Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council and the Committee of the Regions - Towards a general policy on the fight against cyber crime {SEC(2007) 641} {SEC(2007) 642}
Date: 2007-05-22
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU policy, computer crime, cooperation policy, fight against crime, information society

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 22.5.2007 
COM(2007) 267 final 

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION  
TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL  
AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS 

Towards a general policy on the fight against cyber crime 

{SEC(2007) 641} 
{SEC(2007) 642} 

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COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION  
TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL  
AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS 

Towards a general policy on the fight against cyber crime 

1. 

INTRODUCTION 

1.1.  What is cyber crime? 

The security of the increasingly important information systems in our societies covers many 
aspects, of which the fight against cyber crime is a core element. Without an agreed definition 
of  cyber  crime,  the  terms  "cyber  crime",  "computer  crime",  "computer-related  crime"  or 
"high-tech  crime"  are  often  used  interchangeably.  For  the  purpose  of  this  Communication, 
'cyber  crime'  is  understood  as  "criminal  acts  committed  using  electronic  communications 
networks and information systems or against such networks and systems".  

In practice, the term cyber crime is applied to three categories of criminal activities. The first 
covers traditional forms of crime such as fraud or forgery, though in a cyber crime context 
relates  specifically  to  crimes  committed  over  electronic  communication  networks  and 
information systems (hereafter: electronic networks). The second concerns the publication of 
illegal content over electronic media (i.a. child sexual abuse material or incitement to racial 
hatred).  The  third  includes  crimes  unique  to  electronic  networks,  i.e.  attacks  against 
information  systems,  denial  of  service  and  hacking.  These  types  of  attacks  can  also  be 
directed  against  the  crucial  critical  infrastructures  in  Europe  and  affect  existing  rapid  alert 
systems  in  many  areas,  with  potentially  disastrous  consequences  for  the  whole  society. 
Common to each category of crime is that they may be committed on a mass-scale and with a 
great  geographical  distance  between  the  criminal  act  and  its  effects.  Consequently  the 
technical  aspects  of  applied  investigative  methods  are  often  the  same.  These  commonalities 
will form the focus of this Communication. 

1.2. 

Latest developments in cyber crime 

1.2.1. 

In general 

The combination of constantly evolving criminal activities and a lack of reliable information 
makes  it  difficult  to  obtain  an  exact  picture  of  the  current  situation.  Nevertheless,  some 
general trends can be discerned: 

•  The number of cyber crimes is growing and criminal activities are becoming increasingly 

sophisticated and internationalised1 

•  Clear indications point to a growing involvement of organised crime groups in cyber crime 

1 

The majority of this Communication's statements on current trends have been taken from the Study to 
assess the impact of a communication on cyber crime, ordered by the Commission in 2006 (Contract No 
JLS/2006/A1/003). 

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•  However,  the  number  of  European  prosecutions  on  the  basis  of  cross-border  law 

enforcement cooperation do not increase 

1.2.2.  Traditional crime on electronic networks  

Most  crimes  can  be  committed  with  the  use  of  electronic  networks,  and  different  types  of 
fraud and attempted fraud are particularly common and growing forms of crime on electronic 
networks.  Instruments  such  as  identity  theft,  phishing2,  spams  and  malicious  codes  may  be 
used  to  commit  large  scale  fraud.  Illegal  national  and  international  Internet-based  trade  has 
also  emerged  as  a  growing  problem.  This  includes  trade  in  drugs,  endangered  species  and 
arms. 

1.2.3. 

Illegal content 

A  growing  number  of  illegal  content  sites  are  accessible  in  Europe,  covering  child  sexual 
abuse material, incitement to terrorist acts, illegal glorification of violence, terrorism, racism 
and  xenophobia.  Law  enforcement  action  against  such  sites  is  extremely  difficult,  as  site 
owners  and  administrators  are  often  situated  in  countries  other  than  the  target  country,  and 
often outside  the EU. The  sites  can be moved very quickly, also outside the territory of the 
EU, and the definition of illegality varies considerably from one state to another. 

