Agreement between the Republic of Bulgaria and the European Union on the security procedure for the exchange of classified information
Date: 2005-04-25
Institutions: Bulgaria, European Union
Subjects: Bulgaria, agreement (EU), confidentiality, data protection, disclosure of information, exchange of information

5.5.2005

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 118/53

between the Republic of Bulgaria and the European Union on the security procedure for the
exchange of classified information

AGREEMENT

THE REPUBLIC OF BULGARIA,

of the one part, and

THE EUROPEAN UNION, hereafter the ‘EU’, represented by the Presidency of the Council of the European Union,

of the other part,

hereinafter referred to as ‘the Parties’,

CONSIDERING THAT the Republic of Bulgaria and the EU share the objectives to strengthen their own security in all
ways and to provide their citizens with a high level of safety within an area of security;

CONSIDERING THAT the Republic of Bulgaria and the EU agree that consultations and cooperation should be developed
between them on questions of common interest relating to security;

CONSIDERING THAT, in this context, a permanent need therefore exists to exchange classified information between the
Republic of Bulgaria and the EU;

RECOGNISING THAT full and effective consultation and cooperation may require access to the Republic of Bulgaria and
EU classified information and material, as well as the exchange of classified information and related material between the
Republic of Bulgaria and the EU;

CONSCIOUS THAT such access to, and exchange of, classified information and related material requires appropriate
security measures,

HAVE AGREED AS FOLLOWS:

Article 1

Article 4

In order to fulfill the objectives of strengthening the security of
each of the Parties in all ways, this Agreement shall apply to
classified information or material in any form either provided or
exchanged between the Parties.

Article 2

For the purposes of this Agreement, classified information shall
mean any information (namely, knowledge that can be commu-
nicated in any form) or material determined to require
protection against unauthorised disclosure and which has been
so designated by a security classification given to it by either
party to this Agreement (hereinafter classified information).

Article 3

For the purposes of this Agreement, ‘EU’ shall mean the Council
of the European Union (hereinafter the Council), the Secretary
General/High Representative and the General Secretariat of the
Council, and the Commission of the European Communities
(hereinafter the European Commission).

Each Party shall:

(a) protect and safeguard classified information subject to this
Agreement provided or exchanged by the other Party;

(b) ensure that classified information subject to this Agreement
provided or exchanged keeps the security classification given
to it by the providing Party. The receiving Party shall protect
and safeguard the classified information according to the
provisions set out in its own security regulations for infor-
mation or material holding an equivalent security classifi-
cation, as specified in the security arrangements to be estab-
lished pursuant to Articles 11 and 12;

(c) not use

to this
such classified information subject
Agreement for purposes other than those established by
the originator and those for which the information is
provided or exchanged;

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Official Journal of the European Union

5.5.2005

(d) not disclose such classified information subject

to this
Agreement to third parties, or to any EU institution or
entity not mentioned in Article 3, without
the prior
consent of the originator.

Article 9

1.

For the purpose of this Agreement:

(a) as regards the Republic of Bulgaria:

Article 5

1.
in
Classified information may be disclosed or released,
accordance with the principle of originator control, by one
‘the receiving
Party,
Party’.

‘the providing Party’, to the other Party,

2.
For release to recipients other than the Parties to this
Agreement, a decision on disclosure or release of classified
information shall be made by the receiving Party following
the consent of the providing Party,
in accordance with the
principle of originator control as defined in its security regu-
lations.

all correspondence shall be addressed via the Mission of the
Republic of Bulgaria to the European Union, at
the
following address:

Mission of the Republic of Bulgaria to the European Union
Registry Officer
Rue d’Arlon, 108
B-1040 Brussels

to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs which shall forward all
necessary information to the Central Registry at the State
Commission on Information Security for the purpose of
registration

In implementing paragraphs 1 and 2, no generic release
3.
shall be possible unless procedures are established and agreed
between the Parties regarding certain categories of information,
relevant to their operational requirements.

(b) as regards the EU:

all correspondence shall be sent
following address:

to the Council at

the

Article 6

Each of the Parties, and entities thereof as defined in Article 3,
shall have a security organisation and security programmes,
based upon such basic principles and minimum standards of
security which shall be implemented in the security systems of
the Parties to be established pursuant to Articles 11 and 12, to
ensure that an equivalent level of protection is applied to clas-
sified information subject to this Agreement.

