P 080647Z FEB 07
FM AMEMBASSY BERLIN
TO RUEAHLC/DEPT OF HOMELAND SECURITY WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 6963
RUEAWJC/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHDC PRIORITY
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUCNFRG/FRG COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 05 BERLIN 000251 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR INL, S/CT, EUR, CA AND L 
DOJ FOR OIA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: GM KJUS PREL PTER SMIG KHLS CVPR EU
SUBJECT: US-EU INFORMAL JHA HIGH LEVEL MEETING, JANUARY 
22-23, 2007, BERLIN. 
 
¶1.  (SBU) SUMMARY.  The U.S. and EU, under the chair of the 
German Presidency, met in Berlin January 22-23 for the 
Informal Senior Level Justice and Home Affairs (JHA) Meeting. 
 Led by INL DAS Elizabeth Verville, DOJ Deputy Assistant 
Attorney General Bruce Swartz, and DHS Acting A/S for 
International Affairs Paul Rosenzweig, the U.S. continued its 
ongoing dialogue on issues related to border security and 
migration, counterterrorism, and law enforcement cooperation. 
 The U.S. welcomed EU news that the last member state 
(France) had finally ratified the three protocols to the 
Europol Convention, which, when it enters into force April 
19, 2007, will allow for U.S access to Europol analytical 
work files.  In terms of data protection, a sticking point 
for U.S.-EU JHA relations, the U.S. emphasized the importance 
of improving coordination in the area, especially in the 
context of the new U.S.-EU High Level Contact Group (HLCG) on 
Data Protection; significant differences emerged between U.S. 
and EU expectations regarding the composition and goals for 
the HLCG. 
 
¶2.  (SBU) The German Presidency expressed its interest in 
expanding the Pruem Treaty to all EU member states in order 
to advance intra-EU police cooperation.  Both sides welcomed 
the December 21 entry into force of the U.S.-Eurojust 
Agreement.  The U.S. reported that the Senate will soon 
schedule hearings on the U.S.-EU Mutual Legal Assistance 
(MLA) and Extradition Treaties, and encouraged the EU to 
press member states to complete ratification procedures as 
quickly as possible.  The U.S. explained the President,s 
proposal to update the Visa Waiver Program (VWP), which would 
strengthen security measures and provide the opportunity for 
some countries that are currently not eligible for the VWP to 
be covered by the program.  Lastly, both sides discussed 
potential dates for the next Policy Dialogue on Border and 
Transportation Security (PDBTS) (February 27), the first 
meeting of the HLCG (February 26) and the Passenger Name 
Records (PNR) negotiations (February 26) in Washington. 
Following the JHA meeting, the U.S. also held bilateral 
negotiations with Germany on an agreement on the exchange of 
fingerprint, DNA and terrorist screening data (septel).  END 
SUMMARY. 
 