1.2.4.  Crimes unique to electronic networks  

Large  scale  attacks  against  information  systems  or  organisations  and  individuals  (often 
through so called botnets3) appear to have become increasingly prevalent. Also, incidents with 
systematic,  well  co-ordinated  and  large-scale  direct  attacks  against  the  critical  information 
infrastructure  of  a  state  have  recently  been  observed.  This  has  been  compounded  by  the 
merging  technologies  and  accelerated  interlinking  of  information  systems,  which  rendered 
those  systems  more  vulnerable.  Attacks  are  often  well  organised  and  used  for  purposes  of 
extortion.  It  can  be  assumed  that  the  extent  of  reporting  is  minimised,  in  part  due  to  the 
business disadvantages which may be the result if security problems were to become public.  

1.3. 

Objectives 

In the light of this changing environment, there is an urgent need to take action – at national 
as  well  as  European  level  –  against  all  forms  of  cyber  crime,  which  are  increasingly 
significant  threats  to  critical  infrastructures,  society,  business  and  citizens.  Protection  of 
individuals against cyber crime is often exacerbated by issues related to the determination of 
the  competent  jurisdiction,  applicable  law,  cross-border  enforcement  or  the  recognition  and 
use of electronic evidence. The essentially cross-border dimension of cyber crime highlights 
such  difficulties.  In  addressing  these  threats,  the  Commission  is  launching  a  general  policy 
initiative to improve European and international level coordination in the fight against cyber 
crime. 

The  objective  is  to  strengthen  the  fight  against  cyber  crime  at  national,  European  and 
international level. Further development of a specific EU policy, in particular, has long been 
recognised as a priority by the Member States and the Commission. The focus of the initiative 

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Phishing describes attempts to fraudulently acquire sensitive information, such as passwords and credit 
card details, by masquerading as a trustworthy person in an electronic communication. 
Botnet refers to a collection of compromised machines running programs under a common command. 

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will be on the law enforcement and criminal law dimensions of this fight and the policy will 
complement other EU actions to improve security in cyber space in general. The policy will 
eventually  include:  improved  operational  law  enforcement  cooperation;  better  political 
cooperation  and  coordination  between  Member  States;  political  and  legal  cooperation  with 
third countries; awareness raising; training; research; a reinforced dialogue with industry and 
possible legislative action. 

The policy on the fight and prosecution of cyber crime will be defined and implemented in a 
manner  fully  respecting  fundamental  rights,  in  particular  those  of  freedom  of  expression, 
respect for private and family life and the protection of personal data. Any legislative action 
taken in the context of this policy will be first scrutinised for compatibility with such rights, in 
particular the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. It should also be noted that all such policy 
initiatives  will  be  carried  out  in  full  consideration  of  Articles  12  to  15  of  the  so  called  e-
commerce Directive4, where this legal instrument applies.  

The  objective  of  this  Communication  can  be  divided  into  three  main  operational  strands, 
which can be summarised as follows: 

•  To  improve  and  facilitate  coordination  and  cooperation  between  cyber  crime  units,  other 

relevant authorities and other experts in the European Union 

•  To  develop,  in  coordination  with  Member  States,  relevant  EU  and  international 
organisations and other stakeholders, a coherent EU Policy framework on the fight against 
cyber crime 

•  To raise awareness of costs and dangers posed by cyber crime 

2. 

EXISTING LEGAL INSTRUMENTS IN THE FIGHT AGAINST CYBER CRIME  

2.1. 

Existing instruments and actions at EU level 

The  present  Communication  on  cyber  crime  policy  consolidates  and  develops  the  2001 
Communication  on  Creating  a  Safer  Information  Society  by  Improving  the  Security  of 
Information  Infrastructures  and  Combating  Computer-related  Crime5  (hereafter:  the  2001 
Communication). The 2001 Communication proposed appropriate substantive and procedural 
legislative provisions to deal with both domestic and trans-national criminal activities. From 
this, several important proposals followed. In particular, these include the proposal leading to 
the  Framework  Decision  2005/222/JHA  on  attacks  against  information  systems6.  In  this 
context, it should also be noted that other, more general, legislation covering also aspects of 
the  fight  against  cyber  crime  has  been  adopted,  such  as  the  Framework  Decision 
2001/413/JHA on combating fraud and counterfeiting of non-cash means of payment7. 

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Directive 2000/31/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 8 June 2000 on certain legal 
aspects of information society services, in particular electronic commerce, in the Internal Market (OJ L 
178, 17.7.2000, p. 1). 
COM(2000) 890, 26.1.2001. 
OJ L 69, 16.3.2005, p. 67. 
OJ L 149, 2.6.2001, p. 1. 

