1.

Decides to set up a special committee on terrorism, vested with the following strictly defined responsibilities: (a) to examine, analyse and evaluate with impartiality facts provided by law enforcement authorities of the Member States, competent EU agencies and recognised experts and the extent of the terrorist threat on European soil and to propose appropriate measures to enable the European Union and its Member States to help prevent, investigate and prosecute crimes related to terrorism; (b) to identify and analyse, with impartiality and according to an evidence based approach, the potential faults and malfunctions that have allowed recent terrorist attacks in different Member States to occur, in particular by collecting, compiling and analysing all information available to Member States’ intelligence services or law enforcement and judicial authorities about perpetrators prior to their terrorist offence; (c) to examine and assess the implementation of existing measures and instruments in the fields of external border management, including the malfunction of external border checks that have allowed individuals to enter Europe with false documents, and to assess the causes for the failure by some Member States to fully implement their obligations as set out in Regulation (EC) No 1987/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council (1) (the Schengen Information System Regulation); to collect and analyse information on possible Member States and Commission shortcoming in ensuring the full implementation of the related provisions of Regulation (EU) 2016/399 of the European Parliament and of the Council (2) (the Schengen Borders Code) and to propose appropriate measures to close the identified gaps; (d) to identify deficiencies in the sharing of judicial, law enforcement and intelligence information among Member States; to investigate in particular alleged widespread failures in the collection, analysis and communication of information that could help prevent attacks, in particular by: — analysing and evaluating the performance of EU databases such as the Schengen Information System (SIS), Visa Information System (VIS) and common European Information Exchange Model (EIXM), and Member States possible failures in the implementation of existing legal instruments such as Council Decision 2008/615/JHA (3) or Council Framework Decision 2006/960/JHA (4); analysing in particular the causes of some Member States’ failure to contribute to feeding information to these databases, notably with regard to their obligations as set out in the Schengen Information System Regulation and Council Decision 2007/533/JHA (5); — analysing the alleged failure of Member States to comply with the obligation imposed by Article 2(3) of Council Decision 2005/671/JHA (6) ensuring that at least the information referred to in paragraphs 4 and 5 of that Article gathered by the relevant authority is transmitted to Europol and Eurojust; — collecting information on, and analysing Member States’ authorities compliance with, obligation imposed by Article 3 and 7 of Framework Decision 2006/960/JHA, in particular ensuring that competent law enforcement authorities provide, to the competent law enforcement authorities of other Member States concerned, information and intelligence in cases where there are factual reasons to believe that the information and intelligence could assist in the detection, prevention or investigation of offences referred to in Article 2(2) of Council Framework Decision 2002/584/JHA (7); — examining whether Europol has fully complied with its duty to notify, imposed by Article 17 of Council Decision 2009/371/JHA (8), repealed by Regulation (EU) 2016/794 of the European Parliament and of the Council (9); — examining whether Member States’ national units have fully complied with the obligation imposed by Article 8(4)(a) of Decision 2009/371/JHA, repealed by Regulation (EU) 2016/794, supplying Europol on their own initiative with the information and intelligence necessary for it to carry out its tasks; — investigating possible deficiencies in exchange of information between EU agencies, as well as legal means and need for these agencies to access the Schengen Information System and other relevant EU information systems; — evaluating existing informal cooperation among Member States’ intelligence services and assessing the level of effectiveness in terms of information exchange and practical cooperation; — examining the relationship of the European Union with third countries and international agencies in the fight against terrorism, including existing international cooperation and instruments in the fight against terrorism, including the exchange of best practice, and the effectiveness of the current level of exchange of information; (e) to assess the impact of the EU anti-terrorism legislation and its implementation on fundamental rights; (f) to assess the availability and the effectiveness of all resources allocated to competent authorities involved in the fight against terrorism (police, army, justice, budget, intelligence, surveillance, information, IT, etc.) in the Member States and at EU level; to analyse possible deficiencies in police cooperation and obstacles to practical cross-border law enforcement cooperation in investigations related to the fight against terrorism, identifying technical, structural and legal limitations to investigation capacities; (g) to investigate the deficiencies in the judiciary systems and judicial cooperation at EU level, as well as cooperation on cross border investigations, notably through Eurojust, the European Judicial Network, Joint investigation teams, and the European Arrest Warrant (EAW), and the European Investigation Order; to identify technical, structural and legal limitations to investigation and prosecution capacities; (h) to examine the current exchange of best practice and collaboration between national authorities and relevant EU bodies with regard to the protection of soft targets, including areas of transit, such as airports and train stations, as well as the protection of critical infrastructures as provided for in Council Directive 2008/114/EC (10); (i) to investigate the current mechanisms available for victims of terrorism, particularly Directive 2012/29/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council (11), identifying existing good practices to be exchanged; (j) to collect information and to analyse the process of radicalisation, and the effectiveness of the de-radicalisation programmes set in a limited number of Member States; to identify existing good practices to be exchanged and to ascertain whether the Member States have taken the appropriate measures in that regard; (k) to assess the efficiency of cooperation between Member States, as well as the efficiency of cooperation between competent authorities, obliged entities and law enforcement authorities, in fighting money laundering and terrorism financing under Directive 2005/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (12), and to exchange views with the relevant actors in the banking sector and fraud investigation and law enforcement authorities in order to identify the new forms of financing of terrorism, including its links with organised crime; (l) to make any recommendations that it deems to be necessary in all the above-mentioned matters and, to those ends, to establish the necessary contacts, make visits and hold hearings with the EU institutions and relevant agencies and with the international and national institutions, the national parliaments and governments of the Member States and of third countries, and with officials involved in the daily fight against terrorism such as law enforcement agencies, police authorities, intelligence services, judges and magistrates and representatives of the scientific community, business and civil society, including victims’ organisations;