observed that addressing the drug trade in
Afghanistan would be a major priority of the new
Administration. According to the latest UN estimates, poppy
and opium production had declined during the past year.
Cultivation now occurred overwhelmingly in seven,
high-producing provinces in the south, which will become the
focus of counter-drug efforts. According to Flaigova, the EU
and Member States spent 428 million euros in Afghanitan
during 2006. They viewed Afghanistan as a "long-term,
large-scale problem" with no easy solutions. Margue added
that a major challenge would be to sustain progress in the
northern and eastern provinces. The EU planned to focus on
the east, particularly on alternative livelihoods and
regional development. Verville suggested greater support for
performance-based, development programs, including the Good
Performers Initiative.

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UN CONVENTIONS
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15. (U) Verville reviewed recent developments in
implementation of United Nation conventions against
corruption and organized crime. The Fourth Conference of
Parties last October "breathed life" into these instruments,
resulting in a doubling of action-oriented decisions. The UN
Office of Drugs and Crime is working on model legislation for
the migrant smuggling protocol. During its Presidency of the

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Group of Eight, Italy planned to focus on implementation of
the Palermo convention on organized crime. Verville
commended self-assessment checklists on implementation as
containing valuable information for donor countries to
consult.


16. (C) Flaigova pressed on behalf of EU colleagues for the
U.S. to reconsider its position on "harm reduction," noting
keen EU interest in including this phrase in the political
declaration of the UN General Assembly Special Session
(UNGASS) on the UN Drug Convention. Verville explained that
the U.S. considered this phrase to be "ambiguous," with some
associated practices used in the U.S. while others were
prohibited. This issue is under review.

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CHILD PROTECTION
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17. (U) The EU side provided an overview of child protection
efforts, including measures to reduce illicit Internet
content, improve "Safe for Internet" programs, decrease
instances of cyber-bullying, and promote self-regulation by
mobile telephone and social networking companies. The Czech
Presidency planned child protection seminars in Prague, from
March 17 to 18 (criminal law, on April 20 (safer Internet for
children),and from May 18 to 20 (child alert systems, to
which U.S. experts would be invited. The Council Secretariat
adopted conclusions in December to promote establishment of
"Child Alert" Systems in the EU. EU officials would
appreciate hearing about U.S. experiences in implementing
analogous "Amber Alert" systems. The Commission planned to
revise an existing framework decision to facilitate blocking
of objectionable Internet sites. Swartz responded that U.S.
experts would participate and be willing to share
experiences, including information on implementation of U.S.
"blocking laws. Burrows said the U.S. would focus on
big-impact cases involving prosecutions of web sites with
numerous customers and associated payment processors and
"clubs." Warren noted ongoing coordination through EUROJUST
of criminal investigations of international child predator
rings. She proposed that the U.S. and EU form an exploratory
group to consider ways to work together across the broad
spectrum of child protection topics. Gabrijelcic and Ratzel
saw benefit in such a proposal. Verville offered a fact
sheet on the full range of U.S. child protection efforts.

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INTERNET EXTREMISM
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18. (U) Linhart detailed successes in stopping the spread of
extremism and hatred through the Internet as part of EU
counter-terrorism efforts. Member States have differing
legislation, but the EU has attempted to coordinate standard
approaches. He lamented that eliminating offensive web sites
remained difficult, particularly where third countries hosted
such sites. Noting potential First Amendment limits, Swartz
said the U.S. could take down web sites if they provided
"material support" to terrorists.

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SEMINAR ON EXPLOSIVES
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19. (U) Warren and Bednarz briefed on the experts seminar on
explosives held in Brussels in late 2008. The EU side
expressed interest in additional seminars on detecting
explosives and preventing their use in terrorist attacks.

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PASSENGER NAME RECORDS (PNR) AGREEMENTS
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20. (C) Flaigova provided an update on EU ratification of the
U.S-EU Passenger Name Records (PNR) Agreement, noting that
six Member States had yet to complete their procedures.
Regarding the Czech Republic, the Senate had approved the
agreement in 2007, but the House still had the agreement

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under consideration. Margue expressed interest in scheduling
a joint U.S.-EU review of U.S. PNR implementation in the next
month or two. Scardaville, noting the recent arrival of new
DHS leadership and the need to set parameters for the review
beforehand, said that a later date, perhaps May or June,
would be more likely. Margue also noted that the European
Airline Association had complained to the Commission about
continued payment of fees for a "pull" system to transmit
data, despite implementation of the preferred "push" system.
Scardaville said technical glitches continued to undermine
the "push" system. He promised to press CBP technicians to
respond more quickly to Amadeus counterparts to resolve
problems.


21. (C) Regarding a proposed EU PNR system, Margue reported
that a draft Framework Decision remained under consideration
by the Council since November 2007. Given continued
criticism by the European Parliament, he admitted that this
legislation would not gain approval before the anticipated
entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty.
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CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE PROTECTION
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22. (C) Scardaville and Burk described U.S. efforts on
critical infrastructure protection (CIP). Of 3,000 critical
infrastructure items currently listed, U.S. officials have
identified 300 as priorities. The National Critical
Infrastructure Center maintains a web site for consultation
by officials involved in CIP efforts. State and Homeland
Security officials cooperate on sharing best practices and
organizing emergency response exercises. The U.S. also
coordinates with the Group of Eight, North Atlantic Treaty
Organization (NATO),and the Organization for Security and
Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). Margue stated Commission
interest in working with third countries to protect the
energy and transport sectors. Bednarz urged EU counterparts
to consider including cyber-security in their plans.