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The Framework Decision 2004/68/JHA on sexual exploitation of children8 is a good example 
of  the  particular  focus  put  by  the  Commission  on  the  protection  of  children,  especially  in 
relation to the fight against all forms of child sexual abuse material illegally published using 
information systems, a horizontal priority which will be kept in the future. 

To  tackle  security  challenges  for  the  information  society,  the  European  Community  has 
developed  a  three-pronged  approach  for  network  and  information  security:  specific  network 
and information security measures, the regulatory framework for electronic communications 
and  the  fight  against  cyber  crime.  Although  these  three  aspects  can,  to  a  certain  extent,  be 
developed  separately,  the  numerous  interdependencies  call  for  tight  coordination.  In  the 
related  field  of  Network  and  Information  security,  a  2001  Commission  Communication  on 
Network  and  Information  Security:  A  proposal  for  an  EU  policy  approach9,  was  adopted  in 
parallel to the 2001 communication on cyber crime. The ePrivacy directive 2002/58/EC lays 
down an obligation for providers of publicly available electronic communication services to 
safeguard  the  security  of  their  services.  Provisions  against  spam  and  spyware  are  also  laid 
down there. The Network and Information security policy has since been developed through a 
number of actions, most recently in Communications on a Strategy for a secure Information 
society10  that  sets  out  the  revitalized  strategy  and  provides  the  framework  to  carry  forward 
and refine a coherent approach to Network and Information security, and on Fighting spam, 
spyware and malicious software11, and in the 2004 creation of ENISA12. The main objective 
of  ENISA  is  to  develop  expertise  to  stimulate  cooperation  between  the  public  and  private 
sectors, and provide assistance to the Commission  and Member  States. Research results in 
the area of technologies to secure information systems will also play an important role in the 
fight  against  cyber  crime.  Accordingly,  Information  and  Communication  Technologies  as 
well  as  Security  are  all  mentioned  as  objectives  in  the  EU  Seventh  Research  Framework 
Programme (FP 7), which will be operational during the period 2007-201313. The review of 
the  regulatory  framework  for  electronic  communications  might  result  in  amendments  to  to 
enhance the effectiveness of the security-related provisions of the ePrivacy Directive and the 
Universal Service Directive 2002/22/EC14. 

2.2. 

Existing international instruments 

Due to the global nature of information networks, no policy on cyber crime can be effective if 
efforts  are  confined  within  the  EU.  Criminals  can  not  only  attack  information  systems  or 
commit crimes from one Member State to another, but can easily do so from outside the EU's 
jurisdiction.  Accordingly,  the  Commission  has  actively  participated  in  international 
discussions and cooperation structures, i.a. the G 8 Lyon-Roma High-Tech Crime Group and 
Interpol-administered projects. The Commission is in particular closely following the work of 
the network for 24-hour contacts for International High-Tech Crime (the 24/7 network)15, of 
which  a  considerable  number  of  states  worldwide,  including  most  EU  Member  States,  are 

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OJ L 13, 20.1.2004, p. 44. 
COM(2001) 298. 
COM(2006) 251. 
COM(2006) 688. 
Regulation  (EC)  No  460/2004  establishing  the  European  Network  and  Information  Security  Agency 
(OJ L 77,  13.3.2004, p. 1). 
The  European  Union  has  already  under  the  6th  Framework  Programme  for  Research  and  and 
Technological development supported a number of relevant, and successful, research projects. 
COM(2006) 334, SEC(2006)816, SEC(2006) 817. 
See Article 35 in the Council of Europe Convention on cyber crime. 

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members.  The  G8  network  constitutes  a  mechanism  to  expedite  contacts  between 
participating  states,  with  24-hour  points  of  contact  for  cases  involving  electronic  evidence, 
and those requiring urgent assistance from foreign law enforcement authorities.  

Arguably, the predominant European and international instrument in this field is the Council 
of  Europe's  2001  Convention  on  cyber  crime16.  The  Convention,  which  was  adopted  and 
entered into force in 2004, contains common definitions of different types of cyber crime and 
lays  the  foundation  for  a  functioning  judicial  cooperation  between  contracting  states.  It  has 
been signed by many states, including the United States of America and other non-European 
states, and by all Member States. A number of Member States have however not yet ratified 
the  Convention  or  the  additional  protocol  to  the  Convention  dealing  with  acts  of  racist  and 
xenophobic nature committed through computer systems. Considering the agreed importance 
of  the  Convention,  the  Commission  will  encourage  Member  States  and  relevant  third 
countries to ratify the Convention and consider the possibility for the European Community to 
become a party to the Convention. 