Article 7

functions may afford access,

1.
in the
The Parties shall ensure that all persons who,
conduct of their official duties require access, or whose duties
or
to classified information
provided or exchanged under this Agreement are appropriately
security cleared before they are granted access to such infor-
mation.

Council of the European Union
Chief Registry Officer
Rue de la Loi/Wetstraat, 175
B-1048 Brussels.

All correspondence shall be forwarded by the Chief Registry
Officer of
to the Member States and to the
European Commission subject to paragraph 2.

the Council

for operational

that Party may,

2.
Exceptionally, correspondence from one Party which is
only accessible to specific competent officials, organs or
reasons, be
services of
competent
addressed and only be
officials, organs or services of
the other Party specifically
designated as recipients, taking into account their competencies
and according to the need to know principle. As far as the
European Union is concerned,
this correspondence shall be
transmitted through the Chief Registry Officer of the Council.

to specific

accessible

The security clearance procedures shall be designed to
2.
determine whether an individual can, taking into account his
or her loyalty, trustworthiness and reliability, have access to
classified information.

The State Commission on Information Security of the Republic
of Bulgaria and the Secretaries-General of the Council and of
the European Commission shall oversee the implementation of
this Agreement.

Article 10

Article 8

The Parties shall provide mutual assistance with regard to
to this Agreement
security of classified information subject
and matters of common security interest. Reciprocal security
consultations and inspections shall be conducted by the autho-
rities as defined in Article 11 to assess the effectiveness of the
Security Arrangements within their respective responsibility to
be established pursuant to Articles 11 and 12.

Article 11

In order to implement this Agreement:

1. the State Commission on Security of

Information of the
Republic of Bulgaria, acting in the name of the Government
of the Republic of Bulgaria and under its authority, shall be
responsible for developing security arrangements for the
protection and
information
provided to the Republic of Bulgaria under this Agreement;

safeguarding of

classified

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2. The General Secretariat of the Council Security Office (here-
inafter the GSC Security Office), under the direction and on
behalf of the Secretary General of the Council, acting in the
name of
the Council and under its authority, shall be
responsible for developing security arrangements for the
protection and
information
provided to the EU under this Agreement.

safeguarding of

classified

3. The European Commission Security Directorate, acting in the
name of the European Commission and under its authority,
shall be responsible for developing security arrangements for
classified information provided or
the protection of
exchanged under
this Agreement within the European
Commission and its premises.

Article 12

The security arrangements to be established pursuant to Article
11 in agreement between the three Offices concerned shall lay
down the standards of the reciprocal security protection for
classified information subject to this Agreement. For the EU,
these standards shall be subject to approval by the Council
Security Committee.

Article 13

The Authorities defined in Article 11 shall establish procedures
to be followed in the case of proven or suspected compromise
of classified information subject to this Agreement.

Article 14

Prior to the provision of classified information subject to this
Agreement between the Parties, the responsible security autho-
rities defined in Article 11 must agree that the receiving Party is
able to protect and safeguard the information subject to this
Agreement in a way consistent with the arrangements to be
established pursuant to Articles 11 and 12.

Article 15

This Agreement in no way prevents the Parties from concluding
other Agreements relating to the provision or exchange of clas-
sified information subject to this Agreement provided that they
do not conflict with the provisions of this Agreement.

Article 16

All differences between the EU and the Republic of Bulgaria
arising out of
this
interpretation or
Agreement shall be dealt with by negotiation between the
Parties.

application of

the

Article 17

1.
This Agreement shall enter into force on the first day of
the first month after the Parties have notified each other of the
completion of
this
purpose.

the internal procedures necessary for

This Agreement may be reviewed for consideration of

2.
possible amendments at the request of either Party.

3.
Any amendment to this Agreement shall only be made in
writing and by common agreement of the Parties. It shall enter
into force upon mutual notification as provided under
paragraph 1.

Article 18

This Agreement may be denounced by one Party by written
notice of denunciation given to the other Party. Such denun-
ciation shall take effect six months after receipt of notification
by the other Party, but shall not affect obligations already
contracted under the provisions of this Agreement. In particular,
all classified information provided or exchanged pursuant to
this Agreement shall continue to be protected in accordance
with the provisions set forth herein.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF the undersigned, respectively duly authorised, have signed this Agreement.

Done at Brussels, this twenty-fifth day of April 2005 in two copies each in the English language.

For the Republic of Bulgaria

For the European Union