------------- 
EU PRIORITIES 
------------- 
 
¶3.  (SBU) The German Presidency began with a discussion of 
the EU,s priorities in the JHA area.  Germany, Portugal, and 
Slovenia (the current and next two presidencies) have formed 
a joint 18-month presidency plan that focuses on:  external 
relations, including worldwide cooperation in Afghanistan, 
Balkans, Central Asia, EU neighborhood policy/Ukraine, and 
Russia; intensifying information exchange; strengthening 
Europol and Frontex; improving internal EU coordination in 
the judicial sphere in areas such as rights of the accused, 
racism and xenophobia, child abuse, and criminal offenses, 
lists; and better harmonization of application of existing 
migration and asylum regulations. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) With respect to improving information exchanges, 
the German Presidency plans to promote enhanced use by law 
enforcement officials of existing systems such as VIS (Visa 
Information System), SIS (Schengen Information System), and 
Eurodac (asylum applications).  While Ministers have 
expressed approval, plans to expand use of VIS and Eurodac 
have raised some controversy; the European Parliament (EP) 
unanimously rejected a proposal to allow security services to 
access visa database due to data protection concerns.  German 
reps stated the EP,s concern is misplaced, since visas are 
not just an administrative function but serve an inherent 
border protection role.  (NOTE: Points like this illustrated 
a potential trend where the German Presidency and other 
European bodies are now promoting concepts that the EU has in 
the past presented as inconsistent with its views on data 
protection.  The German Presidency complained about the EP,s 
overly strict position on repurposing data, a position very 
much at odds with the EU,s previously stated positions on 
PNR.  End Note.)  The Presidency suggested that a potential 
compromise may be to allow a central, non-intelligence 
authority to make queries on a case-by-case basis, but added 
this structure would likely be unacceptable for the larger EU 
Member States. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) The German Presidency noted development of the 
Schengen Information System (SIS) II is facing technical 
difficulties and will not be ready until 2008 at the 
earliest.  Instead, at Portugal's suggestion, the EU is 
developing an interim system, SIS One4All, that will enable 
Schengen expansion by the end of 2007 as planned. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) On the basis of the EU,s principle of 
availability, Germany also has proposed extending the Pruem 
Convention (which currently has seven signatories and several 
other Member States interested in joining) throughout the EU 
via a Council Decision.  The Pruem Convention creates a 
mechanism for police in participating countries to access 
fingerprint and DNA databases of other member states for 
sharing information to secure public events or to prevent 
terrorist attacks, to establish rules for cross-border police 
chases, for cooperation on immigration and to set rules for 
the operation of federal air marshals cross borders.  Germany 
claimed there was broad consensus at the EU JHA informal 
ministerial in mid-January to move forward the provisions 
related to access to fingerprint and DNA databases, and EU 
ministers will discuss at the JHA Council on February 15. 
The U.S. welcomed the initiative.  The German Presidency 
noted the proposed Council Decision related to the 
incorporation of Pruem into EU law would be limited to 
third-pillar provisions only (see septel). 
 
---------------------------------- 
MIGRATION, BORDERS AND VISA ISSUES 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶7.  (SBU) The U.S. briefed on the President,s proposal to 
accelerate entry into the VWP of prospective members who meet 
specific security criteria,  on the reorganization of the 
US-VISIT program, and on DHS plans for implementing biometric 
exit screening in coming months.  On VWP, Acting A/S 
Rosenzweig emphasized that the proposed reforms will 
eventually apply to current VWP member states and that the 
purpose was to transition the program further to one focused 
on preventing terrorist and criminal travel instead of on 
economic migration.  In that vein, Acting A/S Rosenzweig 
noted many of the expected changes are policies the current 
VWP member countries have already implemented, with the 
possible exceptions of timely reporting of lost and stolen 
passport, adequate information sharing to support individual 
admissibility determinations, and the Electronic Travel 
Authorization.  The EU was particularly interested in the 
expected pace of Congressional action and ensuring current 
members understand what will be required of them.  The EU 
requested this issue be discussed more thoroughly at the next 
PDBTS (tentatively scheduled for February 27) and perhaps 
that an outreach session be held in Western Europe.  The EU 
also noted that it will prepare another report on Visa 
Reciprocity in late March. 
 
¶8.  (SBU) On US-VISIT and exit screening, Acting A/S 
Rosenzweig briefly discussed the transition of US-VISIT into 
the National Programs and Protection Directorate and noted 
that DHS will begin piloting biometric exit in the next few 
months.  The EU noted it is looking at entry-exit issues more 
closely and will prepare a preparatory study on a European 
system in the next few months that will eventually be 
followed by a technical feasibility assessment. 
 
¶9.  (SBU) The Frontex rep outlined four priority areas for 
his agency: the EU,s southern maritime borders, the western 
Balkans, the eastern border of central Europe, and the EU,s 
major airports.  Frontex also detailed its measured method of 
engaging with third countries, and expressed interest in 
opening a further dialogue with the United States.  DHS and 
Frontex are exploring dates for a fact-finding session in the 
spring. 
 
