1. The Council is appalled by the
heinous terrorist attacks which took place in Paris on 13 November 2015 and
expresses its deepest condolences to the victims of these attacks, their
families and friends. The Council emphasises its solidarity with the people of
France and pays tribute to the courage and decisive actions of the French
authorities. The attacks were an assault on the European values of freedom,
democracy, human rights and the rule of law. This is not the first time that
the EU has been confronted with a major terrorist attack and important measures
have already been decided.
The Council underlines the
importance of accelerating the implementation of all areas covered by the
statement on counter-terrorism issued by the Members of the European Council on
12 February 2015 and in particular of the measures outlined below.
PNR
2. The Council reiterates the
urgency and priority to finalise an ambitious EU PNR before the end of 2015,
which should include internal flights in its scope, provide for a sufficiently
long data period during which PNR data can be retained in non-masked-out form
and should not be limited to crimes of a transnational nature.
Firearms
3. The Council:
a) welcomes the adoption of the Implementing Regulation on common
deactivation standards on 18 November 2015,
b) welcomes
the presentation by the Commission on 18 November 2015 of a proposal to revise
the current Directive on Firearms, on which work will start without delay,
c) is
committed to increasing operational cooperation through Europol under the EU
Policy Cycle on serious and organised crime, notably within the Operational
Action Plan Firearms. All Member States affected by the problem are invited to
join these efforts by the end of 2015,
d) invites Frontex and Europol to assist the Member States bordering the
Western Balkans region in increasing controls of external borders to detect
smuggling of firearms, and to enhance cooperation with countries in the region,
inter alia by using operational regional platforms such as the Western Balkans
counter-terrorism initiative.
Strengthening controls of
external borders
4. Member States undertake to:
a) implement immediately the necessary systematic and coordinated checks
at external borders, including on individuals enjoying the right of free
movement,
b) on the basis of a quick identification of urgent needs and possible
solutions to be communicated by the Commission before the end of 2015, upgrade
the Schengen Member States' border control systems (electronic connection to
the relevant Interpol databases at all external border crossing points,
automatic screening of travel documents) by March 2016,
c) in the context of the current migration crisis, carry out a systematic
registration, including fingerprinting, of third country nationals illegally
entering the Schengen area, whether migrants or applicants for international
protection, and perform systematic security checks by using relevant databases,
in particular SIS II, Interpol databases, VIS and national police databases,
with the support of Frontex and Europol, and ensure that hotspots are equipped
with the relevant technology. Europol will deploy guest officers to the
hotspots in support of the screening process, in particular by reinforcing
secondary security controls,
d) strengthen the control at the external borders which are most exposed,
in particular by deploying, when the situation so requires, rapid border
intervention teams (RABITs) and police officers in order to ensure systematic
screening and security checks.
5. The Council reiterates its
Conclusions of 9 November 2015 and invites the Commission:
a) as
it updates its proposals on Smart Borders, to present a proposal for a targeted
revision of the Schengen Borders Code to provide for systematic controls of EU
nationals, including the verification of biometric information, against
relevant databases at external borders of the Schengen area, making full use of
technical solutions in order not to hamper the fluidity of movement,
b) to provide, in its proposal to update the Frontex Regulation, a solid
legal basis for the contribution of Frontex to the fight against terrorism and
organised crime and access to the relevant databases.
6. Frontex will:
a) contribute
to the fight against terrorism and support the coordinated implementation of
the Common Risk Indicators (CRIs) before the end of 2015,
b) assist the Member States in tightening controls at external borders so
that suspicious travel by foreign terrorist fighters and smuggling of firearms
can be better detected, in cooperation with Europol,
c) work
closely with Europol and Eurojust, in particular in the context of the
hotspots, and exchange data with Europol on the basis of the cooperation
agreement to exchange personal data. The latter should be concluded without
delay so that Frontex and Europol can start exchanging data as of 1 January
2016.
