Agreement between the Swiss Confederation and the European Union on the security procedures for the exchange of classified information
Date: 2008-04-28
Institutions: European Union, Switzerland
Subjects: Switzerland, agreement (EU), confidentiality, data protection, disclosure of information, exchange of information

L 181/58

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

10.7.2008

between the Swiss Confederation and the European Union on the security procedures for the
exchange of classified information

AGREEMENT

THE SWISS CONFEDERATION, and

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

hereinafter referred to as ‘the Parties’,

CONSIDERING THAT the Swiss Confederation 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 Swiss Confederation 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
Swiss Confederation and the EU;

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

In order to fulfill the objective of strengthening the security of
each of the Parties in all ways, this Agreement applies to clas-
sified 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 (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).

(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
established 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;

Article 4

Each Party shall:

(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.

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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,

For release to recipients other than the Parties to this
2.
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.

respective responsibility to be established pursuant to Articles
11 and 12.

Article 9

1.

For the purpose of this Agreement:

(a) As regards the EU:

all correspondence shall be sent
following address:

to the Council at

the

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

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

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.

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

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

(b) As regards the Swiss Confederation,

all correspondence shall be addressed to the Chief Registry
Officer of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Switzerland and
forwarded, where appropriate, via the Mission of Swit-
zerland to the European Union, at the following address:

Mission of Switzerland to the European Union
Registry Officer
Place du Luxembourg, 1
B-1050 Brussels.

If necessary, correspondence from one Party which is only
2.
accessible to specific competent officials, organs or services of
that Party may, for operational reasons, be addressed and only
be accessible to specific competent 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 EU is concerned,
this corre-
spondence shall be transmitted through the Chief Registry
Officer of the Council. As far as the Swiss Confederation is
this correspondence may be transmitted via the
concerned,
Mission of Switzerland to the European Union.

Article 8

The Parties shall provide mutual assistance with regard to
security of classified information subject
to this Agreement
and matters of common security interest. Mutually agreed and
reciprocal
shall be
security consultations and inspections
conducted by the authorities as defined in Article 11 to assess
the Security Arrangements within their
the effectiveness of

Article 10

The State Secretary of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs
of the Swiss Confederation, and the Secretaries-General of the
Council and of the European Commission shall oversee the
implementation of this Agreement.

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Official Journal of the European Union

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Article 11

In order to implement this Agreement:

orities 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.

1. The national security authorities of the Swiss Confederation
(Federal Department of Justice and Police, Federal Office of
Police and Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection
and Sports, Defence – Staff of the Chief of the Armed Forces,
Information Security and Facility Protection), acting in the
name of the Government of the Swiss Confederation and
under
its authority, shall be responsible for developing
security arrangements for the protection and safeguarding
of classified information provided to the Swiss Confederation
under this Agreement.

2. The General Secretariat of the Council Security Office (here-
inafter GSC Security Office), under the direction and on
the Council, acting in
behalf of the Secretary-General of
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

to be established pursuant

The Security Arrangements
to
Article 11 in agreement between the four offices concerned
will 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 auth-

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 Parties arising out of the interpre-
tation or application of this Agreement shall be dealt with by
negotiation between them.

Article 17

This Agreement shall enter into force on the first day of
1.
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.

Any amendment to this Agreement shall only be made in
3.
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
authorised, have signed the present Agreement.

the undersigned,

respectively duly

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Official Journal of the European Union

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Done at Brussels,

, in two copies each in the English language.

For the Swiss Confederation

For the European Union