Europol Act 2012

Europol Act 2012 Skip to content Disclaimer Feedback Helpdesk Gaeilge Léim go dtí an t-ábhar Séanadh Aiseolas Deasc chabhrach English Gaeilge English Produced by the Office of the Attorney General Táirgthe ag Oifig an Ard-Aighne Home Legislation Acts of the Oireachtas Statutory Instruments Pre-1922 Legislation Constitution External Resources Bills (Houses of the Oireachtas) Iris Oifigiúil / Official Gazette Revised Acts (LRC) Classified List of Legislation (LRC) Translations (acts.ie) Translations (Houses of the Oireachtas) Government Publications for Sale EU Law (EUR-Lex) FAQ Disclaimer Feedback Helpdesk Search Baile Reachtaíocht Achtanna an Oireachtais Ionstraimí Reachtúla Reachtaíocht Réamh-1922 Bunreacht Acmhainní Seachtracha Billí (Tithe an Oireachtais) Iris Oifigiúil Achtanna Athbhreithnithe (CAD) (An Coimisiún um Athchóiriú an Dlí) Liosta Rangaithe Reachtaíochta Aistriúcháin (achtanna.ie) Aistriúcháin (Tithe an Oireachtais) Foilseacháin Rialtais ar Díol Dlí AE (EUR-Lex) CCanna (Ceisteanna Coitianta) Séanadh Aiseolas Deasc chabhrach Cuardach TitleTeideal Year(s) or rangeBliain nó blianta nó raon TypeCineál All Legislation Acts Statutory Instruments Advanced SearchCuardach Casta HomeBaile ActsAchtanna 2012 Europol Act 2012 Europol Act 2012 Permanent Page URL View by SectionAmharc de réir Ailt View Full ActAmharc ar an Acht Iomlán Bill History Stair Bille Commencement, Amendments, SIs made under the Act Tosach Feidhme, Leasuithe, IRí arna ndéanamh faoin Acht Revised Act Acht Athbh… Open PDFOscail PDF Print Full ActPriontáil an tAcht Iomlán Number 53 of 2012 EUROPOL ACT 2012 ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS Section 1. Interpretation. 2. Designated competent authorities. 3. Status of Europol. 4. Europol National Unit. 5. Functions of national unit. 6. Liaison officers. 7. Request from Europol to State to initiate investigation. 8. Provision of data to Europol Information System. 9. Provision of data for purposes other than those under section 8. 10. Modification, correction and deletion of data. 11. Access to Europol Information System. 12. Use of data. 13. Access to personal data. 14. Designation of national supervisory body. 15. Application of Official Secrets Act 1963. 16. Orders. 17. Confirmation of certain acts done in accordance with Europol Act 1997 or Council Decision. 18. Amendment of section 95 of Criminal Justice (Mutual Assistance) Act 2008. 19. Repeals. 20. Expenses. 21. Short title and commencement. SCHEDULE Council Decision Acts Referred to Criminal Justice (Mutual Assistance) Act 2008 2008, No. 7 Data Protection Acts 1988 and 2003 Europol Act 1997 1997, No. 38 Europol (Amendment) Act 2006 2006, No. 37 Garda Síochána Act 2005 2005, No. 20 Official Secrets Act 1963 1963, No. 1 Number 53 of 2012 EUROPOL ACT 2012 AN ACT TO GIVE EFFECT TO COUNCIL DECISION 2009/371/JHA OF 6 APRIL 2009 ESTABLISHING THE EUROPEAN POLICE OFFICE (EUROPOL); TO REPEAL THE EUROPOL ACT 1997 AND THE EUROPOL (AMENDMENT) ACT 2006; TO EXTEND THE APPLICATION OF THE OFFICIAL SECRETS ACT 1963 AND TO PROVIDE FOR RELATED MATTERS. [26th December, 2012] BE IT ENACTED BY THE OIREACHTAS AS FOLLOWS: Interpretation. 1.— (1) In this Act— “analysis” in relation to a sample of biological material, includes comparison and matching; “Council Decision” means Council Decision 2009/371/JHA of 6 April 2009 establishing the European Police Office (Europol) * the text of which in the English language is, for convenience of reference, set out in the Schedule to this Act; “criminal offence” means an offence for which Europol has competence in accordance with Article 4 of the Council Decision and includes related criminal offences; “data” has the same meaning as it has in the Data Protection Acts 1988 and 2003; “designated competent authority” shall be construed in accordance with section 2 (1); “DNA” means deoxyribonucleic acid; “DNA profile”, in relation to a person, means information comprising a set of identification characteristics of the non-coding part of DNA derived from an examination and analysis of a sample of biological material that is clearly identifiable as relating to the person and that is capable of comparison with similar information derived from an examination and analysis of another sample of biological material for the purpose of determining whether or not that other sample could relate to that person; “Europol” means the European Police Office established under the Council Decision; “Europol Information System” means the data processing system established and maintained by Europol under the Council Decision; “Garda Commissioner” means the Commissioner of the Garda Síochána; “head of the national unit” shall be construed in accordance with section 4 (4); “liaison officer” means a person sent as a liaison officer with Europol under section 6 ; “Minister” means the Minister for Justice and Equality; “national unit” shall be construed in accordance with section 4 ; “non-coding part of DNA”, in relation to a person, means the chromosome regions of a person’s DNA that are not known to provide for any functional properties of the person; “personal data” has the same meaning as it has in the Data Protection Acts 1988 and 2003; “processing”, in relation to data, has the same meaning as it has in the Data Protection Acts 1988 and 2003; “revenue offence” means a criminal offence in connection with taxes, duties, customs or exchange control. (2) A word or expression used in this Act and in the Council Decision has the same meaning in this Act as in that Decision. Designated competent authorities. 2.— (1) The designated competent authorities of the State for the purposes of this Act and the Council Decision are the Commissioner of the Garda Síochána and, in relation to revenue offences, the Revenue Commissioners. (2) In this Act “designated competent authority” in relation to another Member State, means the authority designated by that Member State to be the designated competent authority for the purposes of the Council Decision. Status of Europol. 3.— Europol shall have the legal capacity of a body corporate and power to sue and be sued in its corporate name and to acquire, hold and dispose of property. Europol National Unit. 4.— (1) The Europol National Unit (in this Act referred to as the “national unit”) within the Garda Síochána is designated as the national unit for the purpose of this Act and the Council Decision. (2) The national unit shall operate under the control and general superintendence of the Garda Commissioner. (3) The Garda Commissioner may assign such and so many members of the Garda Síochána to be members of the national unit as the Garda Commissioner thinks fit. (4) The Garda Commissioner shall assign the management of the national unit to a member of the Garda Síochána not below the rank of Chief Superintendent and the member so assigned shall be known as the “head of the national unit”. (5) The Garda Commissioner may assign other duties to the head of the national unit during his or her assignment as such. (6) (a) The Minister, after consultation with the Garda Commissioner, the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform and such other Minister of the Government (if any) as the Minister considers appropriate in the circumstances and, in relation to officers of the Revenue Commissioners, with the Revenue Commissioners, may, appoint such and so many persons who are not members of the Garda Síochána to be members of the national unit. (b) An appointment under paragraph (a) shall be on such conditions as may be agreed with the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform. (7) A member of the Garda Síochána or an officer of the Revenue Commissioners, who is a member of the national unit, notwithstanding his or her appointment as such, shall continue to be vested with and may perform the functions of a member of the Garda Síochána or an officer of the Revenue Commissioners, as may be appropriate, for purposes other than the purposes of this Act, as well as for the purposes of this Act. (8) Unless the context otherwise requires or the Minister by order otherwise provides, the references in the Council Decision to a Member State (whether specific or general) shall, in so far as those references apply to the State, be construed and have effect as if they were references to the national unit. Functions of national unit. 5.