3. 

3.1. 

FURTHER DEVELOPMENT OF SPECIFIC INSTRUMENTS IN THE FIGHT AGAINST CYBER 
CRIME 

Strengthening  operational  law  enforcement  cooperation  and  EU-level  training 
efforts 

The  lack,  or  underutilisation,  of  immediate  structures  for  cross-border  operational 
cooperation  remains  a  major  weakness  in  the  area  of  Justice,  Freedom  and  Security. 
Traditional mutual assistance when confronted with urgent cyber crime cases has proven slow 
and  ineffective,  and  new  cooperation  structures  have  not  yet  been  sufficiently  developed. 
While  national  judicial  and  law  enforcement  authorities  in  Europe  cooperate  closely  via 
Europol,  Eurojust  and  other  structures,  there  remains  an  obvious  need  to  strengthen  and 
clarify  responsibilities.  Consultations  undertaken  by  the  Commission  indicate  that  these 
crucial channels are not used in an optimal way. A more coordinated European approach must 
be  both  operational  and  strategic  and  also  cover  the  exchange  of  information  and  best 
practices. 

The  Commission  will  in  the  near  future  lay  particular  emphasis  on  training  needs.  It  is  an 
established  fact  that  the  technological  developments  produce  a  need  for  continuous  training 
on  cyber  crime  issues  for  law  enforcement  and  judicial  authorities.  A  reinforced  and  better 
coordinated  financial  support  from  the  EU  to  multinational  training  programs  is  therefore 
envisaged.  The  Commission  will  also,  in  close  cooperation  with  Member  States  and  other 
competent organs such as Europol, Eurojust, the European Police College (CEPOL) and the 
European Judicial Training Network (EJNT), work to achieve an EU level coordination and 
interlinking of all relevant training programmes.  

The Commission will organise a meeting of law enforcement experts from Member States, as 
well  as  from  Europol,  CEPOL  and  the  EJTN,  to  discuss  how  to  improve  strategic  and 
operational  cooperation  as  well  as  cyber  crime  training  in  Europe  in  2007.  Among  other 
things,  the  creation  of  both  a  permanent  EU  contact  point  for  information  exchange  and  an 

16 

http://conventions.coe.int/Treaty/en/Treaties/Html/185.htm 

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EU cyber crime training platform will be considered. The 2007 meeting will be the first in a 
series of meetings planned for the near future.  

3.2. 

Strengthen the dialogue with industry 

Both private and public sectors have an interest in jointly developing methods to identify and 
prevent  harm  resulting  from  the  activities  of  crime.  Shared  private  and  public  sector 
participation, based on mutual trust and a common objective of harm reduction, promises to 
be an effective way of enhancing security, also in the fight against cyber crime. The public-
private  aspects  of  the  Commission's  cyber  crime  policy  will  in  time  be  part  of  a  planned 
global EU policy on dialogue between the public and the private sector, covering the whole 
area  of  European  security.  This  policy  will  in  particular  be  taken  forward  by  the  European 
Security Research and Innovation Forum, which the Commission plans to create shortly and 
which will regroup relevant stakeholders from the public and the private sector. 

The development of modern information technologies and electronic communication systems 
is  largely  controlled  by  private  operators.  Private  companies  carry  out  threat  assessments, 
establish  programmes  for  the  fight  against  crime  and  develop  technical  solutions  to  prevent 
crime. Industry has displayed a very positive attitude to assisting public authorities in the fight 
against  cyber  crime,  especially  in  efforts  to  counter  child  pornography17  and  other  types  of 
illegal content on the Internet. 

Another  issue  concerns  the  apparent  lack  of  exchange  of  information,  expertise  and  best 
practices between the public and the private sector. Private sector operators are often, in order 
to  protect  business  models  and  secrets,  reluctant,  or  are  under  no  clear  legal  obligation,  to 
report  or  share  relevant  information  on  crime  incidences  with  law  enforcement  authorities. 
However, such information may be needed if public authorities are to formulate an efficient 
and  appropriate  anti-crime  policy.  The  possibilities  to  improve  cross-sector  information 
exchange will be considered also in the light of existing rules on protection of personal data. 