¶10.  (SBU) The EU noted it was preparing a response to DHS 
A/S Stewart Baker,s December invitation to begin talks on 
cooperation to combat asylum shopping consistent with G-8 
best practices and established efforts among the U.S., Canada 
and the UK.  The EU was cautious in its response, noting 
cooperation along these lines may be difficult due to 
outstanding data protection concerns with the U.S. and the 
political atmosphere surrounding other aspects of the GWOT. 
This issue will also be included on the PDBTS agenda. 
 
---------------- 
COUNTERTERRORISM 
---------------- 
 
¶11.  (SBU) The EU reps provided a status report on the 
implementation of the EU Counterterrorism (CT) Strategy. 
Good progress had been made in combating Terrorist Financing 
(TF), including passage of the third money laundering 
directive.  Overall, over 5,000 Euros have been seized.  The 
U.S. and EU held a productive fall workshop in Finland on 
delisting, and another workshop is scheduled for April in 
Brussels.  The EU is looking into how to change listing 
procedures by notifying organizations and individuals as to 
why they are being listed, per the order of the European 
Court of First Instance.  The EU hopes to work more closely 
with the U.S. on financial intelligence, possibly through 
Europol, to explore links between terrorism and organized 
crime. 
 
¶12.  (SBU) The EU is continuing its efforts to address 
radicalization and recruitment.  German Interior Ministry 
Director for International Counter-terrorism Cooperation 
Schumacher described an initiative, &Check the Web,8 which 
was launched under the Finnish Presidency.  The project 
envisages EU member states, with the participation of 
Europol, sharing the task of drawing up joint analyses of 
Internet use by terrorist organizations, to better focus 
resources and efforts, which are limited in some countries. 
A similar initiative is also being raised in the G-8. 
Monitoring the Internet would include reading open source 
material as well as infiltration of chat rooms.  While DOJ 
Swartz noted the importance of this matter, he pointed to 
U.S. concern with protecting the first amendment.  The EU 
mentioned three expert groups being set up to look into 
factors that trigger radicalization, ideologies, and 
recruitment methods.  S/CT Burk said the U.S. has also 
actively been looking into the issue, such as through 
cooperation with third countries, academics, and researching 
best practices.  The EU also agreed to share the EU 
communication strategy being developed in this area. 
 
¶13.  (SBU) Regarding U.S. briefings to the EU 
Counterterrorism Working Group, both sides agreed they should 
continue.  The USEU and German presidency reps will follow up 
in the coming weeks to discuss scheduling and potential 
topics of interest. 
 
---------------------------------- 
JUSTICE AND LAW ENFORCEMENT ISSUES 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶14.  (SBU) The U.S. welcomed EU news that the last member 
state (France) had finally ratified the three protocols to 
the Europol Convention, which, when it enters into force 
April 19, 2007, will allow U.S access to Europol analytical 
work files.  Europol noted information exchange with any of 
the USG liaison officers (including officers from FBI, DEA, 
Secret Service, and DHS) and Europol will have to be 
 
SIPDIS 
discussed on a case-by-case basis on the expert level. 
Deputy Assistant AG Swartz emphasized numerous times that 
Europol conduct joint analytical cases on organized crime, 
drug trafficking or corruption in either the Balkans or 
Afghanistan.  Both sides welcomed the December 21 entry into 
force of the U.S.-Eurojust Agreement following a signing at 
the November 2006 US-EU JHA Ministerial.  The Eurojust rep 
and U.S. side both noted the excellent cooperation already 
taking place at Eurojust.  The U.S. encouraged further 
cooperation with Eurojust now that the agreement has been 
signed.  In addition, the U.S. reported the Senate will soon 
schedule hearings on the U.S.-EU Mutual Legal Assistance 
(MLA) and Extradition Treaties, and encouraged the EU to push 
for full member state ratification by the end of 2007, as the 
U.S. was discouraged to learn that 11 member states have yet 
to ratify the aggreements. 
 