— (1) For the purposes of this Act and the Council Decision, the national unit shall have the following functions: (a) to accept requests from Europol to initiate investigations in relation to alleged criminal offences and inform the designated competent authorities of such requests as soon as practicable; (b) to liaise with Europol and the designated competent authorities of other Member States; (c) to communicate information and intelligence to Europol which the head of the national unit considers necessary for Europol to carry out its tasks; (d) to issue a request to Europol for advice, information, intelligence or analysis; (e) to respond to requests from Europol for information, intelligence or advice; (f) to provide Europol with information for processing in its databases; (g) to perform such other tasks as are required by the Council Decision. (2) Notwithstanding subsection (1), the national unit may refuse to provide information to Europol where to do so would be likely to— (a) prejudice the security or other essential interests of the State or be contrary to public policy, (b) prejudice criminal proceedings or investigations in relation to alleged criminal offences in the State, or (c) jeopardise the safety of a person. (3) The national unit shall for the purposes of sections 8 and 9 communicate directly with the Europol Information System. (4) The national unit may for the purposes of the Council Decision— (a) access the Europol Information System, and (b) receive information and intelligence from that system. Liaison officers. 6.— (1) The Garda Commissioner shall, subject to subsection (2) and the Council Decision, send one or more than one member of the national unit to be a liaison officer with Europol for the purposes of the Council Decision. (2) A member of the national unit, other than a member of the Garda Síochána, may be sent as a liaison officer with Europol only after consultation with the Minister, and (a) where the member to be sent is an officer of the Revenue Commissioners, on the nomination of the Revenue Commissioners, (b) where the member to be sent is not a member of the Garda Síochána or an officer of the Revenue Commissioners, on the nomination of such other Minister of the Government as the Minister considers appropriate in the circumstances. (3) Without prejudice to the functions of the national unit under section 5 , a liaison officer shall provide liaison between Europol and the national unit in the transmission of information, and otherwise cooperate with Europol and Europol staff. (4) A liaison officer who is not a member of the Garda Síochána has the same immunities and privileges as if he or she were a person appointed to the rank of garda under section 14 of the Garda Síochána Act 2005. Request from Europol to State to initiate investigation. 7.— (1) On receipt of a request to initiate an investigation in relation to alleged criminal offences pursuant to Article 7 of the Council Decision— (a) the national unit shall transmit the request to the designated competent authority concerned, (b) that designated competent authority shall decide whether or not to comply with the request and communicate the decision to the national unit, and (c) the national unit shall notify Europol of the decision of the designated competent authority. (2) Where the designated competent authority concerned decides not to comply with the request, the national unit shall notify Europol of the reasons for the refusal unless the national unit considers that to so inform Europol would be likely to— (a) prejudice the security or other essential interests of the State or be contrary to public policy, (b) prejudice a criminal investigation or criminal proceedings in the State, or (c) jeopardise the safety of a person. (3) The national unit shall notify Europol of the result of an investigation carried out on foot of a request under subsection (1). Provision of data to Europol Information System. 8.— (1) For the purposes of this Act and the Council Decision, the national unit or a liaison officer shall, where such data are available, provide the data referred to in subsection (2) to the Europol Information System where— (a) a person has been convicted of a criminal offence, (b) there are reasonable grounds for believing that a person may have committed a criminal offence, (c) there are reasonable grounds for believing that a person is likely to commit a criminal offence. (2) The data in relation to a person referred to in subsection (1) which shall be provided to the Europol Information System may include data relating to any or all of the following matters: (a) surname, maiden name, given name or a name by which the person is commonly known or has assumed (whether falsely or otherwise); (b) date and place of birth; (c) nationality; (d) sex; (e) place of residence, profession and whereabouts; (f) driving licence number, identification document number or passport data; and (g) where necessary, other data in relation to characteristics likely to assist in identification, including fingerprint or palm print data and DNA profile or any other specific objective physical characteristics not subject to a change. (3) Data whether or not in relation to a person referred to in subsection (1) and relating to the following matters may also be provided to the Europol Information System: (a) a criminal offence or an alleged criminal offence committed by a person; (b) the time, place and method of committing such a criminal offence or alleged criminal offence; (c) the means which were or might be used to commit such a criminal offence; (d) which designated competent authority would be investigating such a criminal offence; (e) suspected membership of a person in a criminal organisation; (f) a conviction for a criminal offence; or (g) the identity of the national unit. (4) Where requested to do so, the national unit may transmit information of types, other than that referred to in subsections (2) and (3), in relation to a person referred to in subsection (1), to any other national unit or to Europol. Provision of data for purposes other than those under section 8 . 9.— (1) The national unit shall determine the conditions under which data may be provided to Europol for purposes other than those referred to in section 8 , including the dissemination or operational use of such data. (2) The national unit shall not provide the data referred to in subsection (1) unless the head of the national unit is satisfied that no person, including Europol, another Member State or an expert will use or disseminate the data concerned without the prior consent of the national unit. (3) In this section “expert” shall be construed in accordance with Article 14.8 of the Council Decision. Modification, correction and deletion of data. 10.