The Commission already plays an important role in various public-private structures dealing 
with  cyber  crime,  such  as  the  Fraud  Prevention  Expert  Group18.  The  Commission  is 
convinced that an effective general policy for the fight against cyber crime must also include a 
strategy for cooperation between the public sector and private sector operators, including civil 
society organisations. 

To  achieve  broader  public-private  cooperation  in  this  field,  the  Commission  will  in  2007 
organise  a  conference  for  law  enforcement  experts  and  private  sector  representatives, 
especially  Internet  Service  Providers,  to  discuss  how  to  improve  public-private  operational 
cooperation in Europe19. The conference will touch upon all subjects deemed to add value for 
both sectors, but especially:  

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One recent example of cooperation in this field is the cooperation between law enforcement and credit-
card companies, through which the latter have assisted the police in tracking down purchasers of online 
child pornography. 
See http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/payments/fraud/index_en.htm 
The Conference could be regarded as the continuation of the EU Forum presented in Section 6.4 in the 
computer-crime communication.  

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•  Improving operational cooperation in the fight against illegal activities and content on the 
Internet, specifically in the areas of terrorism, child sexual abuse material and other illegal 
activities particularly sensitive from a child protection perspective 

•  Initiating  public-private  agreements  aiming  at  the  EU-wide  blocking  of  sites  containing 

illegal content, especially child sexual abuse material 

•  Devising  a  European  model  for  the  sharing  of  necessary  and  relevant  information  across 
the  private  and  public  sectors,  one  consideration  being  to  cultivate  an  atmosphere  of 
mutual confidence and take the interests of all parties into account 

•  Establishing a network of law enforcement contact points in both private and public sectors  

3.3. 

Legislation 

General  harmonisation  of  crime  definitions  and  national  penal  laws  in  the  field  of  cyber 
crime, is not yet appropriate, due to the variety of the types of offences covered by this notion. 
Since effective cooperation between law enforcement authorities often depends on having at 
least  partly  harmonised  crime  definitions,  it  remains  a  long-term  objective  to  continue 
harmonising  Member  States'  legislation20.  With  regard  to  certain  key  crime  definitions,  an 
important  step  has  already  been  taken  with  the  Framework  Decision  on  attacks  against 
information  systems.  As  described  above,  new  threats  have  subsequently  appeared  and  the 
Commission  is  closely  following  this  evolution  given  the  importance  of  continuously 
assessing the need for additional legislation. The monitoring of the evolving threats is closely 
coordinated with the European Programme for Critical Infrastructure Protection.  

Targeted legislation against cyber crime should however also be considered now. A particular 
issue which may require legislation relates to a situation where cyber crime is committed in 
conjunction  with  identity  theft.  Generally,  "identity  theft"  is  understood  as  the  use  of 
personal identifying information, e.g. a credit card number, as an instrument to commit other 
crimes. In most Member States, a criminal would most likely be prosecuted for the fraud, or 
another potential crime, rather than for the identity theft; the former being considered a more 
serious crime. Identity theft as such is not criminalised across all Member States. It is often 
easier  to  prove  the  crime  of  identity  theft  than  that  of  fraud,  so  that  EU  law  enforcement 
cooperation would be better served were identity theft criminalised in all Member States. The 
Commission will in 2007 commence consultations to assess if legislation is appropriate. 

3.4. 

Development of statistical data 

It is generally agreed that the current state of information concerning the prevalence of crime 
is  largely  inadequate,  and  in  particular  that  much  improvement  is  needed  to  compare  data 
between Member States. An ambitious five-year plan to tackle this problem was set out in the 
Communication  from  the  Commission  on  Developing  a  comprehensive  and  coherent  EU 
strategy  to  measure  crime  and  criminal  justice:  An  EU  Action  Plan  2006  –  201021.  The 
Expert  Group  set  up  under  this  Action  Plan  would  provide  a  suitable  forum  for  developing 
relevant indicators for measuring the extent of cyber crime. 

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This longer-term objective has already been mentioned on page 3 of the 2001 Communication.  
COM(2006) 437, 7.8.2006.  

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4. 

