Europaudvalget 2015-16
Rådsmøde 3432 - RIA
Offentligt
1654802_0001.png
Council of the
European Union
14382/15
(OR. en)
EN
PRESSE 71
PR CO 63
OUTCOME OF THE COUNCIL MEETING
3432nd Council meeting
Justice and Home Affairs
Brussels, 20 November 2015
Presidents
Etienne Schneider
Minister for Internal Security and Defence
Félix Braz
Minister for Justice
PRESS
Rue de la Loi 175 B – 1048 BRUSSELS Tel.: +32 (0)2 281 6319 Fax: +32 (0)2 281 8026
[email protected] http://www.consilium.europa.eu/press
14382/15
1
EN
 Ekstraordinært rådsmøde nr. 3432 (retlige og indre anliggender) den 20. november 2015 - Bilag 1336832:
1654802_0002.png
20 November 2015
CONTENTS
1
ITEMS DEBATED
Counter-terrorism ................................................................................................................................. 3
OTHER ITEMS APPROVED
JUSTICE AND HOME AFFAIRS
–
Criminal justice response to radicalisation leading to terrorism and violent extremism ......................................... 8
1

Where declarations, conclusions or resolutions have been formally adopted by the Council, this is indicated
in the heading for the item concerned and the text is placed between quotation marks.
 
Documents for which references are given in the text are available on the Council's Internet site
(http://www.consilium.europa.eu).
 
Acts adopted with statements for the Council minutes which may be released to the public are indicated by
an asterisk; these statements are available on the Council's Internet site or may be obtained from the Press
Office.
14382/15
2
EN
 Ekstraordinært rådsmøde nr. 3432 (retlige og indre anliggender) den 20. november 2015 - Bilag 1336832:
1654802_0003.png
20 November 2015
ITEMS DEBATED
Counter-terrorism
The Council adopted the following conclusions:
"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.
a)
b)
c)
The Council:
welcomes the adoption of the Implementing Regulation on common deactivation
standards on 18 November 2015,
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,
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,
14382/15
3
EN
 Ekstraordinært rådsmøde nr. 3432 (retlige og indre anliggender) den 20. november 2015 - Bilag 1336832:
20 November 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.
Member States undertake to:
a)
b)
implement immediately the necessary systematic and coordinated checks at external
borders, including on individuals enjoying the right of free movement,
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,
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,
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.
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,
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.
Strengthening controls of external borders
4.
c)
d)
5.
b)
14382/15
4
EN
 Ekstraordinært rådsmøde nr. 3432 (retlige og indre anliggender) den 20. november 2015 - Bilag 1336832:
20 November 2015
6.
a)
b)
Frontex will:
contribute to the fight against terrorism and support the coordinated implementation of
the Common Risk Indicators (CRIs) before the end of 2015,
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,
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.
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,
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),
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,
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,
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,
c)
Information sharing
7.
b)
c)
d)
e)
14382/15
5
EN
 Ekstraordinært rådsmøde nr. 3432 (retlige og indre anliggender) den 20. november 2015 - Bilag 1336832:
20 November 2015
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,
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.
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,
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.
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.
g)
Financing of terrorism
8.
b)
Criminal justice response to terrorism and violent extremism
9.
14382/15
6
EN
 Ekstraordinært rådsmøde nr. 3432 (retlige og indre anliggender) den 20. november 2015 - Bilag 1336832:
20 November 2015
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.
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.
11.
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."
