Cooperation Agreement between The European Central Bank - ECB – and The International Criminal Police Organisation - INTERPOL
Date: 2004-03-29
Institutions: European Central Bank, Interpol
Subjects: European Central Bank, Interpol, cooperation agreement, economic offence

C 134/6

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

12.5.2004

EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK

between The European Central Bank - ECB – and The International Criminal Police Organisation -
INTERPOL

COOPERATION AGREEMENT

(2004/C 134/06)

PREAMBLE

The International Criminal Police Organisation – Interpol, (‘Interpol’), an international organisation having
its seat at 200, quai Charles de Gaulle, 69006 Lyon, France, represented by its Secretary General, Ronald K.
Noble,

and

The European Central Bank (the ‘ECB’), having its headquarters at Kaiserstrasse 29, D-60311 Frankfurt am
Main, Germany, represented by its President, Jean-Claude Trichet,

Referred to collectively as the ‘Parties’ or individually as a ‘Party’,

Sharing a joint determination to combat the threats arising from the counterfeiting of the euro in general,
and wanting to co-ordinate their efforts within the framework of the missions assigned to them, and to
cooperate, within their respective competencies, in particular in the field of detection of counterfeit euro
banknotes,

Recognising that Interpol is responsible for ensuring and promoting the widest possible mutual assistance
between the criminal police authorities within the limits of the laws existing in the countries concerned
and in the spirit of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,

Considering that Interpol has helped to develop direct international cooperation in the prevention and
punishment of counterfeiting currency as provided for in the International Convention for the Suppression
of Counterfeiting Currency, signed at Geneva on 20 April 1929 (1),

Recalling that the ECB has the exclusive right to authorise the issue of banknotes within those Member
States of the European Union that have adopted the euro as their single currency and that this exclusive
right includes the responsibility for the protection of the euro against counterfeiting,

Acknowledging that the ECB has an active role in the prevention and detection of the counterfeiting of the
euro,

Noting that Guideline ECB/1999/3 on certain provisions regarding euro banknotes, as amended on 26
August 1999 (2), established the Counterfeit Analysis Centre (‘CAC’) within the ECB, in order to centralise
the technical analysis of counterfeit euro banknotes and data relating to the counterfeiting of the euro; that
the Counterfeit Currency Database (‘CCD’) of the ECB, also established by Guideline ECB/1999/3, has been
renamed the Counterfeit Monitoring System by Decision ECB/2001/11 of 8 November 2001 on certain
conditions regarding access to the Counterfeit Monitoring System (‘CMS’) (3); and that Council Regulation
(EC) No 1338/2001 of 28 June 2001 laying down measures necessary for the protection of the euro
against counterfeiting (4), in particular Article 3 thereof, provides that the ECB shall gather and store tech-
nical and statistical data relating to counterfeit euro banknotes and coins discovered in non-member coun-
tries,

(1) League of Nations Treaty Series 1931, No 2623, p. 372.
(2) OJ L 258, 5.10.1999, p. 32.
(3) OJ L 337, 20.12.2001, p. 49.
(4) OJ L 181, 4.7.2001, p. 6.

12.5.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 134/7

Taking into account that authorised users of the Interpol communications system currently include Inter-
pol's National Central Bureaus and sub-bureaus, sub-regional Bureaus, the Bangkok Liaison Office, and the
United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo and that authorised users of the CMS are the
competent national authorities of the Member States of the European Union including the National
Analysis Centres and Coin National Analysis Centres, as well as in accordance with Council Regulation
(EC) No 1338/2001 and following the conclusion of appropriate bilateral arrangements and agreements,
the European Commission, the European Technical and Scientific Centre, the European Police Office
(Europol) and the designated authorities or centres of third countries,

Noting that the ECB may also provide for future access by Interpol to the CMS on terms to be decided by
the Parties, and

Having obtained the approval of the Governing Council of the ECB for the contents of this Agreement on
22 May 2003 and the approval of the General Assembly of Interpol for the contents of the Agreement on
1 October 2003,

HAVE AGREED AS FOLLOWS:

Article 1

Purpose

1.
The purpose of this Agreement is to establish a frame-
work for cooperation between the Parties, within their respec-
tive competencies and subject to their respective rules and
regulations, thus facilitating the prevention and detection of the
counterfeiting of euro banknotes throughout the world, in par-
ticular in countries not belonging to the European Union.

