REPORT on the draft Council implementing decision approving the conclusion by the European Police Office (Europol) of the Agreement on Operational and Strategic Cooperation between the Kingdom of Denmark and Europol

19.4.2017 - (07281/2017 – C8‑0120/2017 – 2017/0803(CNS)) - *

Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs
Rapporteur: Agustín Díaz de Mera García Consuegra

DRAFT EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION

on the draft Council implementing decision approving the conclusion by the European Police Office (Europol) of the Agreement on Operational and Strategic Cooperation between the Kingdom of Denmark and Europol

(07281/2017 – C8‑0120/2017 – 2017/0803(CNS))

(Consultation)

The European Parliament,

–  having regard to the Council draft (07281/2017),

–  having regard to Article 39(1) of the Treaty on European Union, as amended by the Treaty of Amsterdam, and Article 9 of Protocol No 36 on transitional provisions, pursuant to which the Council consulted Parliament (C8‑0120/2017),

–  having regard to Council Decision 2009/371/JHA of 6 April 2009 establishing the European Police Office (Europol)[1], and in particular Article 23(2) thereof,

–  having regard to Council Decision 2009/935/JHA of 30 November 2009 determining the list of third States and organisations with which Europol shall conclude agreements[2], as amended by Council Implementing Decision (EU) 2017/290[3],

–  having regard to Council Decision 2009/934/JHA of 30 November 2009 adopting the implementing rules governing Europol’s relations with partners, including the exchange of personal data and classified information[4], and in particular Articles 5 and 6 thereof,

–  having regard to the Declaration by the President of the European Council, the President of the Commission and the Prime Minister of Denmark of 15 December 2016, which stressed the operational needs, but also the exceptional and transitional nature, of the foreseen arrangement between Europol and Denmark,

–  having regard to the aforementioned Declaration, which stressed that the foreseen arrangement is conditional on Denmark’s continued membership of the Union and of the Schengen area, Denmark’s obligation to fully implement in Danish law Directive (EU) 2016/680/EU[5] on data protection in police matters by 1 May 2017 and Denmark’s agreement to the application of the jurisdiction of the Court of Justice of the European Union and the competence of the European Data Protection Supervisor,

–  having regard to Protocol No 22 to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

–  having regard to the outcome of the Danish referendum of 3 December 2015 in relation to Protocol No 22 to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

–  having regard to its legislative resolution of 14 February 2017 on the draft Council implementing decision amending Decision 2009/935/JHA as regards the list of third States and organisations with which Europol shall conclude agreements[6] and specifically the request in paragraph 4 thereof calling for the future arrangement between Europol and Denmark to have an expiry date of five years, in order to ensure its transitional nature with a view to a more permanent arrangement,

–  having regard to Rule 78c of its Rules of Procedure,

–  having regard to the report of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (A8-0164/2017),

1.  Approves the Council draft;

2.  Calls on the Council to notify Parliament if it intends to depart from the text approved by Parliament;

3.  Asks the Council to consult Parliament again if it intends to substantially amend the text approved by Parliament;

4.  Calls on the Council and the Commission to ensure that, as part of the assessment to be carried out pursuant to Article 25 of the Agreement on Operational and Strategic Cooperation between the Kingdom of Denmark and Europol, the European Parliament is kept regularly informed and consulted, in particular through the Europol Joint Parliamentary Scrutiny Group to be established pursuant to Article 51(1) of Regulation (EU) 2016/794[7];

5.  Calls on all parties involved to exhaust all possibilities under primary and secondary law in order to once again offer Denmark full membership of Europol;

6.  Instructs its President to forward its position to the Council, the Commission and Europol.

• [1]  OJ L 121, 15.5.2009, p. 37.
• [2]  OJ L 325, 11.12.2009, p. 12.
• [3]  OJ L 42, 18.2.2017, p. 17.
• [4]  OJ L 325, 11.12.2009, p. 6.
• [5]  Directive (EU) 2016/680 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data by competent authorities for the purposes of the prevention, investigation, detection or prosecution of criminal offences or the execution of criminal penalties, and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Council Framework Decision 2008/977/JHA (OJ L 119, 4.5.2016, p. 89).
• [6]  Texts adopted, P8_TA(2017)0023.
• [7]  Regulation (EU) 2016/794 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 May 2016 on the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol) and replacing and repealing Council Decisions 2009/371/JHA, 2009/934/JHA, 2009/935/JHA, 2009/936/JHA and 2009/968/JHA (OJ L 135, 24.5.2016, p. 53).

EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

Denmark is currently fully participating in Europol, which operates under the existing Council Decision (2009/371/JHA). Under the terms of Protocol No 22 to the Treaty on European Union and the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, Denmark could not take part in the adoption of this new Europol Regulation and is not subject to its application. The new Europol Regulation will start to apply on 1 May 2017, on which date the existing Europol Council Decision will automatically be repealed. This means that by 1 May 2017, Denmark will not anymore be part of Europol and will not be able to participate in its activities, consult its databases or exchange data with it.

On 3 December 2015 Denmark held a referendum on converting its current inflexible opt-out on Justice and Home Affairs matters in Protocol No 22 into a more flexible selective opt-in, similar to that currently held by Ireland and the UK. However, the outcome of the referendum was negative (53.1 percent voting 'No', against 46.9 percent 'Yes').

Following the negative outcome of this referendum, informal discussions took place between the Danish authorities and the European Institutions in order to seek ways for Denmark to be as closely as possible associated to Europol.

These informal discussions led to a joint statement on 15 December 2016 by the President of the European Council, the President of the European Commission and the Prime Minister of Denmark. In this joint statement it is proposed, in order to minimise the negative effects of the Danish departure from Europol, that Denmark will be associated to Europol in the form of an operational cooperation agreement. In order to avoid any operational gaps, this cooperation agreement would need to be concluded between Europol and Denmark before 1 May 2017.

