CELEX: 22010A0721
Language: en
Date: 2010-07-06 00:00:00
Title: Agreement between the European Union and the Principality of Liechtenstein on security procedures for exchanging classified information

L 187/2                  EN                               Official Journal of the European Union                                            21.7.2010
                                                                       AGREEMENT
                between the European Union and the Principality of Liechtenstein on security procedures for
                                                          exchanging classified information
                The EUROPEAN UNION, hereinafter referred to as ‘the EU’, and
                The PRINCIPALITY OF LIECHTENSTEIN, hereinafter referred to as ‘Liechtenstein’,
                Hereinafter referred to as ‘the Parties’,
                CONSIDERING THAT the Parties 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 Parties 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
                Parties,
                RECOGNISING THAT full and effective consultation and cooperation may require access to classified information and
                material of the EU and of Liechtenstein, as well as the exchange of classified information and related material between the
                Parties,
                CONSCIOUS THAT such access to and exchange of classified information and related material require appropriate
                security measures,
                HAVE AGREED AS FOLLOWS:
                                 Article 1                                                                        Article 4
In order to fulfil the objectives of strengthening the security of                Each Party shall:
each of the Parties in all ways, this Agreement between the
Principality of Liechtenstein and the European Union on
security procedures for exchanging classified information (here­                  (a) protect and safeguard classified information provided or
inafter referred to as the ‘Agreement’) shall apply to classified                     exchanged by the other Party under this Agreement;
information or material in any form either provided or
exchanged between the Parties.
                                                                                  (b) ensure that classified information provided or exchanged
                                                                                      under this Agreement keeps the security classification
                                                                                      marking given to it by the providing Party. The receiving
                                                                                      Party shall protect and safeguard the classified information
                                 Article 2
                                                                                      according to the provisions set out in its own security
For the purposes of this Agreement, ‘classified information’ shall                    regulations for information or material holding an
mean any information (i.e. knowledge that can be                                      equivalent security classification, as specified in the
communicated in any form) or material determined by either                            security arrangements to be established pursuant to
of the Parties to require protection against unauthorised                             Article 11;
disclosure and which has been so designated by a security
classification.
                                                                                  (c) not use such classified information for purposes other than
                                                                                      those established by the originator or those for which the
                                                                                      information is provided or exchanged;
                                 Article 3
The EU institutions and entities to which this Agreement shall                    (d) not disclose such classified information to third parties, or
apply are: the European Council, the Council of the European                          to any EU institution or entity not referred to in Article 3,
Union (hereinafter referred to as ‘the Council’), the General                         without the prior written consent of the providing Party;
Secretariat of the Council, the High Representative of the
Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the European
External Action Service (hereinafter: ‘the EEAS’) and the                         (e) not allow access to classified information to individuals
European Commission. For the purposes of this Agreement,                              unless they have a need to know and have been appro­
these institutions and entities shall be referred to as ‘the EU’.                     priately security-cleared.
 ---pagebreak--- 21.7.2010              EN                         Official Journal of the European Union                                            L 187/3
                              Article 5                                                                Article 9
1.     Classified information may be disclosed or released, in            1.     For the purpose of this Agreement:
accordance with the principle of originator control, by one
Party (the providing Party) to the other Party (the receiving
Party).
                                                                          (a) as regards the EU, all correspondence shall be sent through
                                                                               the Chief Registry Officer of the Council and shall be
                                                                               forwarded by him to the Member States and to the insti­
2.     For release to recipients other than the Parties, a decision            tutions or entities referred to in Article 3, subject to
on disclosure or release of classified information will be made                paragraph 2;
by the receiving Party following the written consent of the
providing Party, in accordance with the principle of originator
control as defined in the latter’s security regulations.                  (b) as regards Liechtenstein, all correspondence shall be sent to
                                                                               the Chief Registry Officer of the Ministry of Interior of
                                                                               Liechtenstein and forwarded, where appropriate, via the
                                                                               Mission of Liechtenstein to the EU.
3.     In implementing paragraphs 1 and 2, no generic release
shall be possible unless procedures are established and agreed
upon between the Parties regarding certain categories of
information which are relevant to their operational                       2.     Exceptionally, correspondence from one Party which is
requirements.                                                             accessible to only specific competent officials, organs or
                                                                          services of that Party may, for operational reasons, be
                                                                          addressed and be accessible only to specific competent officials,
                                                                          organs or services of the other Party specifically designated as
                              Article 6                                   recipients, taking into account their competencies and according
                                                                          to the need-to-know principle. As far as the EU is concerned,
Each of the Parties, and the institutions and entities referred to        such correspondence shall be transmitted through the Chief
in Article 3 of this Agreement, shall ensure that they have a             Registry Officer of the Council, the Chief Registry Officer of
security system and security measures in place, based on the              the European Commission or the Chief Registry Officer of the
basic principles and minimum standards of security laid down              EEAS, as appropriate. As far as Liechtenstein is concerned, such
in their respective laws or regulations, and reflected in the             correspondence shall be transmitted through the Mission of
arrangements to be established pursuant to Article 11, in                 Liechtenstein to the EU.
order to ensure that an equivalent level of protection is
applied to classified information provided or exchanged under
this Agreement.