— (1) Where the national unit or a liaison officer considers that data received or provided by the national unit or that officer and processed by the Europol Information System is incorrect or needs to be supplemented, the national unit or the liaison officer concerned shall— (a) modify, correct or delete as necessary the data concerned, or (b) request the Europol Information System to modify, correct or delete as necessary that data. (2) Where the national unit or a liaison officer has reasonable grounds for believing that information provided by another Member State, is incorrect or inaccurate, the national unit or the liaison officer, as the case may be, shall, without delay, notify the provider of the information concerned. (3) Where the data in relation to a criminal offence has been provided by the national unit or a liaison officer to the Europol Information System and the prosecution for that offence has been abandoned, or the accused person has been acquitted, the national unit shall, as soon as may be, cause those data to be deleted. (4) Where the national unit deletes from files in the State data which have been provided to the Europol Information System, it shall, as soon as may be, inform Europol accordingly. Access to Europol Information System. 11.— (1) The national unit and liaison officers may input, access and retrieve data from the Europol Information System for the purpose of preventing and combating organised crime, terrorism and other forms of serious crime in accordance with the Council Decision. (2) The designated competent authorities may query the Europol Information System, but only for the purpose of determining whether the data requested are available in the Europol Information System. (3) Where a query under subsection (2) determines that the data requested are available in the Europol Information System, the designated competent authority which made the query shall request the national unit to obtain the data. (4) The Minister shall, by notice in writing, inform the General Secretariat of the Council of the European Union of the competent authorities in the State designated for the purposes of this section. Use of data. 12.— (1) Personal data retrieved from any of Europol’s data processing files or provided to the national unit by any other appropriate means shall be provided or used by the designated competent authorities in order to prevent and combat criminal offences or other serious forms of crime. (2) Subject to subsection (3), any restrictions on the use of data imposed by Europol, a communicating Member State, a communicating third state or a communicating third body shall be complied with by the designated competent authorities. (3) Where a court in the State, a legislative body or another body established by statute proposes, when supervising a designated competent authority to waive in accordance with law a restriction placed on information received from a communicating Member State, a communicating third state or a communicating third body, the relevant designated competent authority shall— (a) consult the communicating state or body concerned as respects the interests and views of that state or body in the matter, and (b) take all reasonable steps to convey those interests and views to the court, legislative body or supervising authority concerned. (4) The designated competent authorities may request a communicating Member State, a communicating third state or a communicating third body to waive any restrictions imposed on the use of data by the communicating State concerned. Access to personal data. 13.— (1) For the purposes of the application of the Council Decision to the State, references to the “authority” in Article 30.2 of the Council Decision shall be construed as references to the head of the national unit. (2) A person may, by applying to the head of the national unit, request from Europol information as to whether personal data relating to him or her are processed by Europol and, if such data are so processed, may request to have such data communicated to him or her in a language that he or she understands. (3) The national unit shall forward a request sent to it under subsection (2) to Europol within 30 days of receiving it. (4) Where a request concerns data provided to Europol by the national unit and the designated competent authorities do not consider that access to the data should be permitted or otherwise object to the proposed response of Europol to the request, the national unit shall notify Europol of their objections and the reasons for them. (5) The designated competent authorities may object to the provision of information in response to a request under subsection (2) where either of those authorities considers that providing the information concerned would be likely to— (a) prejudice the sovereignty, security or other essential interests of the State or would be contrary to public policy or public order, (b) prejudice investigations in relation to alleged criminal offences or criminal proceedings in the State, or (c) prejudice the rights and freedoms of a person. (6) When considering an objection to the grant of access to data, the designated competent authority concerned shall take into account the interests of the person making the request. (7) The State shall be liable for any injury, loss or damage caused to a person by a legal or factual error in data processed by Europol, where the injury, loss or damage concerned was caused in the State. Designation of national supervisory body. 14.— (1) The Data Protection Commissioner is designated as the national supervisory body for the purposes of this Act and the Council Decision. (2) For the purposes of the Council Decision the Data Protection Commissioner— (a) may access, at the national unit or at the office of a liaison officer, data provided to the Europol Information System by the national unit or a liaison officer, and (b) shall inform the Joint Supervisory Body under the Council Decision of any action that the Data Protection Commissioner has taken with respect to the Europol Information System. (3) In this section “Joint Supervisory Body” means the body set up under Article 34 of the Council Decision. Application of Official Secrets Act 1963. 15.— (1) Information which comes to the knowledge of any of the following persons in the performance of their functions as— (a) the Director of Europol, (b) a member of the Management Board of Europol, (c) a Deputy Director of Europol, (d) an employee of Europol, (e) a person who, in respect of another Member State, performs the functions for that Member State, that a liaison officer performs in relation to the State, or (f) another person under a particular obligation of discretion or confidentiality under this Act or the Council Decision, shall be deemed to be official information within the meaning of the Official Secrets Act 1963 and the provisions of that Act shall apply accordingly to such information. (2) As respects information to which subsection (1) relates, “duly authorised” in section 4(4) of the Official Secrets Act 1963 shall be construed as including being authorised by the Director of Europol or, as the case may be, the Management Board of Europol. Orders. 