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VISA WAIVER PROGRAM
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23. (U) Participants described recent developments in the
U.S. Visa Waiver Program (VWP). During 2008, seven
additional EU Member States, including the Czech Republic,
qualified for VWP. DHS officials will soon reply to a
European Commission letter seeking formal closure of its
parallel track on VWP. Scardaville noted that older VWP
members must comply with new security enhancements required
by U.S. law, but he did not anticipate problems. Bednarz
said the Secretary of Homeland Security must certify
implementation of a U.S. biometric "exit" system by the end
of June 2009 to allow continued use of provisions
facilitating entry of additional nations. The EU expressed
satisfaction with progress to date, but cautioned that VWP
would remain an important issue until all Member States
become members.

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ELECTRONIC SYSTEM FOR TRAVEL AUTHORIZATION
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24. (C) Scardaville indicated that most travelers have
complied with the requirement to obtain an Electronic System
for Travel Authorization (ESTA) number before boarding
aircraft headed for the United States. DHS officials have
implemented a flexible system of "enforced compliance" since
January 12. Bednarz noted that some 2.5 million travelers
had applied thus far, with an approval rate above 99.5
percent. ESTA has the added advantage of identifying
potential immigration problems for travelers, thereby
allowing time to correct them before travel. EU officials
confirmed that they did not consider ESTA to be a visa.

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BORDER MANAGEMENT -- VIS AND SIS-II
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25, (C) The EU has encountered problems in implementing the
Visa Information System (VIS) and the second generation of
the Schengen Information System (SIS-II). EU officials
anticipated progress on VIS by the end of 2009, but SIS-II
has much greater difficulties. Margue expressed interest in
learning from U.S. experiences in implementing the U.S. VISIT
system, given EU plans to implement an "entry-exit" system
employing finger print readers. The U.S. and EU agreed to
share technical "lessons learned" in implementing biometric
entry-exit systems.

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COOPERATIVE ARRANGEMENT WITH FRONTEX
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26. (C) According to Margue, the Commission has been working
with FRONTEX to "fine-tune" a proposed cooperative
arrangement with the U.S., primarily to incorporate
appropriate data privacy provisions. The U.S. questioned the
need for such provisions, given that FRONTEX does not
currently handle personal data. Margue responded that the
Commission merely sought "technical adjustments" and had no
differences on policy. DHS urged that the signing of the
agreement would be an appropriate deliverable for the JHA
Ministerial in late April.

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CIVIL LAW
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27. (C) EU officials outlined their efforts to enhance
internal cooperation on civil law issues, including
implementation of international agreements on child
adduction, child support, and choice of courts. They
expressed interest in exchanging best practices and
coordinating future negotiating positions. Propp welcomed EU
support for the Choice of Court and Child Support
Conventions, noting that the U.S. remained the sole
signatory, to date, for these agreements. He promised to
provide contact information for State's Private International
Law office, which handles civil law issues. (COMMENT: The
already over-sized JHA agenda had not previously included
civil law issues, and Verville learned from the Swedish
delegation that these issues would not be carried over in the
JHA agenda during the next Presidency. END COMMENT.)

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SWEDISH PRESIDENCY PRIORITIES
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28. (U) Swedish Government representatives described their
priorities for the upcoming Swedish Presidency, which starts
July 1. They listed climate and energy, implementation of a
Baltic Sea Strategy, EU Enlargement, and JHA Issues as among
their top priorities. Under JHA, they planned to prepare
the Stockholm Program -- a five-year plan of action on JHA
issues (from 2010 to 2014) to follow up the Hague Program --
and focus on child protection, migration, trafficking in
human beings, and individual rights in criminal proceedings.

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RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FOLLOW UP
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29. (C) Along with a list of numerous follow-up action items
from the JHA Informal Meeting (forwarded separately),Mission
recommends the following priority actions to enhance police
and judicial cooperation with the EU:

-- Convince the EU, particularly the European Commission, to
complete the vital work of the HLCG to lay the foundation for
negotiation and signing of a binding international agreement
on data privacy principles without delay.

-- Press Belgium, Greece, and Italy at the highest levels to
ratify the U.S.-EU Mutual Legal Assistance and Extradition
Agreements this year.

-- Develop comprehensive strategies for future engagement

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with the EU on law enforcement issues, taking into account
the differing impacts of EU ratification or rejection of the
Lisbon Treaty.
. .
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COMMENT
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30. (C) Overall, discussions reflected transatlantic
consensus on most important security and criminal justice
issues, including organized crime, drug trafficking, child
exploitation, migration, and border security. Czech
Presidency reluctance to engage in a robust schedule to
complete HLCG work demonstrated internal EU divisions over
how to proceed and lack of Czech familiarity with this
portfolio. Additional encouragement of the Czechs and
persuasion of the Commission on this important issue will be
needed. END COMMENT.

MURRAY
.