THE WAY FORWARD 

The Commission will now take the general policy for the fight against cyber crime forward. 
Due to the limited powers of the Commission in the field of criminal law, this policy can only 
be  a  complement  to  the  actions  undertaken  by  Member  States  and  other  bodies.  The  most 
important actions – each of which will imply the use of one, several or all of the instruments 
presented in Chapter 3 – will also be supported through the Financial Programme "Prevention 
of and Fight against Crime": 

4.1. 

The fight against cyber crime in general 

•  Establish a strengthened operational cooperation between Member States' law enforcement 
and  judicial  authorities,  an  action  which  will  begin  with  the  organisation  of  a  dedicated 
expert meeting in 2007 and which may include the setting up of a central EU cyber crime 
contact point 

•  Increase  financial  support  to  initiatives  for  improved  training  of  law  enforcement  and 
judicial  authorities  vis-à-vis  the  handling  of  cyber  crime  cases  and  take  action  to 
coordinate all multinational training efforts in this field by the setting up of an EU training 
platform 

•  Promote  a  stronger  commitment  from  Member  States  and  all  public  authorities  to  take 
effective measures against cyber crime and to allocate sufficient resources to combat such 
crimes 

•  Support research beneficial to the fight against cyber crime 

•  Organise  at  least  one  major  conference  (in  2007)  with  law  enforcement  authorities  and 
private  operators,  especially  to  initiate  cooperation  in  the  fight  against  illegal  Internet 
activities in and against electronic networks and to promote a more effective non-personal 
information exchange, and to follow-up on the conclusions from this 2007 conference with 
concrete public-private cooperation projects 

•  Take the initiative for and participate in public-private actions aimed at raising awareness, 
especially  among  consumers,  of  the  cost  of  and  dangers  posed  by  cyber  crime,  while 
avoiding the undermining of the trust and confidence of consumers and users by focusing 
only on negative aspects of security 

•  Actively  participate  in  and  promote  global  international  cooperation  in  the  fight  against 

cyber crime 

•  Initiate,  contribute  to  and  support  international  projects  which  are  in  line  with  the 
Commission  policy  in  this  field,  e.g.  projects  run  by  the  G  8  and  consistent  with  the 
Country and Regional Strategy Papers (regarding cooperation with third countries) 

•  Take concrete action to encourage all Member States and relevant third countries to ratify 
the Council of Europe's Cyber Crime Convention and its additional protocol and consider 
the possibility for the Community to become a party to the Convention 

•  Examine,  together  with  the  Member  States,  the  phenomenon  of  co-ordinated  and  large 
scale attacks against the information infrastructure of member states in view of preventing 

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and combating these, including co-ordinating responses, and sharing information and best 
practices 

4.2. 

Fight against traditional crime in electronic networks  

•  Initiate an in-depth analysis with a view to preparing a proposal for specific EU legislation 

against identity theft 

•  Promote  the  development  of  technical  methods  and  procedures  to  fight  fraud  and  illegal 

trade on the Internet, also through public-private cooperation projects 

•  Continue  and  develop  work  in  specific  targeted  areas,  such  as  in  the  Fraud  Prevention 
Expert  Group  on  the  fight  against  fraud  with  non-cash  means  of  payment  in  electronic 
networks 

4.3. 

Illegal content 

•  Continue  to  develop  actions  against  specific  illegal  content,  especially  regarding  child 
sexual abuse material and incitement to terrorism and notably through the follow-up of the 
implementation of the Framework Decision on sexual exploitation of children 

•  Invite the Member States to allocate sufficient financial resources to strengthen the work of 
law enforcement agencies with special attention to identifying the victims of sexual abuse 
material which is distributed online 

•  Initiate  and  support  actions  against  illegal  content  that  may  incite  minors  to  violent  and 
other serious illegal behaviour, i.a. certain types of extremely violent on-line video games 

•  Initiate and promote dialogue between Member States and with third countries on technical 
methods to fight illegal content as well as on procedures to shut down illegal websites, also 
with a view to the possible development of formal agreements with neighbouring and other 
countries on this issue 

•  Develop  EU-level  voluntary  agreements  and  conventions  between  public  authorities  and 
private operators, especially Internet service providers, regarding procedures to block and 
close down illegal Internet sites 

4.4. 

Follow-up 

In this Communication, a number of actions aimed at improving cooperation structures in the 
EU have been outlined as next steps. The Commission will take these actions forward, assess 
progress on the implementation of the activities, and report to the Council and Parliament. 

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