¶15.  (SBU) In regard to the UN Convention against Corruption 
(UNCAC), DAS Verville regretted the lack of coordination 
between the two sides during the December 2006 Conference of 
the States Parties (COSP) (septel), noting the U.S. was 
surprised by an EU proposal to establish a subsidiary body to 
assist in UNCAC implementation, leaving its mandate to be 
determined.  DAS Verville noted U.S. preference to avoid 
beginning immediately to gather information from each state 
party concerning implementation, and welcomed further U.S.-EU 
discussions well in advance of the second COSP to take place 
late in 2007 in Indonesia. 
 
¶16.  (SBU) The U.S. and EU agreed to continue to work 
together in Afghanistan, noting there is significant progress 
yet to be made.  DAS Verville thanked the EU for their recent 
increased efforts in the criminal justice sector, underscored 
the need for increased efforts, and highlighted changes to 
USG strategy in the country.  Germany expressed its worry 
about recent media criticisms over the German-led police 
program as well as its concern about the flow of precursor 
chemicals into Afghanistan.  On the Balkans, DAS Verville 
expressed USG concern over organized crime and corruption and 
noted the importance of continued engagement in institutions 
such as the SECI Center.  Europol noted discussions had begun 
with SECI, in which the U.S. SECI representative is 
participating, regarding revisions to its charter to give it 
a legal personality and to consider an enhanced data 
protection regime.  This would be a lengthy process as the 
charter would have to be ratified by the SECI participants, 
and then an agreement with Europol would have to be 
negotiated.  In the meantime, Europol cooperation with SECI 
is likely to flow through its arrangements with SECI member 
states rather than the center itself. 
 
¶17.  (SBU) The U.S. encouraged further cooperation between 
the United States and the European Police College (CEPOL), 
and it became apparent that both sides are waiting for the 
other side to react to a recent proposal that would do just 
that.  The U.S. and EU agreed more EU Member States should 
ratify the Council of Europe Cybercrime Convention (CoE 
Convention).  The U.S. ratified the Treaty on September 29, 
¶2006.  Deputy Assistant AG Swartz suggested that both sides 
develop a target list of non-EU countries that we could 
jointly lobby to ratify the convention.  The EU also briefed 
on the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights, a successor to the 
European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia, which 
will be up and running in March 2007.  Its responsibility 
will be to collect and analyze data on fundamental rights, 
issue reports, provide expertise, and educate the public.  It 
will have the competency to opine on human rights in areas 
under Community competency, and monitor (without formal 
power) human rights in areas under the third pillar. 
 
---------------------------- 
PASSENGER NAME RECORDS (PNR) 
---------------------------- 
 
¶18.  (SBU) The European Commission has submitted a 
recommendation to the Council for authorization to open new 
PNR negotiations with the U.S., which now awaits Council 
approval.  The EU noted it does not have a mandate to begin 
negotiations on PNR, and hoped they would have one by the 
following Council meeting.  The EU expects to continue to 
require a detailed agreement with specific ®ulations.8 
Acting A/S Rosenzweig noted the U.S. preference for a 
comprehensive solution, and suggested the EU seek greater 
flexibility in order to incorporate new ideas in the context 
of the HLCG. 
 
