WRITTEN QUESTION E-1450/02 by Olivier Dupuis (NI) to the Commission. Setting-up of a child pornography data bank.
Date: 2002-05-23
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: child pornography, database, feasibility study, fight against crime

6.2.2003

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 28 E/107

developing structures and the living environment. Total Community funding for the programme is
EUR 284,2 million. The types of project eligible include waste management, developing new service
provision models and developing and experimenting with social welfare services.

Council Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999 of 21 June 1999 laying down general provisions on the Structural
Funds (1) sets ceilings that must be respected where each operation is concerned. In addition in any
programme part-financed by the Funds the average aid rate per measure must be respected.

(1) OJ L 161, 26.6.1999.

(2003/C 28 E/119)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1450/02

by Olivier Dupuis (NI) to the Commission

(23 May 2002)

Subject: Setting-up of a child pornography data bank

In March 2001, Patricia Vandersmissen, a Brussels barrister, asked the Belgian Minister of Justice and the
President of
the European Parliament questions relating to ‘the establishment of a European or
international centre to analyse and identify children and adults visible on CD-ROMS, on the basis of
photographs of children and adults which suggest that they may be involved in such practices’. In his
answer to a parliamentary question from Mr Decroly, the Belgian Minister of Justice stated that a group of
experts has been set up to consider the feasibility of creating an international data bank on victims
appearing in child pornography products, that cooperation between Europol and Eurojust would be
established during the Belgian Presidency and that a framework decision was being prepared at European
level with a view to a harmonised legal qualification.

Are Europol and Eurojust working, as planned, on this project? If so, will the Commission provide detailed
information on the state of progress of this work?

Answer given by Mr Vitorino on behalf of the Commission

(25 June 2002)

The Commission is pleased to inform the Honourable Member that on 15 November 2001 it decided to
support
‘International Child Exploitation Database Feasibility Study’, under the STOP II
Programme Committee. The fight against on-line child pornography is among the main objectives of the
STOP II Programme. It was one of the priorities in 2001 and it is also a priority this year.

the project

This project, presented by the United Kingdom in collaboration with Italy and Germany, aims to assess the
feasibility of an international database with images of child sexual exploitation, sourced from the Internet
or any other pictorial systems. The feasibility study will examine whether and how the international law
enforcement community could contribute to feed images of children being used or engaged in sexual
activities or description of such images into a central database, in order to assist in both victims and
suspect identification.

Europol is fully associated to the project as well as the other Member States, Interpol and the the group of
eight most industrialised countries. The final report is expected for December 2002.

The Commission is not aware of a possible joint initiative Europol/Eurojust aimed at setting up an
international database of child pornography images.