Initiative of the Portuguese Republic with a view to adopting a Council Decision on the provisional establishment of the European Police College (EPC)

(2000/C 206/02)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Union, and in particular Articles 30 (1)(c) and 34(2)(c) thereof,

Having regard to the initiative of the Portuguese Republic(1),

Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament(2),

Whereas:

(1) At its meeting in Tampere on 15 and 16 October 1999, the European Council agreed that a European Police College for the training of senior police officers should be established.

(2) The European Council in Tampere agreed that the European Police College should start as a network of existing national training institutes, without precluding the establishment of a permanent institution at a later stage.

(3) There already exist national, European and international organisations and bodies which are active in the area of police training, on whose cooperation in the European Police College should be able to rely in the carrying out of its tasks.

(4) It is desirable to develop quickly a relationship between the European police College and national training institutes in Iceland, Norway and the State which have applied for accession to the European union so that the activities of the College can be made accessible to them.

(5) The European Union has been active in this field, in particular by adopting and implementing programmes under Title VI of the Treaty on European Union, such as the OISIN(3) programme and the Falcone(4) programme.

(6) The European Police College should carry out its tasks by progressive stages in the light of the objectives set out in the annual work programmes and with due regard for available resources.

(7) This Decision should be reviewed after a three-year period in order to decide on the possible extension of the European Police College's tasks, and on any modifications to its institutional structure,

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

TITLE I

OBJECTIVES AND TASKS

Article 1

1. The aim of the European Police College (hereinafter the "College") shall be to help train the senior law enforcement officers of the Member States, by supporting and developing a European approach to the main problems arising in Member States in the field of crime-fighting and protecting internal security, with the following objectives:

(a) to increase knowledge of the national police systems and structures of other member States;

(b) to strengthen knowledge of international instruments, in particular those which already exist at European Union level in the field of cooperation on combating crime;

(c) to optimise cooperation and coordination between the College and other multinational police training institutes in Europe on the subject of cross-border cooperation between police forces in Europe.

2. The College will also offer its facilities to the senior law enforcement officers of Iceland and Norway, and of States which have applied for accession to the European Union. It will also be open to officials from the European Institutions and other bodies of the European Union.

Article 2

In order to achieve those objectives the College may, in particular, undertake the following actions:

(a) provide annual training sessions for senior national police officers, in particular on police cooperation between the Member States, on the basis of harmonised programmes;

(b) draw up harmonised programmes for the training of middle-ranking police officers and police officers in the field with regard to cross-border cooperation between police forces in Europe and help set up appropriate advanced training programmes;

(c) provide high-quality specialist training for key police officers involved in combating organised crime;

(d) develop and provide training for trainers;

(e) disseminate best practice and the results of research;

(f) develop and provide training regarding Member States' collective non-military response to crisis situations in third countries;

(g) develop and provide training for police authorities from applicant countries, including training and consultation of police officers with a key role;

(h) facilitate relevant exchanges and secondments of personnel in the context of training;

(i) develop a virtual-reality "electronic European Police College" (eEPC) to provide back-up for the College in the performance of its duties;

(j) enable the police officers of the Member States to acquire relevant language skills.

TITLE II

PROVISIONAL ORGANISATION

Article 3

Without prejudice to the future developments recommended in Article 10, the College shall be set up as a network, by bringing together national units and representatives of the national training institutes for senior police officers in the Member States as referred to in Article 6.

Article 4

The Directors of the national institutes shall form the governing board of the College. Where there are several directors from a single Member State they shall together form a delegation. Each delegation shall have one vote on the governing board. Representatives of the General Secretariat of the Council of the European Union shall be invited to attend the meeting with a non-voting status.

The governing board shall be chaired by the director of a national institute from the Member State holding the Presidency of the Council of the European Union. The governing board shall meet at least twice a year. It shall establish its rules of procedure by common agreement among the delegations. The rules of procedure shall provide for the establishment of a bureau which shall be responsible for preparing the deliberations of the governing board and overseeing the management of the secretariat referred to in Article 7.

Article 5

Acting on a proposal from the bureau, the governing board shall each year adopt an annual programme for actions in the areas defined in Title I. It shall also adopt additional programmes and initiatives, where appropriate.

Each year the governing board shall also adopt a report on the activities of the College covering the previous year, and shall forward it to the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission for information.

The decisions of the governing board referred to in this Article shall be adopted by a simple majority of delegations.

Article 6

Each Member State shall either set up special units within its police academies which shall constitute the "European Police College - Section ... (Member State)", or shall designate national representatives of the College. The national units and the national representatives shall together form the College. Their task shall be to implement the programmes and initiatives adopted by the governing board. They shall cooperate closely to that end.

Article 7

The governing board shall set up a permanent secretariat to assist the College with the administrative tasks necessary for the College to function and implement annual programmes. The secretariat will be set up within one of the national police academies on the basis of a board decision adopted by common agreement among the delegations.

All other decisions taken by the governing board concerning the secretariat shall be taken by a majority of delegations.

The secretariat shall be headed by a secretary appointed by the governing board for a three-year term.

Article 8

1. The costs of implementing the actions in the annual programme adopted by the governing board pursuant to Article 5, together with the administrative costs of the College, shall be borne jointly by the Member States. To that end, the annual contribution from each Member State shall be established on the basis of the gross national product (GNP) according to the scale used for determining the GNP element in own resources for financing the General Budget of the European Union. Each year the GNP of the previous year shall be taken as the reference basis for each Member State.

2. The budget of the College shall be managed by the secretariat on the basis of a financial regulation adopted by the governing board acting by common agreement of the delegations.

Expenditure on:

- course preparation,

- fees for external instructors,

- travelling expenses for the members of the delegations on the governing board and for members of its bureau,

- travel expenses for anyone from one Member State attending a course in another Member State,

- general operating costs of the secretariat, except for the remuneration of its members;

- development of an electronic European Police College,

- costs for any other initiative adopted by the board,

- etc.;

shall be borne by the budget of the College.

TITLE III

OTHER PROVISIONS

Article 9

The College may cooperate with the national police training institutes of non-member States of the European Union. In particular, it will establish relations with the national institutes of Iceland and Norway and of the States applying for accession to the European Union.

The College will also cooperate with relevant training bodies in Europe, such as the Baltic Police Academy and the Central European Police Academy (MEPA).

Article 10

At the latest during the third year following the entry into force of this Decision, the governing board shall submit to the Council a report containing recommendations on how the College should develop, in particular at institutional level.

Article 11

This Decision shall enter into force on ...

Done at ...

For the Council

The President

...

(1) OJ C 206, 19.7.2000, p. 3.

(2) OJ C ...

(3) OJ L 7, 10.1.1997, p. 5.

(4) OJ L 99, 31.3.1998, p. 8.