14382/15
7
EN
 Ekstraordinært rådsmøde nr. 3432 (retlige og indre anliggender) den 20. november 2015 - Bilag 1336832:
1654802_0008.png
20 November 2015
OTHER ITEMS APPROVED
JUSTICE AND HOME AFFAIRS
Criminal justice response to radicalisation leading to terrorism and violent extremism
The Council adopted the following conclusions:
NOTING that radicalisation leading to terrorism and violent extremism, due to its multidimensional
and dynamic character, raises significant and evolving challenges which
must also be addressed at
judicial level,
primarily by the Member States, but also, where appropriate, by a coordinated
support at European level in accordance with the Treaties;
RECALLING that, in the framework of the EU Counter Terrorism Strategy
1
the Council adopted a
revised "EU Strategy for combating Radicalisation and Recruitment" in June 2014
2
and in
December 2014
3
and June 2015
4
referred to the importance of preventing and countering the
phenomenon as a priority for future action;
RECALLING that the European Council in its statement of 12 February 2015
5
stressed the need to
set up initiatives regarding the rehabilitation in the judicial context in order to address factors
contributing to radicalisation leading to terrorism and violent extremism, including in prisons;
BASED UPON the discussions of the Ministers of Justice regarding an effective judicial response
to radicalisation leading to terrorism and violent extremism, that were concluded by the Riga Joint
Statement of 29 - 30 January 2015, as well as the debates at the Ministerial lunch of 13 March 2015,
and mostly recently the results
of the
Ministerial Conference of 19 October 2015 dedicated to this
subject
;
TAKING INTO ACCOUNT that the Commission's Communication on "Preventing Radicalisation
to Terrorism and Violent Extremism: Strengthening the EU's response"
6
, the European Agenda on
Security of April 2015
7
, as well as the Council conclusions on the Renewed Internal Security
Strategy of June 2015,
8
consider the specific issues of disengagement, rehabilitation and de/anti-
radicalisation as a priority for action in the next years;
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
14469/4/05
9956/14
16526/14
9951/15
SN 10/15
5451/14
8293/15
9798/15
8
14382/15
EN
 Ekstraordinært rådsmøde nr. 3432 (retlige og indre anliggender) den 20. november 2015 - Bilag 1336832:
1654802_0009.png
20 November 2015
The Council of the European Union and the Member States meeting within the Council,
CONSIDER it necessary to adopt a cross-sectorial and multidisciplinary approach to effectively
tackle radicalisation leading to terrorism and violent extremism, taking into account all different
aspects: prevention, investigation, prosecution, conviction, rehabilitation and reintegration.
CONSIDER it necessary for this purpose to ensure appropriate coordination and synergies among
all relevant public and private stakeholders, in particular prosecutors and judges, using the existing
legal instruments and policies in full compliance with the Rule of Law and of the Charter of
Fundamental rights of the European Union,
TAKING INTO DUE ACCOUNT risks to public security
AWARE of the need both for differentiation depending on actual needs and specific risks of each
local situation, the national legal systems and judicial organisation, as well as the parties and
stakeholders involved, and thus for a case-by-case approach
CONCLUDE therefore that the following actions would contribute to the criminal justice response
to radicalisation leading to terrorism and violent extremism, URGE all relevant stakeholders to
implement the appropriate actions whenever and wherever possible, and STRESS the essential role
of local actors
1.
–
Structure and organisation of detention regimes
Member States to implement a considered and tailor-made policy to prevent radicalisation
leading to terrorism and violent extremism in prisons, adapted to national circumstances
and the needs of the individuals involved, which could include elements such as
–
developing risk assessment tools and tools to detect early signs of radicalisation, and
strengthening information sharing between the various actors in the criminal justice
chain
providing an adequate number of well-trained religious representatives in prisons and
giving support to social workers and counsellors
–
14382/15
9
EN
 Ekstraordinært rådsmøde nr. 3432 (retlige og indre anliggender) den 20. november 2015 - Bilag 1336832:
1654802_0010.png
20 November 2015
–
offering inmates opportunities for learning and developing critical thinking skills in
prison
enabling a secure prison environment to operate effective rehabilitation and
reintegration programmes with attention to the level of respect and interactions
between prison staff and detainees
in this context, continuing to work on the improvement of detention conditions in
compliance with the rules developed and on-going work in this area within the
Council of Europe
–
–
–
in this context, Member States to draw on lessons learnt, best practices and
recommendations proposed by the RAN, and in particular by the "RAN Prison and
Probation" working group, most recently in its stocktaking paper of October 2015 "Dealing
with radicalisation in the prison and probation context"
RAN to continue providing a platform for the exchange of good practices on this subject,
and to feed into the review of the 2008 Handbook drafted by Austria, France and Germany
on how to deal with radicalisation leading to terrorism and violent extremism, in particular
in prisons
Member States to develop, as appropriate, de-radicalisation/disengagement/rehabilitation
programmes in prison, in preparation of release, and programmes after release to promote
reintegration
Member States to make use of the RAN Centre of Excellence and the latter's offer to
support them to set up such programmes where requested.
