EN Official Journal of the European Union C 42/2

COMMISSION DECISION

of 14 February 2012

setting up the Commission expert group on policy needs for data on crime and repealing Decision 2006/581/EC

2012/C 42/02

THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

Whereas:

(1) According to Article 67(3) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, the Union shall endeavour to ensure a high level of security through measures to prevent and combat crime, racism and xenophobia, and through measures for coordination and cooperation between police and judicial authorities and other competent authorities.

(2) In August 2006, the Commission adopted a Communication to the European Parliament, the Council and the European Economic and Social Committee entitled ‘Developing a comprehensive and coherent EU strategy to measure crime and criminal justice: An EU Action Plan 2006-2010’ (1).

(3) At the same time a group of experts on the policy needs for data on crime and criminal justice was established by Commission Decision 2006/581/EC of 7 August 2006 (2), to assist the Commission in the implementation of that Action Plan. The mandate of this group has not been renewed.

(4) The Stockholm Programme ‘An open and secure Europe serving and protecting citizens’ adopted by the European Council (3) invites the Commission to continue developing statistical tools to measure crime and criminal activities and to further develop the actions outlined and partly implemented in the EU Action Plan 2006-2010.

(5) The exchange of information and the collection of statistics in particular areas like trafficking in human beings, money laundering, cybercrime and corruption are in line with the proposed actions included in the Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council ‘The EU Internal Security Strategy in Action: Five steps towards a more secure Europe’ (4).

(6) In order to pursue the valuable work which has been carried out by the group of experts on policy needs for data on crime and criminal justice since 2006 and taking into account the increased interest for reliable crime statistics at Union level, that group needs to be replaced.

(7) The production of Community statistics is governed by the rules set out in Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 March 2009 on European statistics and repealing Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1101/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the transmission of data subject to statistical confidentiality to the Statistical Office of the European Communities, Council Regulation (EC) No 322/97 on Community statistics, and Council Decision 89/382/EEC, Euratom establishing a Committee on the Statistical Programmes of the European Communities (5). The actions on the establishment of Community statistics are carried out according to the Decision No 1578/2007/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2007 on the Community Statistical Programme 2008 to 2012 (6) and its annual programmes and respecting the principles set out in the European Code of Practice adopted by the Statistical Programme Committee on 24 February 2005.

(8) It is therefore necessary to set up a Commission expert group in the field of crime statistics and to define its tasks and its structure.

(9) The group should help to define the policy needs and advise on the definition and the effective use of indicators and data in general, in the area of crime.

(10) The group should be composed of members competent to identify the policy needs and advise on the effective use of indicators and data in the area of crime.

(11) Rules on disclosure of information by members of the group should be laid down/provided for, without prejudice to the Commission's rules on security as set out in the Annex to Commission Decision 2001/844/EC, ECSC, Euratom of 29 November 2001 amending its internal Rules of Procedure (7).

(12) Personal data relating to members of the group should be processed in accordance with 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 (8).

(13) The term of office of the members of the group should be five years covering the implementation period of the Action Plan 2011-2015 on measuring crime and criminal justice in the European Union (9).

(14) Decision 2006/581/EC should be repealed.

(15) It is appropriate to fix a period for the application of this Decision. The Commission will in due time consider the advisability of an extension,

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

Article 1

Subject matter

The Commission expert group on policy needs for data on crime, hereafter referred to as ‘the group’, is hereby set up.

Article 2

Task

The group's tasks shall be to:

(a) assist the Commission in establishing cooperation between Member States and other related organisations and bodies in implementing the EU Action Plan 2011-2015 on measuring crime and criminal justice;

(b) assist the Commission in identifying the policy needs for indicators and data on crime at EU level;

(c) assist the Commission in developing common indicators;

(d) advise the Commission on relevant research and development needs or results to be taken into account in the work to implement the EU Action Plan 2011-2015;

(e) advise the Commission on collaboration with representatives from the private and academic sectors or other relevant sectors in order to include relevant knowledge and experience in the work to implement the EU Action Plan 2011-2015;

(f) bring about an exchange of experience and good practice in the field of crime statistics and in particular in the development of common indicators and the collection of comparable data.

Article 3

Consultation

The Commission may consult the group on any matter relating to measuring crime.

Article 4

Membership — appointment

1. The group shall be composed of a maximum of 55 members. The members shall be:

(a) the national public authorities in the field of home affairs, or another relevant public authority, of the Member States, the candidate countries and the European Free Trade Association countries;

(b) the following EU bodies, networks and agencies: the European Crime Prevention Network (EUCPN), the European Monitoring Centre on Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA), Eurojust, the European Police Office (Europol), the European Agency for the Management of Operational Cooperation at the External Borders of the Member States of the European Union (Frontex) and the Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA);

(c) the following international organisations and non-governmental organisations with relevant experience and expertise analysing or developing crime data for policy purposes: the Council of Europe, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime Prevention (UNODC), the European Sourcebook Group, Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), World Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD);

(d) minimum six individuals appointed in a personal capacity with expertise deriving preferably from academic research for public or private universities or research centers in Member States.