16.— Every order made by the Minister under section 4 shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas as soon as may be after it is made, and if a resolution annulling the order is passed by either House within the next subsequent 21 days on which that House has sat after the order is laid before it, the order shall be annulled accordingly, but without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done thereunder. Confirmation of certain acts done in accordance with Europol Act 1997 or Council Decision. 17.— (1) Every act done, or purporting to have been done, before the commencement of this Act, under and in accordance with the Europol Act 1997 or the Council Decision, shall be, and be deemed always to have been, valid and effectual for all purposes. (2) If subsection (1) would, but for this subsection, conflict with a constitutional right of any person, the operation of that subsection shall be subject to such limitation as is necessary to secure that it does not so conflict but shall otherwise be of full force and effect. Amendment of section 95 of Criminal Justice (Mutual Assistance) Act 2008. 18.— Section 95(1) of the Criminal Justice (Mutual Assistance) Act 2008 is amended by the substitution of “Europol Act 2012” for “Europol Act 1997”. Repeals. 19.— The Europol Act 1997 and the Europol (Amendment) Act 2006 are repealed. Expenses. 20.— The expenses incurred in the administration of this Act shall, to such extent as may be sanctioned by the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, be paid out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas. Short title and commencement. 21.— (1) This Act may be cited as the Europol Act 2012. (2) This Act shall come into operation on such day as the Minister may by order appoint. SCHEDULE Council Decision Section 1 . THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, Having regard to the Treaty on European Union, and in particular Article 30(1)(b), Article 30(2) and Article 34(2)(c) thereof, Having regard to the proposal from the Commission, Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament 1 , Whereas: (1) The establishment of a European Police Office (Europol) was agreed in the Treaty on European Union of 7 February 1992, and regulated in the Convention based on Article K.3 of the Treaty on European Union, on the establishment of a European Police Office (Europol Convention) 2 . (2) The Europol Convention has been the subject of a number of amendments enshrined in three protocols which have entered into force after a lengthy process of ratification. Consequently, replacing the Convention by a Decision will ease further amendments as necessary. (3) Simplification and improvement of Europol’s legal framework can be partially achieved by the establishment of Europol as an entity of the Union, funded from the general budget of the European Union, due to the subsequent application of the general rules and procedures. (4) Recent legal instruments setting up similar Union entities in the areas covered by Title VI of the Treaty on European Union (Council Decision 2002/187/JHA of 28 February 2002 setting up Eurojust with a view to reinforcing the fight against serious crime 3 and Decision 2005/681/JHA of 20 September 2005 establishing the European Police College (CEPOL) 4 have taken the form of Council Decisions, since such Decisions are more easily adaptable to changing circumstances and emerging political priorities. (5) Establishing Europol as an entity of the Union, funded from the general budget of the European Union, will enhance the role of the European Parliament in the control of Europol through the involvement of the European Parliament in the adoption of that budget, including the establishment plan, and the discharge procedure. (6) Making Europol subject to the general rules and procedures applicable to similar Union entities will ensure administrative simplification, which will allow Europol to devote more of its resources to its core tasks. (7) Further simplification and improvement of Europol’s functioning can be achieved through measures aimed at widening the possibilities for Europol’s assisting and supporting the competent law enforcement authorities of the Member States, without providing for executive powers for Europol staff. (8) One such improvement is to ensure that Europol can assist the competent authorities of the Member States in combating specific forms of serious crime, without the current limitation that there must be factual indications that an organised criminal structure is involved. (9) The establishment of joint investigation teams should be encouraged and it is important that Europol staff should be able to participate in them. To ensure that such participation is possible in every Member State, it should be guaranteed that Europol staff do not benefit from the application of immunities while they are participating in a support capacity in joint investigation teams. That will be possible after the adoption of a Regulation to that effect on the basis of Article 16 of the Protocol on the Privileges and Immunities of the European Communities. (10) Europol national units should have direct access to all data in the Europol Information System to avoid unnecessary procedures. (11) In order to achieve its objectives, Europol processes personal data by automated means or in structured manual files. Accordingly, the necessary steps should be taken to guarantee a level of data protection which corresponds at least to that which results from the application of the principles of the Council of Europe Convention for the Protection of Individuals with regard to Automatic Processing of Personal Data, signed in Strasbourg on 28 January 1981, together with subsequent amendments thereto, once such amendments are in force between the Member States. (12) A Council Framework Decision on the protection of personal data processed in the framework of police and judicial cooperation in criminal matters will be applicable to the transfer of personal data by Member States to Europol. The relevant set of data-protection provisions in this Decision will not be affected by that Framework Decision and this Decision should contain specific provisions on the protection of personal data regulating these matters in greater detail because of the particular nature, functions and competences of Europol. (13) There is a need for a Data Protection Officer who should be responsible for ensuring, in an independent manner, the lawfulness of data processing and compliance with the provisions of this Decision concerning the processing of personal data, including the processing of personal data on Europol staff which are protected by Article 24 of Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 December 2000 on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data by the Community institutions and bodies and on the free movement of such data 5 . (14) Europol’s existing possibilities for the creation and management of information processing systems in support of its tasks should be widened. Such additional information processing systems should be established and maintained in accordance with the general principles of data protection enshrined in the Council of Europe Convention for the Protection of Individuals with regard to Automatic Processing of Personal Data of 28 January 1981 and in Recommendation No R (87) 15 