                                                                                                       Article 10
                                                                          The Minister of Interior of Liechtenstein, the Secretary-General
                                                                          of the Council and the Member of the European Commission
                              Article 7
                                                                          responsible for security matters shall oversee the implemen­
1.     The Parties shall ensure that all persons who, in the              tation of this Agreement.
conduct of their official duties, require access, or whose duties
or functions may afford access, to classified information
provided or exchanged under this Agreement are appropriately
security-cleared before they are granted access to such                                                Article 11
information.                                                              1.     In order to implement this Agreement, security
                                                                          arrangements shall be established between the three authorities
                                                                          designated in paragraphs 2, 3 and 4 in order to lay down the
                                                                          standards for the reciprocal security protection of classified
2.     The security clearance procedures shall be designed to             information under this Agreement.
determine whether an individual may, taking into account his
or her loyalty, trustworthiness and reliability, have access to
classified information.
                                                                          2.     The Ministry of Interior of Liechtenstein shall develop the
                                                                          security arrangements for the protection and safeguarding of
                                                                          classified information provided to Liechtenstein under this
                              Article 8                                   Agreement.
The Parties shall provide mutual assistance with regard to the
security of classified information provided or exchanged under
this Agreement and matters of common security interest.                   3.     The Security Office of the General Secretariat of the
Reciprocal security consultations and inspections shall be                Council, under the direction and on behalf of the Secretary-
conducted by the authorities referred to in Article 11 to                 General of the Council, acting in the name of the Council
assess the effectiveness of the security arrangements within              and under its authority, shall develop the security arrangements
their respective responsibility to be established pursuant to             for the protection and safeguarding of classified information
that Article.                                                             provided to the EU under this Agreement.
 ---pagebreak--- L 187/4               EN                         Official Journal of the European Union                                           21.7.2010
4.     The European Commission Security Directorate, acting                                            Article 17
under the authority of the Member of the Commission
responsible for security matters, shall develop the security             1.     This Agreement shall enter into force on the first day of
arrangements for the protection of classified information                the first month after the Parties have notified each other of the
provided or exchanged under this Agreement within the                    completion of the internal procedures necessary for this
European Commission and its premises.                                    purpose.
                                                                         2.     Each Party shall notify the other Party of any changes in
5.     For the EU, the security arrangements mentioned in                its laws and regulations that could affect the protection of
paragraph 1 shall be subject to approval by the Council                  classified information referred to in this Agreement.
Security Committee.
                                                                         3.     This Agreement may be reviewed for consideration of
                            Article 12                                   possible amendments at the request of either Party.
The Authorities referred to in Article 11 shall establish
procedures to be followed in the case of proven or suspected             4.     Any amendment to this Agreement shall be made in
compromise of classified information provided or exchanged               writing only and by common agreement of the Parties. It
under this Agreement.                                                    shall enter into force upon mutual notification as provided
                                                                         under paragraph 1.
                            Article 13                                                                 Article 18
Each Party shall bear its own costs incurred in implementing             This Agreement may be denounced by one Party by written
this Agreement.                                                          notice of denunciation given to the other Party. Such
                                                                         denunciation shall take effect six months after receipt of the
                                                                         notification by the other Party, but shall not affect obligations
                            Article 14                                   already entered into under this Agreement. In particular, all
Before classified information is provided or exchanged between           classified information provided or exchanged pursuant to this
the Parties under this Agreement, the responsible security               Agreement shall continue to be protected in accordance with
authorities referred to in Article 11 shall agree that the               the provisions set forth herein.
receiving Party is able to protect and safeguard the information
in a way consistent with the arrangements to be established              In witness whereof the undersigned, respectively duly auth­
pursuant to that Article.                                                orised, have signed this Agreement.
                            Article 15
                                                                         Done at Brussels, on the sixth day of July in the year two
This Agreement shall not prevent the Parties from concluding             thousand and ten in two copies, each in the English language.
other agreements relating to the provision or exchange of clas­
sified information provided that they do not conflict with the
provisions of this Agreement.
                                                                               For the Principality of            For the European Union
                                                                                    Liechtenstein
                            Article 16
Any disputes between Liechtenstein and the EU arising out of
the interpretation or application of this Agreement shall be
addressed by negotiation between the Parties.