Initiative of the Portuguese Republic with a view to the adoption of a Council Decision on the provisional establishment of the European Police College (EPC)
Date: 2000-07-19
Institutions: Portugal
Subjects: EU police cooperation, European school, administrative structures, exchange of information, police, vocational training

19.7.2000

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 206/3

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,

(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.

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

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

(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,

Whereas:

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

(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.

TITLE I

OBJECTIVES AND TASKS

Article 1

(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 insti-
tutes 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.

(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.

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.

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EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

19.7.2000

Article 2

Article 4

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

in

(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;

The Directors of the national institutes shall form the govern-
ing 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.

(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;

The governing board shall be chaired by the director of a
national institute from the Member State holding the Presi-
dency 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 deliber-
ations of the governing board and overseeing the management
of the secretariat referred to in Article 7.

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

Article 5

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

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.

(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 Col-
lege’ (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

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 initiat-
ives adopted by the governing board. They shall cooperate
closely to that end.

Article 3

Article 7

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.

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.

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EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 206/5

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

— development of an electronic European Police College,

— costs for any other initiative adopted by the board,

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

— etc.;

shall be borne by the budget of the College.

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

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

remuneration of its members;

This Decision shall enter into force on ...

Done at ...

For the Council

The President

...