of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe of 17 September 1987, by means of a Management Board decision approved by the Council. (15) This Decision allows the principle of public access to official documents to be taken into account. (16) For the purpose of fulfilling its mission, Europol should cooperate with European institutions, bodies, offices and agencies, including Eurojust, ensuring an adequate level of data protection. (17) Europol should be able to conclude agreements and working arrangements with Union or Community institutions, bodies, offices and agencies in order to increase mutual effectiveness in combating serious forms of crime which come within the respective competence of both parties and to avoid the duplication of work. (18) Europol’s possibilities for cooperation with third States and organisations should be rationalised in order to ensure consistency with the general policy of the Union in that respect and new provisions on the manner in which such cooperation should take place in future should be laid down. (19) The governance of Europol should be improved through simplified procedures, more general descriptions of the tasks of the Management Board and the establishment of a common rule that all decisions should be taken by a majority of two thirds. (20) It is also desirable to provide for enhanced control over Europol by the European Parliament in order to ensure that Europol remains a fully accountable and transparent organisation, due account being taken of the need to safeguard the confidentiality of operational information. (21) Judicial control over Europol will be exercised in accordance with Article 35 of the Treaty on European Union. (22) In order to enable Europol to continue to fulfil its tasks to the best of its abilities, carefully designed transitional measures should be laid down. (23) Since the objective of this Decision, namely the establishment of an entity responsible for law-enforcement cooperation at Union level, cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States and can, therefore, by reason of the scale and effects of the action, be better achieved at Union level, the Union may adopt measures, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity, as set out in Article 5 of the Treaty establishing the European Community and referred to in Article 2 of the Treaty on European Union. In accordance with the principle of proportionality, as set out in Article 5 of the Treaty establishing the European Community, this Decision does not go beyond what is necessary in order to achieve that objective. (24) This Decision respects the fundamental rights and observes the principles recognised in particular by the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS: CHAPTER I ESTABLISHMENT AND TASKS Article 1 Establishment 1. This Decision replaces the provisions of the Convention based on Article K.3 of the Treaty on European Union, on the establishment of a European Police Office (Europol Convention). Europol shall have its seat in The Hague, the Netherlands. 2. Europol, as referred to in this Decision, shall be regarded as the legal successor of Europol, as established by the Europol Convention. 3. Europol shall liaise with a single national unit in each Member State, to be established or designated in accordance with Article 8. Article 2 Legal capacity 1. Europol shall have legal personality. 2. In each Member State Europol shall enjoy the most extensive legal and contractual capacity accorded to legal persons under that Member State’s law. Europol may, in particular, acquire and dispose of movable and immovable property and may be a party to legal proceedings. 3. Europol shall be empowered to conclude a Headquarters Agreement with the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Article 3 Objective The objective of Europol shall be to support and strengthen action by the competent authorities of the Member States and their mutual cooperation in preventing and combating organised crime, terrorism and other forms of serious crime affecting two or more Member States. For the purposes of this Decision, “competent authorities” shall mean all public bodies existing in the Member States which are responsible under national law for preventing and combating criminal offences. Article 4 Competence 1. Europol’s competence shall cover organised crime, terrorism and other forms of serious crime as listed in the Annex affecting two or more Member States in such a way as to require a common approach by the Member States owing to the scale, significance and consequences of the offences. 2. On a recommendation by the Management Board, the Council shall lay down its priorities for Europol, taking particular account of strategic analyses and threat assessments prepared by Europol. 3. Europol’s competence shall also cover related criminal offences. The following offences shall be regarded as related criminal offences: (a) criminal offences committed in order to procure the means of perpetrating acts in respect of which Europol is competent; (b) criminal offences committed in order to facilitate or carry out acts in respect of which Europol is competent; (c) criminal offences committed to ensure the impunity of acts in respect of which Europol is competent. Article 5 Tasks 1. Europol shall have the following principal tasks: (a) to collect, store, process, analyse and exchange information and intelligence; (b) to notify the competent authorities of the Member States without delay via the national unit referred to in Article 8 of information concerning them and of any connections identified between criminal offences; (c) to aid investigations in the Member States, in particular by forwarding all relevant information to the national units; (d) to ask the competent authorities of the Member States concerned to initiate, conduct or coordinate investigations and to suggest the setting up of joint investigation teams in specific cases; (e) to provide intelligence and analytical support to Member States in connection with major international events; (f) to prepare threat assessments, strategic analyses and general situation reports relating to its objective, including organised crime threat assessments. 2. The tasks referred to in paragraph 1 shall include providing support to Member States in their tasks of gathering and analysing information from the Internet in order to assist in the identification of criminal activities facilitated by or committed using the Internet. 3. Europol shall have the following additional tasks: (a) to develop specialist knowledge of the investigative procedures of the competent authorities of the Member States and to provide advice on investigations; (b) to provide strategic intelligence to assist and promote the efficient and effective use of the resources available at national and Union level for operational activities and the support of such activities. 4. Additionally, in the context of its objective under Article 3, Europol may, in accordance with the staffing and budgetary resources at its disposal and within the limits set by the Management Board, assist Member States through support, advice and research in the following areas: (a) the training of members of their competent authorities, where appropriate in cooperation with the European Police College; (b) the organisation and equipment of those authorities by facilitating the provision of technical support between the Member States; (c) crime prevention methods; (d) technical and forensic methods and analysis, and investigative procedures. 