The legal route for this would entail 2 consecutive legislative procedures, whereby firstly Denmark will be placed on the list of third countries with which Europol shall conclude international cooperation agreements, and secondly the operational cooperation agreement between Europol and Denmark will be concluded. The European Parliament has to be consulted on both proposals.

On 14 February 2017, the European Parliament adopted with an overwhelming majority the recommendation to amend Decision 2009/935/JHA in order to place Denmark on the list of third States and organisations with which Europol shall conclude international cooperation agreements.

This reports concerns Parliament’s consultation on the draft operational cooperation agreement between Europol and Denmark,

Your Rapporteur recommends to approve the proposed agreement. Combatting cross-border serious and organised crime and international terrorism within the Union, necessitates close cooperation and the sharing of data between its member states. A sudden departure of Denmark from Europol without a smooth transition regime into some form of an association between Denmark and Europol, could lead to operational gaps and reduce the EU’s capacity to effectively fight organised crime and terrorism. It is therefore important to ensure a sufficient level of operational cooperation between Denmark and Europol including the exchange of relevant personal data, and classified information, subject to adequate safeguards and data protection.

At the same time, it should be clear that such a cooperation agreement with Denmark should be of an exceptional nature and cannot in any way equal full membership of Europol. This was also clearly mentioned in the position of the European Parliament, adopted on 14 February 2017.

The rapporteur notes with satisfaction that the above has been duly reflected in the draft cooperation agreement, as well as the conditions set out in the joint statement from 15 December 2016, namely that the proposed arrangement will be conditional on Denmark’s continued membership of the Schengen area, on Denmark’s obligation to fully implement in Danish law the Data Protection Directive (Directive (EU) 2016/680) by 1 May 2017 and on Denmark’s agreement to the application of the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice and the competence of the European Data Protection Supervisor. He furthermore welcomes that Denmark will continue to contribute appropriately to Europol’s budget.

PROCEDURE – COMMITTEE RESPONSIBLE

Title	Agreement on Operational and Strategic Cooperation between the Kingdom of Denmark and Europol
References	07281/2017 – C8-0120/2017 – 2017/0803(CNS)
Date of consulting Parliament	21.3.2017
Committee responsible        Date announced in plenary	LIBE 3.4.2017
Rapporteurs        Date appointed	Agustín Díaz de Mera García Consuegra 23.3.2017
Discussed in committee	23.3.2017	30.3.2017	11.4.2017
Date adopted	11.4.2017
Result of final vote	+: –: 0:	51 1 1
Members present for the final vote	Jan Philipp Albrecht, Michał Boni, Caterina Chinnici, Daniel Dalton, Agustín Díaz de Mera García Consuegra, Frank Engel, Tanja Fajon, Raymond Finch, Monika Flašíková Beňová, Lorenzo Fontana, Mariya Gabriel, Kinga Gál, Ana Gomes, Nathalie Griesbeck, Sylvie Guillaume, Jussi Halla-aho, Monika Hohlmeier, Filiz Hyusmenova, Sophia in ‘t Veld, Dietmar Köster, Barbara Kudrycka, Cécile Kashetu Kyenge, Marju Lauristin, Juan Fernando López Aguilar, Roberta Metsola, Claude Moraes, Alessandra Mussolini, Soraya Post, Birgit Sippel, Branislav Škripek, Csaba Sógor, Helga Stevens, Traian Ungureanu, Marie-Christine Vergiat, Harald Vilimsky, Udo Voigt, Josef Weidenholzer, Kristina Winberg, Tomáš Zdechovský, Auke Zijlstra
Substitutes present for the final vote	Carlos Coelho, Anna Maria Corazza Bildt, Gérard Deprez, Cătălin Sorin Ivan, Jean Lambert, Ulrike Lunacek, Artis Pabriks, Morten Helveg Petersen, Emil Radev, Elly Schlein, Barbara Spinelli, Anders Primdahl Vistisen, Axel Voss

FINAL VOTE BY ROLL CALL IN COMMITTEE RESPONSIBLE

51	+
ALDE	Gérard Deprez, Nathalie Griesbeck, Filiz Hyusmenova, Sophia in 't Veld, Morten Helveg Petersen
ECR	Daniel Dalton, Jussi Halla-aho, Branislav Škripek, Helga Stevens, Anders Primdahl Vistisen
EFDD	Kristina Winberg
ENF	Lorenzo Fontana, Harald Vilimsky
GUE/NGL	Barbara Spinelli, Marie-Christine Vergiat
NI	Udo Voigt
PPE	Michał Boni, Carlos Coelho, Anna Maria Corazza Bildt, Agustín Díaz de Mera García Consuegra, Frank Engel, Mariya Gabriel, Kinga Gál, Monika Hohlmeier, Barbara Kudrycka, Roberta Metsola, Alessandra Mussolini, Artis Pabriks, Emil Radev, Csaba Sógor, Traian Ungureanu, Axel Voss, Tomáš Zdechovský
S&D	Caterina Chinnici, Tanja Fajon, Monika Flašíková Beňová, Ana Gomes, Sylvie Guillaume, Cătălin Sorin Ivan, Cécile Kashetu Kyenge, Dietmar Köster, Marju Lauristin, Juan Fernando López Aguilar, Claude Moraes, Soraya Post, Elly Schlein, Birgit Sippel, Josef Weidenholzer
VERTS/ALE	Jan Philipp Albrecht, Jean Lambert, Ulrike Lunacek

1	-
ENF	Auke Zijlstra

1	0
EFDD	Raymond Finch

Key to symbols:

+  :  in favour

-  :  against

0  :  abstention