2.
This Agreement is complementary to the Agreements and
other arrangements between Interpol and Europol, as well as to
those between the ECB and Europol.
Its terms are without
prejudice to the Agreement between Interpol and Europol,
signed on 5 November 2001 or to the Joint initiative of the
Secretary General of Interpol and the Director of Europol on
combating the counterfeiting of currency,
in particular the
euro, signed on 5 November 2001. Furthermore, this Agree-
ment does not affect either the cooperation under or the proce-
dures based on the Agreement between Europol and the ECB,
signed on 13 December 2001 (5) and it is without prejudice to
the rights and obligations established in the said Agreement. In
the event that this Agreement does contradict any of the afore-
mentioned Agreements or arrangements the procedure for the
settlement of disputes laid down in Article 10 shall apply.

Article 2

Exchange of information

1.
Subject to the Parties' internal rules and regulations and
to such arrangements as may be necessary for the safeguarding
of confidential information, exchange of information and docu-
ments concerning matters of common interest as indicated in
take place between the Parties for the
Article 1(1), shall
purpose of and in accordance with the provisions of
this
Agreement, and shall not include data related to an identified
individual or identifiable individuals.

If an item of information communicated by one Party to
the sending Party shall

2.
the other is modified or deleted,
promptly inform the receiving Party.

(5) OJ C 23, 25.1.2002, p. 9.

Article 3

Obligations of Interpol

1.
To the extent that the following obligations relate to
information or material received by Interpol through official
channels from one of its Members, Interpol's obligation to send
the information or material to the ECB shall be contingent on
Interpol having received prior authorisation from the Member
concerned for the release of the information or material to the
Interpol shall endeavour to obtain a general ex ante
ECB.
authorisation, which might be withdrawn by the relevant
Member in specific cases.

Interpol receives information concerning a
2. Whenever
new type of euro banknote counterfeit,
it shall promptly
inform the ECB by telephone or any other means agreed upon
by the Parties.

3.
Interpol shall promptly send samples of any new type of
euro banknote counterfeit received by it or otherwise in its
possession to the ECB. If possible, Interpol shall provide the
ECB with sufficient samples to allow further distribution to the
National Analysis Centres of the Member States of the Euro-
pean Union.

The samples shall be accompanied by a report including,

4.
if available, the following information:

(a) the total number of the counterfeits that have been seized

or recovered;

(b) the date and location of the seizures or recoveries; and,

(c) an assessment of whether or not the source of the counter-

feits has been identified by the competent authority.

If for any reason it is not possible for Interpol to send the
5.
it shall
ECB any of the samples referred to in paragraph 3,
instead send scanned images of such samples together with a
completed form ‘Reported Euro Counterfeits’ as specified in the
Annex.

C 134/8

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

12.5.2004

Article 4

Obligations of the ECB

The ECB shall provide

1.
Interpol with information
regarding the technical specifications and technical features of
genuine euro banknotes.

2.
The ECB shall provide Interpol with sufficient statistical
and technical data relating to counterfeit euro banknotes,
in appropriate cases, detailed technical analyses of
including,
counterfeit euro banknotes
that have been classified as
common classes of counterfeits so as to enable Interpol to iden-
tify them.

The ECB shall provide Interpol with any relevant informa-
3.
tion available to it,
including the results of any analysis
concerning samples sent to the ECB by Interpol pursuant to
Article 3.

The ECB shall ensure that

4.
the samples sent to it by
Interpol are kept in safe custody. At the request of Interpol, the
ECB shall return the samples received from Interpol using a
mutually agreed means of delivery.

5.
The ECB shall be responsible for courier costs incurred by
Interpol in transmitting information, documents, or other mate-
rial to the ECB under the terms of this Agreement.

The ECB may provide Interpol with additional technical

6.
assistance within the scope of this Agreement.

Article 5

Training activities

The Parties shall coordinate their respective training activities
insofar as such training concerns the prevention and detection
of the counterfeiting of euro banknotes. The ECB may provide
technical assistance for such training in cooperation with
Interpol.

The Parties shall

2.
inform each other by means of an
exchange of letters of their respective security and confidenti-
ality requirements. To this end, they may establish a compar-
ison table showing the equivalence of the requirements and
levels of protection, referred to in the previous paragraph.