5. Europol shall also act as the Central Office for combating euro counterfeiting in accordance with Council Decision 2005/511/JHA of 12 July 2005 on protecting the euro against counterfeiting, by designating Europol as the Central Office for combating euro counterfeiting 6 . Europol may also encourage the coordination of measures carried out in order to fight euro counterfeiting by the competent authorities of the Member States or in the context of joint investigation teams, where appropriate in liaison with Union entities and third States’ bodies. Upon request, Europol may financially support investigations of euro counterfeiting. Article 6 Participation in joint investigation teams 1. Europol staff may participate in supporting capacity in joint investigation teams, including such teams set up in accordance with Article 1 of Council Framework Decision 2002/465/JHA of 13 June 2002 on joint investigation teams 7 , in accordance with Article 13 of the Convention of 29 May 2000 on mutual assistance in criminal matters between the Member States of the European Union 8 , or in accordance with Article 24 of the Convention of 18 December 1997 on mutual assistance and cooperation between customs administrations 9 , in so far as those teams are investigating criminal offences in respect of which Europol is competent under Article 4 of this Decision. Europol staff may, within the limits provided for by the law of the Member States in which a joint investigation team is operating and in accordance with the arrangement referred to in paragraph 2, assist in all activities and exchange information with all members of the joint investigation team, in accordance with paragraph 4. They shall not, however, take part in the taking of any coercive measures. 2. The administrative implementation of participation by Europol staff in a joint investigation team shall be laid down in an arrangement between the Director and the competent authorities of the Member States participating in the joint investigation team, with the involvement of the national units. The rules governing such arrangements shall be determined by the Management Board. 3. The rules referred to in paragraph 2 shall specify the conditions under which Europol staff are placed at the disposal of the joint investigation team. 4. In accordance with the arrangement referred to in paragraph 2, Europol staff may liaise directly with members of a joint investigation team and provide members and seconded members of the joint investigation team, in accordance with this Decision, with information from any of the components of the information processing systems referred to in Article 10. In the event of such direct liaison, Europol shall at the same time inform the national units of the Member States represented in the team as well as those of the Member States which provided the information thereof. 5. Information obtained by a Europol staff member while part of a joint investigation team may, with the consent and under the responsibility of the Member State which provided the information, be included in any of the components of the information processing systems referred to in Article 10 under the conditions laid down in this Decision. 6. During the operations of a joint investigation team, Europol staff shall, with respect to offences committed against or by them, be subject to the national law of the Member State of operation applicable to persons with comparable functions. Article 7 Requests by Europol for the initiation of criminal investigations 1. Member States shall deal with any request by Europol to initiate, conduct or coordinate investigations in specific cases and shall give such requests due consideration. The Member States shall inform Europol whether the investigation requested will be initiated. 2. Before making a request for the initiation of criminal investigations, Europol shall inform Eurojust accordingly. 3. If the competent authorities of the Member State decide not to comply with a request made by Europol, they shall inform Europol of their decision and of the reasons therefor unless they are unable to give their reasons because: (a) to do so would harm essential national security interests; or (b) to do so would jeopardise the success of investigations under way or the safety of individuals. 4. Replies to requests by Europol for the initiation, conduct or coordination of investigations in specific cases and information for Europol concerning the results of investigations shall be forwarded through the competent authorities of the Member States in accordance with the rules laid down in this Decision and the relevant national legislation. Article 8 National units 1. Each Member State shall establish or designate a national unit responsible for carrying out the tasks set out in this Article. An official shall be appointed in each Member State as the head of the national unit. 2. The national unit shall be the only liaison body between Europol and the competent authorities of the Member States. Member States, however, may allow direct contacts between designated competent authorities and Europol subject to conditions determined by the Member State in question, including prior involvement of the national unit. The national unit shall at the same time receive from Europol any information exchanged in the course of direct contacts between Europol and designated competent authorities. Relations between the national unit and the competent authorities shall be governed by national law, and in particular, the relevant national constitutional requirements. 3. Member States shall take the measures necessary to ensure that their national units are able to fulfil their tasks and, in particular, have access to relevant national data. 4. The national units shall: (a) supply Europol on their own initiative with the information and intelligence necessary for it to carry out its tasks; (b) respond to Europol’s requests for information, intelligence and advice; (c) keep information and intelligence up to date; (d) evaluate information and intelligence in accordance with national law for the competent authorities and transmit that material to them; (e) issue requests for advice, information, intelligence and analysis to Europol; (f) supply Europol with information for storage in its databases; (g) ensure compliance with the law in every exchange of information between themselves and Europol. 5. Without prejudice to the Member States’ discharging the responsibilities incumbent upon them with regard to the maintenance of law and order and the safeguarding of internal security, a national unit shall not in any particular case be obliged to supply information or intelligence if that would entail: (a) harming essential national security interests; (b) jeopardising the success of a current investigation or the safety of individuals; or (c) disclosing information relating to organisations or specific intelligence activities in the field of State security. 6. The costs incurred by the national units in communications with Europol shall be borne by the Member States and, apart from the costs of connection, shall not be charged to Europol. 