2006/581/EC: Commission Decision of 7 August 2006 setting up a group of experts on the policy needs for data on crime and criminal justice
Date: 2006-08-07
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU statistics, consultancy, crime, criminal law, data processing, statistical method

29.8.2006

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Official Journal of the European Union

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II

(Acts whose publication is not obligatory)

COMMISSION

COMMISSION DECISION

of 7 August 2006

setting up a group of experts on the policy needs for data on crime and criminal justice

(2006/581/EC)

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty on European Union,

Whereas:

(1)

the Union shall,

Article 29 of the Treaty on European Union assigned the
European Union and the Member States the task of
ensuring that
through closer coop-
eration, provide citizens with a high level of safety
within the area of justice, freedom and security through
the prevention and combating of crime, organised or
otherwise.

(2) With a

view to supporting

the development of
harmonised and comparable European Union statistics
on crime and criminal
justice, essential for the devel-
opment and monitoring of Community legislation and
policies, as outlined in the Action Plan implementing the
Hague Programme (1), the Commission may need to call
upon the expertise of representatives of Member States
and of specialists in an advisory body.

(3)

The production of Community statistics is governed by
the rules set out in Council Regulation (EC) No 322/97
of 17 February 1997 on Community Statistics (2) and
actions on the establishment of Community statistics
are carried out according to the Community Statistical
and
Programme

Programmes (3)

its Annual

and

(1) OJ C 198, 12.8.2005, p. 1. Council and Commission Action Plan
implementing the Hague Programme on strengthening freedom,
security and justice in the European Union.

(2) OJ L 52, 22.2.1997, p. 1.
(3) 2003-2007 Community Statistical Programme, as adopted by
Decision No 2367/2002/EC of
the European Parliament and of
the Council of 16 December 2002 (OJ L 358, 31.12.2002, p. 1).

respecting the principles set out in the European Code of
Practice adopted by the Statistical Programme Committee
on 24 February 2005 and attached to the Commission
Communication to the European Parliament and to the
Council and Recommendation of the Commission of 25
May 2005 (4) on the
and
accountability of the national and Community statistical
authorities.

independence,

integrity

(4)

(5)

(6)

The expert group shall be composed of
individuals
competent to consider the policy needs and advise on
the effective use of indicators and data in the area of
crime and criminal justice.

Rules on disclosure of information by members of the
expert group should be provided for, without prejudice
to the Commission’s rules on security as set out in the
Annex to Commission Decision 2001/844/EC, ECSC,
Euratom (5).

Personal data relating to members of the expert group
should be processed in accordance with Regulation (EC)
No 45/2001 of
the
Council of 18 December 2000 on the protection of
individuals with regard to the processing of personal
data by the Community institutions and bodies and on
the free movement of such data (6).

the European Parliament and of

(7)

The Expert group on the policy needs for data on crime and
criminal justice therefore has to be set up and its terms of
reference and structures detailed.

(4) COM(2005) 217 final and Recommendation of the Commission on
the independence, integrity and accountability of the national and
Community statistical authorities.

(5) OJ L 317, 3.12.2001, p. 1.
(6) OJ L 8, 12.1.2001, p. 1.

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(8)

(9)

No decision is superseded by the setting up of this expert
group.

Article 3

Consultation

The membership of this expert group is to be appointed
two year mandate, after which the
for an initial
Commission will
an
extension,

advisability of

consider

the

The Commission may consult the expert group on any matter
relating to measuring crime and criminal justice, specifically on
the identification of policy needs in the development of crime
and criminal justice statistics.

HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:

Article 1

Article 4

Membership — Appointment

A group of experts, the Expert group on the policy needs for data on
justice, hereinafter referred to as ‘the expert
crime and criminal
group’ is hereby set up by the Commission.

1.
The expert group shall be composed of a maximum of 50
members and shall include at least 40 % of members of each
sex, taken from:

Article 2

Task

The expert group’s tasks are:

— to assist

the Commission in establishing cooperation
between Member States and other
related organisations
and bodies in implementing the EU plan on developing a
comprehensive and coherent EU strategy to measure crime
and criminal justice (1);

— to assist the Commission in identifying the policy needs for

data on crime and criminal justice at EU level;

— to assist the Commission in identifying the needs for devel-
opment of common indicators and tools designed to
measure crime and criminal justice;

— to assist the Commission in developing common indicators

and other data needs;

— to advise the Commission on relevant research and devel-
opment needs or results to be taken into account in the
work to implement the above mentioned EU plan;

— to advise the Commission on collaboration with represen-
tatives from the private and academic sectors or other
relevant sectors in order to include relevant knowledge
the above
and experience in the work to implement
mentioned EU plan.

(1) Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament,
the Council and the European Economic and Social Committee,
currently on Inter service Consultation.