¶19.  (SBU) On a more positive note, the EU noted any 
remaining difficulties regarding European carriers, 
migration to a Push system was due to the carriers, not DHS. 
DHS will work with the Commission to resolve these delays. 
Acting A/S Rosenzweig also noted that on January 17 the U.S. 
gave notice of a new traveler redress system for both U.S. 
and non-U.S. citizens, which should resolve some travelers, 
concerns over inability to seek redress from government.  The 
first negotiation meeting is tentatively set for February 26. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
HIGH LEVEL CONTACT GROUP ON DATA PROTECTION (HLCG) 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
¶20.  (SBU) The U.S. presented the EU an outline for a concept 
paper on the HLCG,s work and intended end-product.  The U.S. 
hopes the HLCG will produce a single agreement that covers 
the data protection framework for the exchange of public 
security and law enforcement data between the U.S. and Europe 
and therefore eliminates the need for separate agreements for 
each form of data transfer.  The EU does not share this 
vision, stating a single agreement would not alleviate the 
need for specialized agreements.  Instead, the EU would 
prefer to use the HLCG as an opportunity for principals to 
discuss high level concepts and promote understanding over 
the long term without a concrete product.  The EU is working 
on its own &backbone8 paper for the HLCG, which it will 
distribute it shortly.  The EU also noted that it did not 
envision a separate track of meetings by a mid-level sherpa 
working level group. 
 
¶21.  (SBU) The U.S. emphasized that one of its fundamental 
concerns with the EU,s approach to data protection is the 
application of the concept of adequacy to data collections 
and exchanges by governments.  The EU reminded the U.S. that 
the European Union is still trying to establish a set of 
rules for the exchange of law enforcement data inside the EU 
and that any rules governing transatlantic exchange of data 
would need to be at least as comprehensive.  It noted 
significant debate continued within the EU whether the 
Framework Decision on Data Protection should include 
provisions on the exchange of data with third countries and 
if so whether it should only cover circumstances when one EU 
member state wishes to share data with a third country it 
received from another Member State or whether it should 
include all exchanges.  (Note:  Bilateral discussions by a 
subset of the U.S. later in the week illustrated the depth of 
this divide (septel).  End Note.). 
 
¶22.  (U) The U.S. delegation included: Elizabeth Verville, 
State INL DAS; Paul Rosenzweig, DHS Acting A/S for 
International Affairs; Bruce Swartz, Deputy Assistant 
Attorney General; P. Michael McKinley, Deputy Chief of 
Mission, U.S. Mission to the EU; Susan Burk, State DAS for 
CT; James Freis, Treasury, Deputy Assistant General Counsel; 
Jane Horvath, DOJ, Chief Privacy and Civil Liberties; Laura 
McKechnie, State/INL; Alessandro Nardi, State/EUR; Kenneth 
Propp, State/L; Michael Scardaville, DHS; John Brennan, 
State/CA; Paul Fitzgerald, USEU/CA; Jim McAnulty, USEU NAS; 
Clyde Langley, Embassy Brussels; Mark Koumans, Embassy 
Berlin; John Kropf, DHS; Tom Burrows, DOJ; and Jacquelyn 
Bednarz, DHS. 
 
¶23.  (U) EU participants included: 
Germany (from Interior Ministry unless otherwise noted) - 
Gunter Krause, Police and Counterterrorism; Michael Grotz, 
Criminal Law, Justice Ministry; Reinhard Peters, Immigration; 
Dr. Hans-Jurgen Forster, Police Affairs; Michael Niemeier, EU 
Coordination,; Andrea Schumacher, Counterterrorism; Andreas 
Shultz, Police Information Technology; Martina Wenske, 
Permanent Representation of Germany to the EU; 
 
Commission - Denise Sorasio, JLS , Director, Internal 
Security and Criminal Justice; Lotte Knudsen, JLS, Head of 
Unit, External Relations and Enlargement; Vivian Loonela, 
JLS, External Relations and Enlargement; Cecilia Verkleij, 
JLS; Alenka Zajc Freudenstein, RELEX; 
 
Council Secretariat - Giles de Kerchove, Director, Justice 
and Home Affairs; Bent Mejborn, Head of Unit, Visa and 
Borders; 
 
Portugal - Mariana Sotto Maior, European Affairs, Ministry of 
Interior; 
 
Eurojust - Jean Francois Bonert; 
 
Europol - Maz-Peter Ratzel, Director; 
 
Frontex -  Ilkka Laitinen, Director; 
 
¶26.  (U) This cable was cleared by the U.S. Delegation 
subsequent to their departure from Berlin. 
TIMKEN JR