Information sharing
7. The Council decides to step up
law enforcement cooperation:
a)Member States will ensure that national authorities enter systematically data
on suspected foreign terrorist fighters into the SIS II, in particular under
Article 36.3, carry out awareness raising and training on the use of the SIS
and define a common approach to the use of the SIS II data relating to foreign
fighters,
b) Member
States will speed up full implementation and effective use of the Prüm acquis
(interconnection and consultation of national databases on DNA, fingerprints
and vehicle registration),
c) Europol
will launch the European Counter Terrorist Centre (ECTC) on 1 January 2016 as a
platform by which Member States can increase information sharing and
operational cooperation with regard to the monitoring and investigation of
foreign terrorist fighters, the trafficking of illegal firearms and terrorist
financing. The new Europol Regulation, on which an agreement should be reached
between the co-legislators before the end of the year, should be consistent
with the mandate and objectives of the ECTC, including the IRU,
d) Member States will second CT experts to the ECTC to form an enhanced
cross-border investigation support unit, capable of providing quick and
comprehensive support to the investigation of major terrorist incidents in the
EU. Eurojust should also participate,
e) The
Commission is invited to propose that Europol be reinforced with the necessary
resources to support ECTC and to submit a legislative proposal in order to
enable Europol to systematically cross-check the Europol databases against the
SIS II,
f) The
Commission is invited to undertake efforts to achieve interoperability of the
relevant databases with regard to security checks, notably SIS II, Interpol's
SLTD and iARMS. In this framework, Member States, with the support of the
Commission, are invited to establish Single Points of Contact for the
facilitation of the information exchange,
g) Member
States will make maximum use of these capabilities to improve the overall level
of information exchange between CT authorities in the EU. Member States will
ensure that the relevant national authorities significantly increase their
contributions to Focal Point Traveller at Europol to reflect the threat and
connect to relevant Europol information exchange systems.
Financing of terrorism
8. The Council:
a) invites
the Commission to present proposals to strengthen, harmonise and improve the
powers of, and the cooperation between Financial Intelligence Units (FIU's),
notably through the proper embedment of the FIU.net network for information
exchange in Europol, and ensure their fast access to necessary information, in
order to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of the fight against money
laundering and terrorist financing in conformity with Financial Action Task
Force (FATF) recommendations, to strengthen controls of non-banking payment
methods such as electronic/anonymous payments, money remittances, cash-carriers,
virtual currencies, transfers of gold or precious metals and pre-paid cards in
line with the risk they present and to curb more effectively the illicit trade
in cultural goods,
b) is
committed to ensure a swift and effective freezing of terrorist assets
throughout the Union, whether through autonomous EU decisions or in compliance
with UN Security Council Resolutions.
Criminal justice response to
terrorism and violent extremism
9. The Council welcomes the
signing in Riga on 22 October 2015 by the EU of the Council of Europe
Convention on the Prevention of Terrorism and of its additional Protocol on
Foreign Terrorist Fighters and welcomes the intention of the Commission to
present a proposal for a directive updating the Framework Decision on Combating
Terrorism before the end of 2015 with a view to collectively implementing into
EU law UNSC Resolution 2178 (2014) and the additional Protocol to the Council
of Europe Convention.
10. Member States will use ECRIS
at its full potential. The Council welcomes the intention of the Commission to
submit by January 2016 an ambitious proposal for the extension of ECRIS to
cover third country nationals.
11. The Council invites the
Commission to allocate as a matter of urgency the necessary financial resources
to implement the Council Conclusions on enhancing the criminal justice response
to radicalisation leading to terrorism and violent extremism. This should
notably support the development of rehabilitation programmes as well as risk
assessment tools in order to determine the most appropriate criminal justice
response, taking into account the individual circumstances and security and
public safety concerns.
Funding
12. The Council invites Member
States to use the Internal Security Fund to support the implementation of these
conclusions and to prioritise relevant actions under the national programmes to
this effect, and calls on the Commission to prioritise the funding available
under centrally managed funds to the priorities identified in these
conclusions, including operational costs.
Implementation
13. In view of its role in
ensuring that operational cooperation on internal security is promoted and
strengthened within the Union, COSI will liaise with competent Working Parties
of the Council and with the Commission and EU agencies to ensure effective
implementation of operational measures agreed. In this context, COSI will
examine the possibility to develop a methodology for a structured and
multilateral approach for operational cooperation on countering terrorist
threats. The EU Counter Terrorism Coordinator will monitor the overall
implementation of these conclusions.
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