7. The heads of the national units shall meet on a regular basis to assist Europol on operational matters, on their own initiative or at the request of the Management Board or the Director, in particular to: (a) consider and develop proposals that will improve Europol’s operational effectiveness and encourage commitment from Member States; (b) evaluate the reports and analyses drafted by Europol in accordance with Article 5(1)(f) and develop measures in order to help to implement their findings; (c) provide support in the establishment of joint investigation teams involving Europol in accordance with Article 5(1)(d) and Article 6. Article 9 Liaison officers 1. Each national unit shall second at least one liaison officer to Europol. Except as otherwise stipulated in specific provisions of this Decision, liaison officers shall be subject to the national law of the seconding Member State. 2. Liaison officers shall constitute the national liaison bureaux at Europol and shall be instructed by their national units to represent the interests of the latter within Europol in accordance with the national law of the seconding Member State and the provisions applicable to the administration of Europol. 3. Without prejudice to Article 8(4) and (5), liaison officers shall: (a) provide Europol with information from the seconding national unit; (b) forward information from Europol to the seconding national unit; (c) cooperate with Europol staff by providing information and giving advice; and (d) assist in the exchange of information from their national units with the liaison officers of other Member States under their responsibility in accordance with national law. Such bilateral exchanges may also cover crimes outwith the competence of Europol, as far as allowed by national law. 4. Article 35 shall apply mutatis mutandis to the activities of liaison officers. 5. The rights and obligations of liaison officers in relation to Europol shall be determined by the Management Board. 6. Liaison officers shall enjoy the privileges and immunities necessary for the performance of their tasks in accordance with Article 51(2). 7. Europol shall ensure that liaison officers are fully informed of and associated with all of its activities, as far as that is compatible with their position. 8. Europol shall provide Member States free of charge with the necessary premises in the Europol building and adequate support for the performance of the activities of their liaison officers. All other costs which arise in connection with the secondment of liaison officers shall be borne by the seconding Member State, including the costs of equipment for liaison officers, unless the Management Board recommends otherwise in specific cases when drawing up Europol’s budget. CHAPTER II INFORMATION PROCESSING SYSTEMS Article 10 Information processing 1. In so far as it is necessary for the achievement of its objectives, Europol shall process information and intelligence, including personal data, in accordance with this Decision. Europol shall establish and maintain the Europol Information System referred to in Article 11 and the analysis work files referred to in Article 14. Europol may also establish and maintain other systems processing personal data set up in accordance with paragraphs 2 and 3 of this Article. 2. The Management Board, acting on a proposal from the Director after having taken into account the possibilities offered by existing Europol information processing systems and after consulting the Joint Supervisory Body, shall decide on the establishment of a new system processing personal data. That Management Board decision shall be submitted to the Council for approval. 3. The Management Board decision referred to in paragraph 2 shall determine the conditions and limitations under which Europol may establish the new system processing personal data. The Management Board decision may allow processing of personal data relating to the categories of persons referred to in Article 14(1), but not the processing of personal data revealing racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs or trade-union membership and the processing of data concerning health or sex life. The Management Board decision shall ensure that the measures and principles referred to in Articles 18, 19, 20, 27, 29 and 35 are properly implemented. In particular, the Management Board decision shall define the purpose of the new system, access to and the use of the data, as well as time limits for the storage and deletion of the data. 4. Europol may process data for the purpose of determining whether such data are relevant to its tasks and can be included in the Europol Information System referred to in Article 11, in the analysis work files referred to in Article 14 or in other systems processing personal data established in accordance with paragraphs 2 and 3 of this Article. The Management Board, acting on a proposal from the Director and after consulting the Joint Supervisory Body, shall determine the conditions relating to the processing of such data, in particular with respect to access to and the use of the data, as well as time limits for the storage and deletion of the data that may not exceed six months, having due regard to the principles referred to in Article 27. That Management Board decision shall be submitted to the Council for approval. Article 11 Europol Information System 1. Europol shall maintain the Europol Information System. 2. Europol shall ensure compliance with the provisions of this Decision governing operation of the Europol Information System. It shall be responsible for the proper working of the Europol Information System in technical and operational respects and shall, in particular, take all measures necessary to ensure that the measures referred to in Articles 20, 29, 31 and 35 regarding the Europol Information System are properly implemented. 3. The national unit in each Member State shall be responsible for communication with the Europol Information System. It shall, in particular, be responsible for the security measures referred to in Article 35 in respect of the data-processing equipment used within the territory of the Member State in question, for the review provided for in Article 20 and, in so far as required under the laws, regulations, administrative provisions and procedures of that Member State, for the proper implementation of this Decision in other respects. Article 12 Content of the Europol Information System 1. The Europol Information System may be used to process only such data as are necessary for the performance of Europol’s tasks. The data input shall relate to: (a) persons who, in accordance with the national law of the Member State concerned, are suspected of having committed or having taken part in a criminal offence in respect of which Europol is competent or who have been convicted of such an offence; (b) persons regarding whom there are factual indications or reasonable grounds under the national law of the Member State concerned to believe that they will commit criminal offences in respect of which Europol is competent. 2. Data relating to the persons referred to in paragraph 1 may include only the following particulars: (a) surname, maiden name, given names and any alias or assumed name; (b) date and place of birth; (c) nationality; (d) sex; (e) place of residence, profession and whereabouts of the person concerned; (f) social security numbers, driving licences, identification documents and passport data; and (g) where necessary, other characteristics likely to assist in identification, including any specific objective physical characteristics not subject to change such as dactyloscopic data and DNA profile (established from the non-coding part of DNA). 