Council Recommendation of  27 April 2006  on the drawing up of agreements between police, customs and other specialised law enforcement services in relation to the prevention and combating of crime
Date: 2006-04-27
Institutions: Council of the European Union
Subjects: EU police cooperation, fight against crime, police checks

25.5.2006

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 124/1

I

(Information)

COUNCIL

COUNCIL RECOMMENDATION

of 27 April 2006

on the drawing up of agreements between police, customs and other specialised law enforcement
services in relation to the prevention and combating of crime

(2006/C 124/01)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

RECALLING that:

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

one of the objectives of the European Union is the
progressive establishment of an area of freedom, security
and justice by developing common action among the
Member States in the field of police and judicial coopera-
tion in criminal matters;

this objective is to be achieved by preventing and
combating crime, organised or otherwise, in particular
trafficking in persons and offences against
terrorism,
children,
illicit drug trafficking and illicit arms traf-
ficking, corruption and fraud, notably through closer
cooperation between police forces, customs authorities
and other competent authorities in the Member States,
there should also be increased cooperation with, and
where appropriate between, EU bodies, Institutions and
agencies such as the Commission (OLAF), Europol, Euro-
just and Cepol;

the common action provided for by Article 30 of the
Treaty on European Union in the field of police coopera-
tion includes operational
cooperation between the
competent authorities, including the police, customs and
other
the
Member States in relation to the prevention, detection
and investigation of criminal offences;

specialised law enforcement

services of

in order to achieve this objective in the most efficient
way, a high degree of cooperation is necessary at
national
level between the police, customs and other
specialised law enforcement services;

(5)

(6)

(7)

(8)

(9)

the Hague programme on the strengthening of freedom,
security and justice in the European Union, adopted by
the European Council in November 2004, stressed that
an optimal level of protection of the area of freedom,
security and justice
required multidisciplinary and
concerted action both at EU level and at national level
law enforcement authorities,
between the competent
especially police, customs and border guards;

issued

Commission

Communications
the
entitled ‘Enhancing police and customs cooperation in
the European Union’,
‘Towards enhancing access to
information by law enforcement agencies’, and ‘Devel-
oping a strategic concept on tackling organised crime’;

different legal and administrative provisions or arrange-
ments exist in Members States on the respective roles
and functions of the police forces, customs authorities
and other competent authorities
in relation to the
prevention and combating of crime;

in order to avoid duplication of efforts between police
forces, customs authorities and other competent authori-
ties and to make optimum use of their complementary
resources, it is essential to promote and ensure a high
level of liaison and cooperation, and an effective organi-
sational response;

the Council Resolution of 29 November 1996 on the
drawing-up of police/customs agreements in the fight
against drugs (1) urged Member States to establish agree-
ments between police and customs services in the fight
against drugs, and that the need to extend such agree-
ments to other areas of crime has been recognised,

(1) OJ C 375, 12.12.1996, p. 1.

C 124/2

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

25.5.2006

HEREBY RECOMMENDS THAT MEMBER STATES:

1. take the necessary steps to establish, without prejudice to
formal
legislative and administrative provisions,
national
agreements or other arrangements at national level between
police forces, customs authorities and other competent
authorities in relation to the prevention and combating of
crime;

2.

incorporate, in these agreements or other arrangements, in
particular, provisions covering the following matters:

(a) precise delineation of, and respect for, the competencies

of each service;

(b) exchange and sharing of relevant information and stra-
tegic, tactical and operational intelligence, where appro-
priate,
in particular by facilitating mutual direct or
indirect access to databases, with due regard for indivi-
dual rights and data protection rules;

(c) development and promotion of best practices;

(d) procedures for operational matters, and where appro-

priate:

— joint actions,

— joint mobile patrol squads,

— joint investigation teams,

— joint intelligence teams,

— sharing of equipment between services and coopera-
tion on the development, purchasing, deployment
and use of technology;

(e) exchange of liaison officers at headquarters level of the
police forces, customs authorities and other competent

authorities, and also at the Europol National Unit and at
the national desks in Europol, with a view to enhancing
mutual
trust and facilitating communication, where
deemed necessary and in accordance with national law;

(f) joint

training for

the competent authorities, where

applicable, with the support of CEPOL;

(g) exchange of

information on and, where applicable,
common evaluation of the application of, analysis and
investigative techniques;

(h) exchange of criminal statistical data and, where applic-
able, development of a common system for the collec-
tion of such data;

(i) as appropriate, promotion of a multi-agency platform
concept at national
level, consisting of officers from
police forces, customs authorities and other competent
authorities, in particular for the international exchange
of information;

(j) possible participation in multilateral permanent coop-
eration structures between police, customs and other
law enforcement services in regions at
the internal
borders of the Member States;

(k) putting in place close liaison arrangements at local level;

(l) joint press statements in the case of joint actions;

3.

inform the Council through the General Secretariat within
three years of the measures they have taken following this
Recommendation;

4. give effect to this Recommendation in replacement of the
Resolution of 29 November 1996 on the drawing-up of
police/customs agreements in the fight against drugs.