Considerations on COM(2021)177 - Authorisation of the opening of negotiations for a cooperation agreement with the International Criminal Police Organisation (ICPO-INTERPOL)

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dossier COM(2021)177 - Authorisation of the opening of negotiations for a cooperation agreement with the International Criminal Police Organisation ...
document COM(2021)177 EN
date April 14, 2021
 
(1) Negotiations should be opened with a view to concluding a cooperation agreement (‘the Agreement’) between the Union and Interpol. The agreement will aim to regulate cooperation between the Union and Interpol in the area of law enforcement in accordance with Articles 87 and 88 TFEU, judicial cooperation in criminal matters in accordance with Article 82, 85 and 86 TFEU, and in the area of border security (as part of border management) in accordance with Article 77 TFEU.

(2) The Agreement should regulate the cooperation between the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (‘Europol’) and Interpol, taking into account the latest developments in combating terrorism, cross-border and transnational serious, organised crime, current operational needs and Europol’s mandate.

(3) The Agreement should provide the necessary safeguards and guarantees to authorise controlled access to Interpol’s Stolen and Lost Travel Document (‘SLTD’) and Travel Document Associated With Notices (‘TDAWN’) databases via the European Search Portal (‘ESP’), by Union Member States and Union agencies, in so far this is necessary for the performance of their tasks, in line with their access rights, with Union or national law covering such access.

(4) The Agreement should provide the necessary safeguards and guarantees to authorise Union Member States and the Central Unit of the European Travel Information and Authorisation System (‘ETIAS’) of the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (‘Frontex’) to access Interpol’s Stolen and Lost Travel Documents and the Travel Documents Associated with Notices databases via the European Search Portal.

(5) The Agreement should provide the safeguards and guarantees needed to implement a revised Visa Information System Regulation that authorises Union Member States to access Interpol’s databases via the European Search Portal when examining applications for visas or residence permits.

(6) The Agreement should facilitate establishing and regulating cooperation between the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (‘the EPPO’) and Interpol.

(7) The Agreement should provide the legal basis to authorise Europol, Frontex statutory staff of the standing corps (category 1 staff) and the European Public Prosecutor’s Office to access relevant Interpol databases for the performance of their tasks.

(8) The Agreement should provide the legal basis to authorise the European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation (‘Eurojust’) and the European Public Prosecutor’s Office to exchange operational information with Interpol.

(9) Article 23(1), (2) and (5) of Regulation (EU) 2016/794 of the European Parliament and of the Council1 provide for the exchange of personal data between Europol and international organisations, to the extent necessary for the accomplishment of Europol’s tasks, as defined in Article 4 of Regulation (EU) 2016/794.

(10) In accordance with Article 5(9) of Regulation (EU) 2019/817 of the European

Parliament and of the Council2, Article 5(9) of Regulation (EU) 2019/818 of the

European Parliament and of the Council3 and Article 12 of Regulation (EU)

2018/1240 of the European Parliament and of the Council4, queries of Interpol

databases should be performed in such a way that no information is revealed to the

owner of the Interpol alert. In accordance with Article 65 of Regulation (EU)

2018/1240 personal data shall not be transferred or made available to a third country,

to an international organisation or to any private parties, with the exception of

transfers to Interpol for the purpose of carrying out automated processing against

Interpol Stolen and Lost Travel Documents and Travel Documents Associated with

Notices databases, and provides that such transfers are subject to Regulation (EU) 2018/17255.

(11) Articles 80, 99 and 104 of Council Regulation (EU) 2017/19396 set out in particular the relations and provide for the exchange of information between the European Public Prosecutor’s Office and international organisations.

(12) In view of recital 33 of Regulation (EU) 2016/794 and recital 46 of Regulation (EU) 2018/1727 of the European Parliament and of the Council7, it is appropriate to

Regulation (EU) 2016/794 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 May 2016 on the European

Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol) and replacing and repealing Council Decisions

2009/371/JHA, 2009/934/JHA, 2009/935/JHA, 2009/936/JHA and 2009/968/JHA (OJ L 135, 24.5.2016, p.

53).

Regulation (EU) 2019/817 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 May 2019 on establishing a

framework for interoperability between EU information systems in the field of borders and visa and

amending Regulations (EC) No 767/2008, (EU) 2016/399, (EU) 2017/2226, (EU) 2018/1240, (EU)

2018/1726 and (EU) 2018/1861 of the European Parliament and of the Council and Council Decisions

2004/512/EC and 2008/633/JHA (OJ L 135, 22.5.2019, p. 27).