(a) National public authorities in the field of Justice and Home
Affairs of the EU Member States, the Acceding and the
Candidate countries;

(b) European Union bodies

on Drugs

justice data for policy purposes

and networks with relevant
experience and expertise of analysing or developing crime
and criminal
such as
European Crime Prevention Network (EUCPN); European
Monitoring Centre
and Drug Addiction
(EMCDDA); Eurojust; European Police Chiefs Task Force
(EPCTF);
the European Police Office (Europol); European
Agency for the Management of Operational Cooperation
at
the
European Union (FRONTEX) and European Monitoring
Centre on Racism and Xenophobia (EUMC); The Organi-
sation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE);

the External Borders of

the Member States of

(c) International Organisations and non-governmental Organi-
sations with relevant experience and expertise analysing or
justice data for policy
developing crime and criminal
purposes. These consist of the following: the Council of
Europe;
the United
Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF); United Nations Office
on Drugs and Crime Prevention (UNODC); World Health
Organisation (WHO);

the European Sourcebook Group;

(d) Individuals with expertise deriving from academic research
or from the private sector in the field of analysing or
measuring crime and criminal
justice in the EU Member
States may also become members of the expert group.

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The Commission, Directorate-General

Justice, Freedom,
2.
and Security shall appoint the members of the expert group
from specialists with competence in the areas referred to in
Article 2 and 4(1).
In relation to point 4.1a, b and c the
members shall be nominated by authorities or organisations
and in relation to point 4.1d the members shall be appointed
from amongst those who have responded to a call for appli-
cations.

Each Member State, Acceding and Candidate country shall
nominate two persons (one of each gender) for membership
appoint one. Alternate
of whom the Commission shall
members
the expert group shall be
appointed in equal numbers and on the same conditions as
the members. Alternate members shall automatically replace
members who are absent.

the members of

for

Article 5

Operation

1.

The expert group shall be chaired by the Commission.

2.
The Commission shall coordinate the expert group's
activities with those of the relevant working group on Crime
Justice Statistics, to be established by Eurostat
and Criminal
within the context of the Community Statistical Programme
as representing national statistical authorities. The Commission
has the responsibility for the coherence of the work of both
joint
groups and shall endeavour to organise, where possible,
meetings or meetings that take place on the same day.

The Commission shall coordinate relevant aspects of the
3.
expert group's activities with the work of other Commission
related activities.

3.
The members shall be appointed under 4.1a, b and c as
representative of a public authority or a non-governmental
organisation. Those under 4.1d shall be appointed in a
personal capacity and shall advise the Commission indepen-
dently of any outside influence.

4.
In agreement with the Commission, sub-groups, of up to
a maximum of 15 members, may be set up to examine specific
questions under terms of reference established by the expert
group; they shall be disbanded as soon as these have been
fulfilled.

4. Members of the expert group shall remain in office until
such time as they are replaced or their mandate ends.

5. Members who are no longer able to contribute effectively
to the expert group’s deliberations, who resign or who do not
respect the conditions set out in the first or second point of this
Article or Article 287 of the Treaty establishing the European
Community may be replaced for the remaining period of their
mandate.

Those members appointed in a personal capacity (point 3
6.
above) shall each year sign an undertaking to act in the public
interest and a declaration indicating the absence or existence of
any interest which may undermine their objectivity.

The names of members

appointed individually are
7.
published on the Internet site of
the DG Justice, Freedom
and Security and in the Official Journal of the European Union,
series C. The names of members are collected, processed and
published in accordance with the provisions of Regulation (EC)
No 45/2001.

The Commission’s

representative may ask experts or
5.
including those from 3rd countries, with specific
observers,
competence on a subject on the agenda to participate in the
expert group’s or sub-groups' deliberations if
this is useful
and/or necessary.

6.
Information obtained by participating in the deliberations
of an expert group or sub-group shall not be divulged if, in the
opinion of the Commission, that information relates to confi-
dential matters.

7.
The expert group and its sub-groups shall normally meet
on Commission premises on invitation by the Commission in
accordance with the procedures and schedule established by it.
The
services. Other
Commission officials with an interest in the proceedings may
attend meetings of the group and its sub-groups.

Commission

secretarial

provides

The expert group shall adopt its rules of procedure on the
the standard rules of procedure adopted by the

8.
basis of
Commission (1).

The Commission may publish on the

Internet or
9.
otherwise,
document
concerned, any summary, conclusion, or partial conclusion or
working document of the expert group.

in the original

language

the

of

(1) Annex III of document SEC(2005) 1004.

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Article 6

Meeting expenses

Article 7

Applicability

The Commission shall reimburse travel and, where appropriate,
subsistence expenses for members, experts and observers in
connection with the expert group’s activities in accordance
with the Commission’s rules on the compensation of external
experts.

The members, experts and observers shall not be remunerated
for the services they render.

Meeting expenses are reimbursed within the limits of the annual
budget allocated to the group by the responsible Commission
services.

The decision shall take effect on the day of its publication in the
Official Journal of the European Union.

Done at Brussels, 7 August 2006.

For the Commission

Franco FRATTINI
Vice-President