Considerations on COM(2004)559-2 - Conclusion of the Agreement with Switzerland to counter fraud and all other illegal activities affecting their financial interests - Main contents
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| dossier | COM(2004)559-2 - Conclusion of the Agreement with Switzerland to counter fraud and all other illegal activities affecting their financial ... |
|---|---|
| document | COM(2004)559  |
| date | December 18, 2008 |
| (2) | In accordance with the Council Decision of 26 October 2004 concerning the signature, on behalf of the European Community, of the Cooperation Agreement between the European Community and its Member States, of the one part, and the Swiss Confederation, of the other part, to combat fraud and any other illegal activity to the detriment of their financial interests, and subject to its conclusion at a later date, the Agreement was signed on behalf of the European Community on 26 October 2004. |
| (3) | The Agreement establishes a Joint Committee with decision-making powers in certain areas and it is thus necessary to specify who represents the Community within this Committee. |
| (4) | The Agreement should be approved, |
HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:
Article 1
The Cooperation Agreement between the European Community and its Member States, of the one part, and the Swiss Confederation, of the other part, to combat fraud and any other illegal activity to the detriment of their financial interests (hereinafter the Agreement) and the accompanying Final Act are hereby approved on behalf of the Community.
The text of the Agreement and the Final Act are attached to this Decision (2).
Article 2
In respect of matters falling within its competence, the Community shall be represented on the Joint Committee set up under Article 39 of the Agreement by the Commission.
The position to be taken by the Community in the course of the implementation of the Agreement as regards decisions or recommendations of the Joint Committee shall be laid down by the Council, acting by qualified majority, on a proposal from the Commission. The Council shall act unanimously when the position covers a field for which unanimity is required for the adoption of internal rules.
Article 3
The President of the Council shall, on behalf of the European Community, give the notification provided for in Article 44 i of the Agreement (3).
The President of the Council shall notify a declaration of the European Community according to which, until the entry into force of the Agreement, the Community shall consider itself bound by the Agreement, within the limits of its competence, in its relations with any other Contracting Party having made the same declaration, in accordance with Article 44 i of the Agreement (4).
Article 4
This Decision shall be published in the Official Journal of the European Union.
Done at Brussels, 18 December 2008.
For the Council
The President
M. BARNIER
(1) OJ C 304 E, 1.12.2005, p. 106.
(2) See page 8 of this Official Journal.
(3) The date of entry into force of the Agreement will be published in the Official Journal of the European Union by the General Secretariat of the Council.
(4) The date of application of the Agreement between the Community and Switzerland, by virtue of Article 44 i of the Agreement, will be published in the Official Journal of the European Union by the General Secretariat of the Council.
FINAL ACT
The plenipotentiaries of
THE KINGDOM OF BELGIUM,
THE CZECH REPUBLIC,
THE KINGDOM OF DENMARK,
THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF GERMANY,
THE REPUBLIC OF ESTONIA,
THE HELLENIC REPUBLIC,
THE KINGDOM OF SPAIN,
THE FRENCH REPUBLIC,
IRELAND,
THE ITALIAN REPUBLIC,
THE REPUBLIC OF CYPRUS,
THE REPUBLIC OF LATVIA,
THE REPUBLIC OF LITHUANIA,
THE GRAND DUCHY OF LUXEMBOURG,
THE REPUBLIC OF HUNGARY,
THE REPUBLIC OF MALTA,
THE KINGDOM OF THE NETHERLANDS,
THE REPUBLIC OF AUSTRIA,
THE REPUBLIC OF POLAND,
THE PORTUGUESE REPUBLIC,
THE REPUBLIC OF SLOVENIA,
THE SLOVAK REPUBLIC,
THE REPUBLIC OF FINLAND,
THE KINGDOM OF SWEDEN,
THE UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN AND NORTHERN IRELAND,
THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY,
of the one part, and of
THE SWISS CONFEDERATION,
of the other part,
meeting on 26 October 2004 for the signature of the Cooperation Agreement between the European Community and its Member States, of the one part, and the Swiss Confederation, of the other part, to combat fraud and any other illegal activity to the detriment of their financial interests, have adopted the joint declarations listed below and attached to this Final Act:
| 1. | Joint declaration on money laundering; |
| 2. | Joint declaration on cooperation by the Swiss Confederation with Eurojust and, if possible, with the European Judicial Network. |
The plenipotentiaries of the European Union and of its Member States and the plenipotentiaries of the Swiss Confederation have furthermore adopted the Agreed Minute of the negotiations attached to this Final Act. The Agreed Minute is binding.
Hecho en Luxemburgo, el veintiseis de octubre del dos mil cuatro.
V Lucemburku dne dvacátého šestého října dva tisíce čtyři.
Udfærdiget i Luxembourg den seksogtyvende oktober to tusind og fire.
Geschehen zu Luxemburg am sechsundzwanzigsten Oktober zweitausendundvier.
Kahe tuhande neljanda aasta oktoobrikuu kahekümne kuuendal päeval Luxembourgis.
Έγινε στo Λουξεμβούργο, στις είκοσι έξι Οκτωβρίου δύο χιλιάδες τέσσερα.
Done at Luxembourg on the twenty sixth day of October in the year two thousand and four.
Fait à Luxembourg, le vingt six octobre deux mille quatre.
Fatto a Lussemburgo, addì ventisei ottobre duemilaquattro.
Luksemburgā, divi tūkstoši ceturtā gada divdesmit sestajā oktobrī.
Priimta du tũkstančiai ketvirtų metų spalio dvidešimt šeštą dieną Liuksemburge.
Kelt Luxembourgban, a kettőezer negyedik év október huszonhatodik napján.
Magħmul fil-Lussemburgu fis-sitta u għoxrin jum ta' Ottubru tas-sena elfejn u erbgħa.