Alternative or additional measures to prosecution and/or detention
Member States to address their dealings with foreign terrorist fighters in a multi-
disciplinary and holistic way, including, where appropriate, sharing of relevant information
between law enforcement, security services and prosecution and, where applicable, with
local authorities and social workers; this could be done by setting up multi-disciplinary
bodies or working methods or otherwise ensuring that the follow-up of the cases is done in
an integrated way
–
–
–
2.
–
14382/15
10
EN
 Ekstraordinært rådsmøde nr. 3432 (retlige og indre anliggender) den 20. november 2015 - Bilag 1336832:
1654802_0011.png
20 November 2015
–
Member States to use ECRIS to its full potential and the Commission to submit a proposal
for the extension of ECRIS to cover third country nationals
Member States to consider, within the framework of their national judicial organisation
and using the flexibilities of their criminal (juvenile) justice system, a tailor-made, case-by-
case approach, based on a proper risk assessment taking due account of security and public
safety concerns, including, where appropriate, alternative or additional measures to
prosecution and/or detention in all stages of the procedure, among which rehabilitation,
including as a condition for, probation or suspension of prison sentences
Member States to consider using and further developing a risk assessment tool for
judiciary, to be used when considering the above-mentioned alternative or additional
measures, based on an individual approach, including the possibility to re-evaluate the risk
at regular intervals, taking into account that de-radicalisation is a dynamic process; in this
context use the work done already by the Council of Europe and the International Centre
for Counter-Terrorism (ICCT).
Integration, rehabilitation and re-integration
Member States to lead efforts to address the underlying factors of radicalisation leading to
terrorism and violent extremism through targeted preventive measures, by developing
cohesion-inductive actions and programmes, including in the education field, that promote
Fundamental Rights, the Rule of Law and democracy and encourage inclusive, tolerant and
pluralistic societies
local, national, European and international authorities, together with civil society, to
develop methods and tools on how to break stereotypes and develop counter-narratives
reaching out to different target groups, including through the creation of networks and
public spaces for dialogue
-
in this context, Member States with the support of the Commission and the
concerned EU agencies, to address in particular the use of the Internet for terrorism
radicalisation and recruitment purposes as well as for on-line hate speech that fuels fear,
spreads misconceptions and stereotypes targeting specific communities and groups, and
incites to violence and hatred, notably by
developing
,
including with Internet Service
Providers,
cooperation on strategic communication and, where appropriate, internet referral
units, for instance
continuing support to the Europol Internet Referral Unit and to the Syria
Strategic Communications Advisory Team
–
–
3.
–
–
–
14382/15
11
EN
 Ekstraordinært rådsmøde nr. 3432 (retlige og indre anliggender) den 20. november 2015 - Bilag 1336832:
1654802_0012.png
20 November 2015
–
Member States to implement measures allowing for rehabilitation, de-radicalisation or
disengagement both inside and outside prisons and the re-integration of returnees and those
prevented from travel into society, tailored to the local situation and individual case
Member States to involve victims and rehabilitated former foreign terrorist fighters as well
as social workers, communities and family
Member States to exchange among them experiences and best practices in rehabilitation,
de-radicalisation and disengagement, inside or outside prisons
Member States to make use of the RAN Centre of Excellence's expertise and the latter's
offer to support them in setting up such programmes where requested.