2. Members referred to in points (a), (b) and (c) of paragraph 1 shall nominate a permanent and an alternate expert as their representatives. Alternates shall automatically replace experts who are absent.

3. Individuals appointed in a personal capacity shall be appointed by the Director General of Home Affaires DG from amongst those who have responded to the call for applications (see Annex to the present Decision).

4. On the basis of the call for applications, applicants who were deemed suitable for group membership, but not appointed, shall be placed on a reserve list, with their consent. The Commission shall use this list to appoint replacements for members, if needed.

5. All members shall be appointed for five years. They shall remain in office until replaced or until the end of their term of office. Their term of office may be renewed.

6. Members who are no longer capable of contributing effectively to the group's deliberations, who resign or who do not comply with the conditions set out in this Article, or Article 339 of the Treaty, may be replaced for the remainder of their term of office.

7. Individuals appointed in a personal capacity shall act independently and in the public interest.

8. The names of individuals appointed in a personal capacity shall be published in the Register of Commission expert groups and other similar entities (‘the Register’) (10) The names of members referred to in points (b) and (c) of paragraph 1 shall be published in the Register. The names of public authorities referred to in point (a) of paragraph 1 will be published in the Register.

9. Personal data shall be collected, processed and published in accordance with 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 (11).

Article 5

Operation

1. The group shall be chaired by a representative of the Commission.

2. The Commission shall coordinate the expert group's activities with those of Eurostat’s working group on crime and criminal justice statistics. The Commission shall have the responsibility for the coherence of the work of both groups and shall endeavour to organise, where possible, joint meetings.

3. In agreement with the Commission services, the group may set up sub-groups of up to a maximum of 15 members to examine specific questions on the basis of terms of reference defined by the group. Such sub-groups shall be disbanded as soon as their mandate is fulfilled.

4. The Commission's representative may invite experts from outside the group with specific competence in a subject on the agenda to participate in the work of the group or sub-group on an ad hoc basis. In addition, the Commission's representative may give observer status to individuals, organisations as defined in Rule 8(3) of the horizontal rules on expert groups (12) and candidate countries.

5. Members of expert groups, as well as invited experts and observers, shall comply with the obligations of professional secrecy laid down by the Treaties and their implementing rules, as well as with the Commission's rules on security regarding the protection of EU classified information, laid down in the Annex to Commission Decision 2001/844/EC, ECSC, Euratom. Should they fail to respect those obligations, the Commission may take all appropriate measures.

6. The meetings of expert groups and sub-groups shall be held on Commission premises. The Commission shall provide secretarial services. Other Commission officials with an interest in the proceedings may attend meetings of the group and its sub-groups.

7. The group shall adopt its rules of procedure on the basis of the standard rules of procedure for expert groups.

8. The Commission shall publish relevant information on the activities carried out by the group either by including it in the Register or via a link from the Register to the Internet site of Home Affairs DG.

Article 6

Meeting expenses

1. Participants in the activities of the group shall not be remunerated for the services they render.

2. Travel and subsistence expenses incurred by participants in the activities of the group shall be reimbursed by the Commission in accordance with the provisions in force within the Commission.

3. Those expenses shall be reimbursed within the limits of the available appropriations allocated under the annual procedure for the allocation of resources.

Article 7

Repeal

Decision 2006/581/EC is repealed.

Article 8

Entry into force and applicability

This Decision shall enter into force on the day of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union and shall apply for five years.

Done at Brussels, 14 February 2012. For the Commission The President José Manuel BARROSO

(1) COM(2006) 437 final.

(2) OJ L 234, 29.8.2006, p. 29.

(3) OJ C 115, 4.5.2010, p. 21.

(4) COM(2010) 673 final.

(5) OJ L 87, 31.3.2009, p. 164.

(6) OJ L 344, 28.12.2007, p. 15.

(7) OJ L 317, 3.12.2001, p. 1.

(8) OJ L 8, 12.1.2001, p. 1.

(9) Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council, currently in process.

(10) Members who do not wish to have their names disclosed may apply for derogation from this rule. The request not to disclose the name of a member of the expert group shall be considered justified whenever publication could endanger his or her security or integrity or unduly prejudice his or her privacy.

(11) See footnote 8.

(12) C(2010) 7649 final.