Gedaan te Luxemburg, de zesentwintigste oktober tweeduizendvier.
Sporządzono w Luksemburgu, dnia dwudziestego szóstego października roku dwutysięcznego czwartego.
Feito no Luxemburgo, em vinte e seis de Outubro de dois mil e quatro.
V Luxemburgu dvadsiateho šiesteho októbra dvetisícštyri.
V Luxembourgu, dne šestindvajsetega oktobra leta dva tisoč štiri.
Tehty Luxemburgissa kahdentenakymmenentenäkuudentena päivänä lokakuuta vuonna kaksituhattaneljä.
Som skedde i Luxemburg den tjugosjätte oktober tjugohundrafyra.
Pour le Royaume de Belgique
Voor het Koninkrijk België
Für das Königreich Belgien
Cette signature engage égalerment la Communauté française, la Communauté flamande, la Communauté germanophone, la Région wallonne, la Région flamande et la Région de Bruxelles-Capitale.
Deze handtekening verbindt eveneens de Vlaamse Gemeenschap, de Franse Gemeenschap, de Duitstalige Gemeenschap, het Vlaamse Gewest, het Waalse Gewest en het Brussels Hoofdstedelijk Gewest.
Diese Unterschrift bindet zugleich die Deutschsprachige Gemeinschaft, die Flämische Gemeinschaft, die Französische Gemeinschaft, die Wallonische Region, die Flämische Region und die Region Brüssel-Hauptstadt.
Za Českou republiku
På Kongeriget Danmarks vegne
Für die Bundesrepublik Deutschland
Eesti Vabariigi nimel
Για την Ελληνική Δημοκρατία
Por el Reino de España
Pour la République française
Thar cheann Na hÉireann
For Ireland
Per la Repubblica italiana
Για την Κυπριακή Δημοκρατία
Latvijas Republikas vārdā
Lietuvos Respublikos vardu
Pour le Grand-Duché de Luxembourg
A Magyar Köztársaság részéről
Għar-Repubblika ta' Malta
Voor het Koninkrijk der Nederlanden
Für die Republik Österreich
W imieniu Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej
Pela República Portuguesa
Za Republiko Slovenijo
Za Slovinskú republiku
Suomen tasavallan puolesta
För Republiken Finland
För Konungariket Sverige
For the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Por la Comunidad Europea
Za Evropské společenství
For Det Europæiske Fællesskab
Für die Europäische Gemeinschaft
Euroopa Ühenduse nimel
Για την Ευρωπαϊκή Κοινότητα
For the European Community
Pour la Communauté européenne
Per la Comunità europea
Eiropas Kopienas vārdā
Europos bendrijos vardu
Az Európai Közösség részéről
Għall-Komunità Ewropea
Voor de Europese Gemeenschap
W imieniu Wspólnoty Europejskiej
Pela Comunidade Europeia
Za Európske spoločenstvo
Za Evropsko skupnost
Euroopan yhteisön puolesta
På Europeiska gemenskapens vägnar
Für die Schweizerische Eidgenossenschaft
Pour la Confédération suisse
Per la Confederazione svizzera
JOINT DECLARATION ON MONEY LAUNDERING
The Contracting Parties hereby agree that Article 2 i of the Agreement on cooperation in combating money laundering shall include as precursor offences those which constitute tax fraud or professional smuggling under Swiss law. Information received in response to a request concerning laundering may be used in proceedings for laundering, save in proceedings against Swiss persons if all the acts relevant to the offence were committed in Switzerland only.
JOINT DECLARATION ON COOPERATION BY THE SWISS CONFEDERATION WITH EUROJUST AND, IF POSSIBLE, WITH THE EUROPEAN JUDICIAL NETWORK
The Contracting Parties take note of the Swiss Confederation’s wish to study the possibility of cooperating in the work of Eurojust and, if possible, the European Judicial Network.
AGREED MINUTE OF THE NEGOTIATIONS ON THE COOPERATION AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY AND ITS MEMBER STATES, OF THE ONE PART, AND THE SWISS CONFEDERATION, OF THE OTHER PART, TO COMBAT FRAUD AND ANY OTHER ILLEGAL ACTIVITY TO THE DETRIMENT OF THEIR FINANCIAL INTERESTS
The Contracting Parties have agreed as follows:
Ad Article 2(1)(a)
The expression ‘fraud and any other illegal activity’ extends to smuggling, corruption and laundering of the proceeds of the activities covered by this Agreement, subject to Article 2 i.
The expression ‘trade in goods contrary to customs and agricultural legislation’ is to be understood independently of the passage (departure, destination or transit) or otherwise of the goods through the territory of the other Contracting Party.
The expression ‘trade contrary to tax legislation applicable to value added tax, special taxes on consumption and excise duties’ is to be understood independently of the passage (departure, destination or transit) or otherwise of the goods or services through the territory of the other Contracting Party.
Ad Article 15(2)
The term ‘investigation means’ includes the questioning of persons, the searching of premises and means of transport, the copying of documents, the requesting of information and the seizure of objects, documents and items of value.
Ad second subparagraph of Article 16(2)
This subparagraph also means that those present may in particular be authorised to put questions and propose measures of investigation.
Ad Article 25(2)
The concept of multilateral Agreements between the Contracting Parties includes in particular, as of its entry into force, the Agreement between the European Union, the European Community and the Swiss Confederation concerning the latter’s association with the implementation, application and development of the Schengen acquis.
Ad Article 35(1)
‘Request for mutual legal assistance’ also means the transmission of information and evidence to the authority of the requesting Contracting Party.
Ad Article 43
The European Commission will, at the latest at the date of signature of this Agreement, send an indicative list of the territories to which this Agreement applies.