Training
Member States to provide the resources for adequate training of all actors (prison staff,
probation officers, judiciary etc.) involved in dealing with radicalised violent extremists or
those at risk of becoming radicalised, in a sustained and multi-disciplinary way and using
the support available at EU and international level
the European Judicial Training Network (EJTN), CEPOL, and using the expertise of
Eurojust, the RAN Centre of Excellence, and, where appropriate the Confederation of
European Probation (CEP) and Europris, to support Member States with a variety of
training (traditional courses, webinars, exchange of staff, …) for the whole chain of
criminal justice actors dealing with terrorism; in this context, a special focus should be
given to risk assessment methodology and to the development of rehabilitation
programmes, the use of alternatives to detention, as well as similar training possibilities for
non judicial actors involved in dealing with radicalised persons.
Learning from monitoring and exchange of practices
Eurojust to continue monitoring trends and developments, by use of its Terrorism
Conviction Monitor (TCM), of the applicable legislative framework and relevant
jurisprudence in the Member States as regards terrorism and violent radicalisation,
including the use of alternatives to prosecution and detention, and thus contribute to the
further development of criminal policy with regard to foreign terrorist fighters
–
–
–
4.
–
–
5.
–
14382/15
12
EN
 Ekstraordinært rådsmøde nr. 3432 (retlige og indre anliggender) den 20. november 2015 - Bilag 1336832:
1654802_0013.png
20 November 2015
–
Eurojust, RAN (through its working groups as well as via its Centre of Excellence), the
EJTN, and, where appropriate, Europol, as well as CEP and Europris, to foster the
exchange of existing national practices and the lessons learnt thereof, using also the work
done in other relevant bodies (in particular UNICRI
1
and GCTF
2
) on the criminal justice
response to radicalisation leading to terrorism and violent extremism, in particular the
issues addressed under points 1 to 4:
–
–
the structure and organization of detention facilities
the risk assessment
tools to be used by judges and prosecutors and by prison staff for
assessing the level of threat posed by foreign terrorist fighters and returnees
the "triage" systems, aimed at assessing the most appropriate "strand" for each
individual case
alternative or additional measures to prosecution and/or detention, and in particular
rehabilitation programs both in and outside prisons
cooperation among relevant actors involved, both within and outside the judicial
context, including training
criminal policy with regard to foreign terrorist fighters
the use of Internet and social platforms
–
–
–
–
–
6.
–
Funding
the Commission to facilitate the above via EU funding for training programmes for the
different stakeholders involved and for specific projects, in accordance with the rules of the
relevant funding programmes,
the Commission to make available funding for Member States to develop de-
radicalisation/rehabilitation programmes both in prisons and to be used in criminal
proceedings, in particular by replicating useful best practice examples from Member States
as a priority, as well as to support the establishment of such programmes by the RAN
Centre of Excellence
–
1
2
United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute
Global Counter Terrorism Forum
13
14382/15
EN
 Ekstraordinært rådsmøde nr. 3432 (retlige og indre anliggender) den 20. november 2015 - Bilag 1336832:
1654802_0014.png
20 November 2015
–
Member States to carry out specific projects aimed at better implementing legislation on
racism and xenophobia, including through training of judges, prosecutors and police; the
Commission will make targeted funding available for this purpose
Member States to support civil society organizations to promote tolerance and counter hate
crime and hate speech, including by developing counter-narratives online, with a
contribution from the Commission to this endeavour
the Commission to foster the uptake of social integration policies via the European Social
Fund
the Member States to encourage the different stakeholders involved, including criminal
justice actors, local authorities and civil society to make full use of the available funding
the above actions should be done within the financial resources set out in the Multiannual
Financial Framework, and these issues to be integrated into the mid-term review of this
Framework.
External dimension
the EU to promote criminal justice response measures to radicalisation leading to terrorism
and violent extremism, internationally and to assist third partners in this respect, duly
taking into account the local circumstances and security and public safety concerns
INVITE the Presidency, the Commission and the EU Counter-Terrorism Coordinator to
report, as and when appropriate, to the Council about progress in the implementation of
these conclusions.
–
–
–
–
7.
–
–
14382/15
14
EN