Regulation (EU) 2019/818 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 May 2019 on establishing a

framework for interoperability between EU information systems in the field of police and judicial

cooperation, asylum and migration and amending Regulations (EU) 2018/1726, (EU) 2018/1862 and (EU)

2019/816 (OJ L 135, 22.5.2019, p. 85).

Regulation (EU) 2018/1240 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 September 2018

establishing a European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS) and amending Regulations

(EU) No 1077/2011, (EU) No 515/2014, (EU) 2016/399, (EU) 2016/1624 and (EU) 2017/2226 (OJ L 236,

19.9.2018, p. 1)

Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2018 on the

protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data by the Union institutions,

bodies, offices and agencies and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Regulation (EC) No

45/2001 and Decision No 1247/2002/EC, OJ L 295, 21.11.2018, p. 39.

Council Regulation (EU) 2017/1939 of 12 October 2017 implementing enhanced cooperation on the

establishment of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (‘the EPPO’) (OJ L 283, 31.10.2017, p. 1).

Regulation (EU) 2018/1727 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 November 2018 on the

European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation (Eurojust), and replacing and repealing Council

Decision 2002/187/JHA (OJ L 295, 21.11.2018, p. 138).

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strengthen cooperation between Europol and Interpol, and Eurojust and Interpol respectively, by promoting the efficient exchange of personal data.

(13) Article 68(1) of Regulation (EU) 2019/1896 of the European Parliament and of the Council8 provides for the possibility of Frontex to cooperate with international organisations, which specifically include Interpol. In accordance with Article 82(1) of Regulation (EU) 2019/1896 the members of teams from the standing corps of Frontex must have the capacity to perform tasks and exercise powers for border control set out in Regulation (EU) 2016/399 of the European Parliament and of the Council9 (the Schengen Borders Code). Pursuant to Article 8(3)(a)(i)10, Article 8(3)(a)(ii)11 and Article 6(1)(e)12 of Regulation (EU) 2016/399, this includes checking third-country nationals against Interpol databases (in particular Interpol’s Stolen and Lost Travel Documents database) at the external borders of the Member States and third countries associated with the implementation, application and development of the Schengen acquis in relation to control on persons at the external borders.

(14) Article 47(1), Article 47(5 and 6), Article 52 and Article 56 of Regulation (EU) 2018/1727 set out the relations, and provide for the exchange of personal data, between Eurojust and international organisations.

(15) In view of recital 96 of Council Regulation (EU) 2017/1939, it is appropriate to strengthen cooperation between the Union and Interpol by promoting an efficient exchange of personal data.

(16) Article 94 of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the Council13, sets out the conditions for the transfers of operational personal data to international organisations.

(17) The Agreement should be in full compliance with European Union provisions on data protection set out in Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council14, Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 and Directive 2016/68015 of the European Parliament and of the Council.

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Regulation (EU) 2019/1896 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 November 2019 on the

European Border and Coast Guard and repealing Regulations (EU) No 1052/2013 and (EU) 2016/1624 (OJ

L 295, 14.11.2019, p. 1).

Regulation (EU) 2016/399 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 March 2016 on a Union

Code on the rules governing the movement of persons across borders (Schengen Borders Code) (OJ L 77,

23.3.2016, p. 1).

On entry and exit, third-country nationals shall be subject to thorough checks, which includes verifying the

identity and the nationality of the third-country national and of the authenticity and validity of the travel

document for crossing the border. This involves consulting the relevant databases, in particular (but not

only) Interpol’s SLTD database.

The above check includes verifying that the travel document is accompanied, where applicable, by the

requisite visa or residence permit.

The entry conditions of the third-country nationals include that they are not considered to be a threat to

public policy, internal security, public health or the international relations of any of the Member States, in

particular where no alert has been issued in Member States’ national databases for the purposes of refusing

entry on the same grounds.

Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2018 on the

protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data by the Union institutions,

bodies, offices and agencies and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Regulation (EC) No

45/2001 and Decision No 1247/2002/EC (OJ L 295, 21.11.2018, p. 39).

Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the

protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of

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(18) The Agreement should fully respect the fundamental rights and observe the principles recognised by the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (‘the Charter’), in particular the right to a private and family life, recognised in Article 7 of the Charter, the right to the protection of personal data, recognised in Article 8 of the Charter and the right to effective remedy and fair trial recognised by Article 47 of the Charter. The Agreement should be applied in line with all the rights and principles enshrined in the Charter.

(19) The Commission should consult the European Data Protection Supervisor during the negotiation of the agreement or, in any event, before the agreement is concluded.

(20) The Commission should be nominated as the Union negotiator.