Interpol may forward information it has received from
3.
the ECB pursuant to this Agreement to an authorised user of
the Interpol communications system without prior express
permission from the ECB. Any information so forwarded shall
be subject to the same restrictions on use and further dissemi-
nation as are applicable to Interpol.

4.
The ECB may forward information that it has received
from Interpol pursuant to this Agreement to authorized CMS
users without prior express permission from Interpol. Any
information so forwarded shall be subject to the same restric-
tions on use and further dissemination as are applicable to the
ECB.

The Parties may specify additional restrictions on the use
5.
or dissemination of information that is provided under the
terms of this Agreement. The receiving Party shall be obliged
to comply with any such restrictions.

Except as provided herein, a Party shall not forward infor-
6.
mation, documents or samples that it has received from the
other Party to a third party without the prior, express, written
consent of the Party that provided the information, documents
or samples.

Article 8

Liability

If damage is caused to one Party or to an individual as a result
of the unauthorised dissemination of information or the provi-
sion of incorrect information under this Agreement by the
other Party, that Party shall be liable for such damage. The
determination and compensation of damage between the
Parties under this Article shall be established in accordance
with the procedure laid down in Article 10.

Article 6

Contact persons

Article 9

Privileges and immunities

1.
The contact persons for the purposes of this Agreement
shall be agreed by means of an exchange of letters between the
ECB and Interpol.

2.
The Parties may agree separately to make an ECB liaison
officer available to Interpol for purposes consistent with this
Agreement.

Article 7

Security and confidentiality

1.
The Parties shall ensure that all information received on
the basis of this Agreement, as well as the processing of such
information, shall be subject to security and confidentiality
standards that are at least equivalent to the standards applied
by the originating Party to such information.

Nothing stated in this Agreement shall be construed as a
waiver of any privileges or immunities of either Party.

Article 10

Settlement of disputes

Any dispute between the Parties concerning the interpretation
or application of this Agreement, which can not be settled
amicably between the President of the ECB and the Secretary
General of Interpol, may be referred for advice to an ad hoc
Committee at the request of the President of the ECB or the
Interpol. The Committee, which shall
Secretary General of
comprise no more than 3 members of the Executive Board of
the ECB and 3 members of
the Executive Committee of
Interpol, shall draw up its own rules of procedure. The
Committee's advice will be submitted to the President of the
ECB and the Secretary General of Interpol.

12.5.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 134/9

Article 11

Final provisions

This Agreement shall be drawn up in two copies in the

4.
English language, each copy being equally authentic.

1.
Either Party may terminate the present Agreement by
notifying the other Party in writing. The termination shall be
effective 30 days after it is delivered to the receiving Party,
unless otherwise agreed to by the Parties in writing.

2.
The obligation concerning security and confidentiality of
information, referred to in Article 7, the obligation to return
samples,
referred to in Article 4(4), and the obligation
concerning settlement of disputes, referred to in Article 10,
shall continue to be binding on both Parties after the termina-
tion of the Agreement.

The Annex to this Agreement shall form an integral part

3.
thereof.

This Agreement

5.
following its signature by both parties.

shall enter

into force on the day

This Agreement shall be published in the Official Journal

6.
of the European Union.

For the ECB

For the ICPO-Interpol

Jean-Claude TRICHET

Ronald K. NOBLE

President

Date: 29.3.04

Secretary General

Date: 3.3.04

C 134/10

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

12.5.2004

ANNEX

SPECIFICATIONS FOR TRANSMISSION OF IMAGES OF COUNTERFEIT EURO BANKNOTES

Each electronic transmission of counterfeit euro banknotes should include:

— the entire front of the note, shown flat and undistorted, scanned as a 24-bit bitmap image at a resolution of not less

than 150 dots per inch (dpi), and

— the entire reverse of the note, shown flat and undistorted, scanned as a 24-bit bitmap image at a resolution of not

less than 150 dpi, and

— any areas of special interest (e.g. microtext) should also be scanned as a 24-bit bitmap image at a resolution of 300

dpi.

All files sent electronically must be encrypted using an encryption system that is agreed upon by the Parties.

FORM REPORTED EURO COUNTERFEITS (1)

(1) For reasons of confidentiality, this form will not be published.