3. In addition to the data referred to in paragraph 2, the Europol Information System may also be used to process the following particulars concerning the persons referred to in paragraph 1: (a) criminal offences, alleged criminal offences and when, where and how they were (allegedly) committed; (b) means which were or may be used to commit those criminal offences including information concerning legal persons; (c) departments handling the case and their filing references; (d) suspected membership of a criminal organisation; (e) convictions, where they relate to criminal offences in respect of which Europol is competent; (f) inputting party. These data may also be input when they do not yet contain any references to persons. Where Europol inputs the data itself, as well as when it gives its filing reference, it shall also indicate the source of the data. 4. Additional information held by Europol or national units concerning the persons referred to in paragraph 1 may be communicated to any national unit or Europol should either so request. National units shall do so in compliance with their national law. Where the additional information concerns one or more related criminal offences as defined in Article 4(3), the data stored in the Europol Information System shall be marked accordingly to enable national units and Europol to exchange information concerning the related criminal offences. 5. If proceedings against the person concerned are definitively dropped or if that person is definitively acquitted, the data relating to the case in respect of which either decision has been taken shall be deleted. Article 13 Use of the Europol Information System 1. National units, liaison officers, the Director, Deputy Directors and duly empowered Europol staff shall have the right to input data directly into the Europol Information System and retrieve them from it. Data may be retrieved by Europol where that is necessary for the performance of its tasks in a particular case. Retrieval by the national units and liaison officers shall be effected in accordance with the laws, regulations, administrative provisions and procedures of the accessing party, subject to any additional provisions laid down in this Decision. 2. Only the party which has input data may modify, correct or delete such data. Where another party has reason to believe that data as referred to in Article 12(2) are incorrect or wishes to supplement them, it shall immediately inform the inputting party. The inputting party shall examine such information without delay and if necessary modify, supplement, correct or delete the data immediately. 3. Where the system contains data as referred to in Article 12(3) concerning a person, any party may input additional data as referred to in that provision. Where there is an obvious contradiction between the data input, the parties concerned shall consult each other and reach agreement. 4. Where a party intends to delete altogether data as referred to in Article 12(2) which it has input concerning a person and data as referred to in Article 12(3) in respect of the same person have been input by other parties, responsibility in terms of data-protection legislation pursuant to Article 29(1) and the right to modify, supplement, correct and delete such data pursuant to Article 12(2) shall be transferred to the next party to have input data as referred to in Article 12(3) on that person. The party intending to delete shall inform the party to which responsibility in terms of data protection is transferred of its intention. 5. Responsibility for the permissibility of retrieval from, input into and modifications within the Europol Information System shall lie with the retrieving, inputting or modifying party. It must be possible to identify that party. The communication of information between national units and the competent authorities of the Member States shall be governed by national law. 6. In addition to the national units and persons referred to in paragraph 1, competent authorities designated to that effect by the Member States may also query the Europol Information System. However, the result of the query shall indicate only whether the data requested are available in the Europol Information System. Further information may then be obtained via the national unit. 7. Information concerning the competent authorities designated in accordance with paragraph 6, including subsequent modifications, shall be transmitted to the General Secretariat of the Council, which shall publish the information in the Official Journal of the European Union. Article 14 Analysis work files 1. Where this is necessary for the performance of its tasks, Europol may store, modify, and use data concerning criminal offences in respect of which it is competent, including data on the related criminal offences referred to in Article 4(3), in analysis work files. The analysis work files may contain data on the following categories of persons: (a) persons as referred to in Article 12(1); (b) persons who might be called on to testify in investigations in connection with the offences under consideration or in subsequent criminal proceedings; (c) persons who have been the victims of one of the offences under consideration or with regard to whom certain facts give reason to believe that they could be the victims of such an offence; (d) contacts and associates; and (e) persons who can provide information on the criminal offences under consideration. The processing of personal data revealing racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs or trade-union membership and the processing of data concerning health or sex life shall not be permitted unless strictly necessary for the purposes of the file concerned and unless such data supplement other personal data already input in that file. The selection of a particular group of persons solely on the basis of the abovementioned sensitive data, in breach of the aforementioned rules with regard to purpose, shall be prohibited. The Council, acting by qualified majority after consulting the European Parliament, shall adopt implementing rules for analysis work files prepared by the Management Board, which shall previously have obtained the opinion of the Joint Supervisory Body, containing additional details, in particular with regard to the categories of personal data referred to in this Article, to the security of the data concerned and to the internal supervision of their use. 2. Analysis work files shall be opened for the purposes of analysis defined as the assembly, processing or use of data with the aim of assisting criminal investigations. Each analysis project shall entail the establishment of an analysis group closely associating the following participants: (a) analysts and other Europol staff designated by the Director; (b) liaison officers and/or experts from the Member States supplying the information or concerned by the analysis within the meaning of paragraph 4. Only analysts shall be authorised to input data into the file concerned and modify such data. All participants in the analysis group may retrieve data from the file. 3. At the request of Europol or on their own initiative, national units shall, subject to Article 8(5), communicate to Europol all the information which it may require for the purpose of a part …