Eurpol 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:

1. Interpretation.

1.— (1) In this Act—

“analysis” in relation to a sample of biological material, includes comparison and matching;

F1["automated data" means information that—

• (a) is being processed by means of equipment operating automatically in response to instructions given for that purpose, or

• (b) is recorded with the intention that it should be processed by means of such equipment;]

“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;

F2["data" means automated data and manual data;]

“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;

F1["manual data" means information that is recorded as part of a relevant filing system, or with the intention that it should form part of a relevant filing system;]

“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 persons DNA that are not known to provide for any functional properties of the person;

F2["personal data" has the meaning it has in Part 5 of the Data Protection Act 2018;]

F2["processing", in relation to personal data, has the meaning it has in Part 5 of the Data Protection Act 2018;]

F1["relevant filing system" means any set of information relating to individuals to the extent that, although the information is not processed by means of equipment operating automatically in response to instructions given for that purpose, the set is structured, either by reference to individuals or by reference to criteria relating to individuals, in such a way that specific information relating to a particular individual is readily accessible;]

“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.

2. 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.

3. 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.

4. 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.

5. 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.

6. 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 F3under [section 50](https://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/2024/act/1) of the [Policing, Security and Community Safety Act 2024].

7. 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).

8. 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.

9. 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.

10. 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.

11. 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.

12. 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.

13. 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.

14. 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.

15. 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.

16. 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.

17. 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.

18. 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”.

19. Repeals.

19.— The Europol Act 1997 and the Europol (Amendment) Act 2006 are repealed.

20. 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.

21. 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

Europol shall have its seat in The Hague, the Netherlands.

Article 2

Legal capacity

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

• (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

• (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.

• (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.

• (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.

Article 6

Participation in joint investigation teams

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.

Article 7

Requests by Europol for the initiation of criminal investigations

• (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.

Article 8

National units

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.

• (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.

• (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.

• (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

• (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.

CHAPTER II

INFORMATION PROCESSING SYSTEMS

Article 10

Information processing

Article 11

Europol Information System

Article 12

Content of the Europol Information System

• (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.

• (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).

• (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.

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.

Article 13

Use of the Europol Information System

Article 14

Analysis work files

• (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.

• (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.

If the analysis bears on specific cases not concerning all Member States and has a direct operational aim, representatives of the following Member States shall participate therein:

• (a) Member States which were the source of the information giving rise to the decision to open the analysis work file, or those which are directly concerned by that information, and Member States subsequently invited by the analysis group to take part in the analysis because they are also becoming concerned;

• (b) Member States which learn from consulting the index function referred to in Article 15 that they need to be informed and assert that need to know under the conditions laid down in paragraph 5 of this Article.

A liaison officer shall claim the need to be informed as provided for in point (b) of the second subparagraph of paragraph 4 by means of a written reasoned statement approved by the authority to which he is subordinate in his Member State and forwarded to all the participants in the analysis. He shall then be associated automatically in the analysis in progress.

If an objection is raised in the analysis group, automatic association shall be deferred until the completion of a conciliation procedure, which shall comprise three stages as follows:

• (a) the participants in the analysis shall endeavour to reach agreement with the liaison officer claiming the need to be informed. They shall have no more than eight days for that purpose;

• (b) if no agreement is reached, the heads of the national units concerned and the Director shall meet within three days and try to reach agreement;

• (c) if the disagreement persists, the representatives of the parties concerned on the Management Board shall meet within eight days. If the Member State concerned does not waive its need to be informed, association of that Member State shall be decided on by consensus.

• (a) an agreement or working arrangement such as referred to in Articles 22(2) and 23(2) which contains appropriate provisions on the exchange of information, including the transmission of personal data, and on the confidentiality of exchanged information, is in force between Europol and the entity concerned;

• (b) the association of the experts from the entity is in the interest of the Member States;

• (c) the entity is directly concerned by the analysis work; and

• (d) all participants agree on the association of the experts from the entity with the activities of the analysis group.

Under the conditions laid down in points (b), (c) and (d) of the first subparagraph, Europol shall invite experts of the European Anti-Fraud Office to be associated with the activities of the analysis group if the analysis project concerns fraud or any other illegal activities affecting the financial interests of the European Communities.

The association of experts from an entity with the activities of an analysis group shall be subject to an arrangement between Europol and the entity. The rules governing such arrangements shall be determined by the Management Board.

Details of the arrangements between Europol and entities shall be sent to the Joint Supervisory Body, which may address any comments it deems necessary to the Management Board.

Article 15

Index function

Article 16

Order opening an analysis work file

• (a) the file name;

• (b) the purpose of the file;

• (c) the groups of persons concerning whom data are stored;

• (d) the nature of the data to be stored and personal data revealing racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs or trade-union membership and data concerning health or sex life which are strictly necessary;

• (e) the general context leading to the decision to open the file;

• (f) the participants in the analysis group at the time of opening the file;

• (g) the conditions under which the personal data stored in the file may be communicated, to which recipients and under what procedure;

• (h) the time limits for examination of the data and the duration of storage;

• (i) the method of establishment of the audit log.

CHAPTER III

COMMON PROVISIONS ON INFORMATION PROCESSING

Article 17

Duty to notify

Without prejudice to Article 14(6) and (7), Europol shall promptly notify the national units and, if the national units so request, their liaison officers of any information concerning their Member State and of connections identified between criminal offences in respect of which Europol is competent under Article 4. Information and intelligence concerning other serious crime of which Europol becomes aware in the course of its duties may also be communicated.

Article 18

Provisions on control of retrievals

Europol shall establish, in cooperation with the Member States, appropriate control mechanisms to allow the verification of the legality of retrievals from any of its automated data files used to process personal data and to allow Member States access to the audit logs on request. The data thus collected shall be used only for the purpose of such verification by Europol and the supervisory bodies referred to in Articles 33 and 34 and shall be deleted after 18 months, unless the data are further required for ongoing control. The Management Board shall decide on the details of such control mechanisms after consulting the Joint Supervisory Body.

Article 19

Rules on the use of data