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RR RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHBW RUEHDA RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA
RUEHLN RUEHLZ RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHBS #0608/01 1131528
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 221528Z APR 08
FM USEU BRUSSELS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RHMFIUU/DEPT OF HOMELAND SECURITY WASHINGTON DC
RUEAWJA/DOJ WASHDC
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BRUSSELS 000608 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR S/CT, EUR, INL, EUR/ERA, INL/PC, L/LEI 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PTER CVIS PREL KCRM EUN
SUBJECT: EU AMENDS ITS LEGISLATION ON COMBATING 
TERRORISM: THREE NEW OFFENCES INCLUDED 
 
 
SUMMARY 
------- 
 
¶1.  EU Home Affairs ministers in the April 18 JHA 
Council agreed to amend the 2002 EU Framework 
Decision on combating terrorism by making public 
provocation to commit a terrorist offense, and 
recruitment and training for terrorism  punishable 
acts throughout the EU, including when committed 
through the internet.  The Council also agreed to 
establish the European Police Office (EUROPOL) as a 
fully-fledged Community agency.  Ministers adopted 
an Action Plan on Enhancing the Security of 
Explosives.  Full text of Council conclusions has 
been transmitted to EUR/ERA and can be found on the 
EU Council website (http://consilium.europa.eu). 
END SUMMARY. 
 
FRAMEWORK-DECISION ON COMBATING TERRORISM 
----------------------------------------- 
¶2.  The April 18 JHA Council reached a "common 
approach" on amendments to the 2002 EU Framework 
Decision on combating terrorism.  The changes will 
make public provocation to commit a terrorist 
offense, and recruitment and training for terrorism 
punishable acts, including when committed through 
the internet.  Under the updated legislation (still 
subject to formal approval at the June 5-6 Council 
meeting), individuals disseminating terrorist 
propaganda and bomb-making expertise though the 
internet can be prosecuted and sentenced to prison 
in so far as such dissemination is committed 
intentionally.  In such cases, courts or 
administrative authorities will be able to request 
Internet service providers to remove this 
information in accordance with national rules 
implementing the EU Directive on electronic 
commerce. 
 
¶3.  EU sources in Luxembourg said the agreed wording 
of the amendments would bring the EU piece of 
legislation "as close as possible" to the Council of 
Europe (COE) Convention on the prevention of 
terrorism (COMMENT:  Provisions in COE Conventions 
often gain support for subsequent inclusion in EU 
legislation.  END COMMENT).  Slovenian Justice 
Minister St|rm and the Commission commented that the 
amendments were striking a sensitive balance between 
criminalization and ensuring safeguards in terms of 
freedom of speech and respect for human rights. 
Speaking to reporters on the fringes of the meeting, 
a Commission official noted that several Member 
States (not specified, but which may include the 
Nordics and the UK) might have to change their 
internal legislation to bring it into line with the 
updated EU legislation. 
 
¶4.  The Council conclusions further said inclusion 
of the three offences would lead to a more 
integrated framework.  "There will be rules in 
respect of the type and level of criminal penalties 
and compulsory rules on jurisdiction which will be 
applicable to the offences."  Furthermore, EU 
cooperation mechanism (such as the 2005 Decision on 
sending terrorist-related information to EUROPOL and 
EUROJUST) will be triggered as "they have as their 
scope of application the Framework Decision." 
 
EUROPOL 
------- 
 
¶5.  The Council reached a political agreement on a 
Decision establishing the European Police Office 
(EUROPOL) as a fully-fledged Community agency.  A 
Commission spokesman said the new legal basis (to be 
effective on January 1, 2010) would extend the 
mandate of EUROPOL to criminality that is not 
strictly related to organized crime.  Council 
sources specified this would ease support provided 
by EUROPOL to the Member States in relation to 
cross-border criminal investigations where 
involvement of organized crime is not demonstrated 
from the start.  Another change highlighted by the 
Commission spokesman is that EUROPOL will be funded 
(again from January 1, 2010 onward) by the Community 
budget.  This is intended to simplify procedures for 
managing the budget and staff of the agency; the 
 
BRUSSELS 00000608  002 OF 002 
 
 
role of the European Parliament (one of the two 
branches of the EU budgetary authority) in the 
control of EUROPOL will increase in the process. 
 
¶6.  EU sources further said EUROPOL should ensure 
that its data processing systems are interoperable 
with the data processing systems in the Member 
States and with the data processing systems in use 
by EU-related bodies with which Europol may have 
relations.  A number of interim provisions will 
guarantee that the change in the legal basis will 
not interfere with EUROPOL's operational work and 
that existing rights of staff are not prejudied. 
 
ENHANCING THE SECURITY OF EXPLOSIVES 
----------------------------------- 
 
¶7.  The Concil agreed on an Action Plan on 
Enhancing the Security of Explosives, based on a 
packag of 47 recommendations tabled by an expert 
grup.  This is one of the measures in the 
Commision's package of counter-terrorism measures, 
proposed in November 2007.  The strategic objective 
of the Action Plan is to combat the use of explosive 
devices by terrorists within the EU.  The primary 
focus is on security issues but some of the 
activities put forward in the Action Plan is also 
intended to have positive implications for safety. 
 
STRENGTHENING OF EUROJUST 
------------------------- 
 
¶8.  Member state delegations also concurred on 
specific aspects of a draft Decision strengthening 
EUROJUST, the EU's judicial cooperation unit.  In 
particular, ministers agreed on provisions 
concerning the composition of EUROJUST, its tasks, 
the status of its national members and EurojustQs 
staff.  Work on the other provisions will continue 
at expert level.  This proposal was tabled in 
January 2008 by Slovenia, France, the Czech 
Republic, Sweden, Spain, Belgium, Poland, Italy, 
Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Slovakia, Estonia, 
Austria and Portugal. 
 
MISCELLANEOUS 
------------- 
 
¶9.  Among other issues, the Council. 
 
-- Adopted conclusions endorsing the idea of 
developing a Russian Organized Crime Threat 
Assessment (ROCTA).  The conclusions note the 
need for EUROPOL and the enforcement 
authorities of the EU Member States to collect 
all relevant information on Russian organized 
crime that impacts on Member States in order to 
obtain a more comprehensive and detailed 
assessment of the specific threats to be used 
for intelligence-based law enforcement 
operations; 
 
-- Noted good progress on an initiative for a 
Framework Decision on enhancing the procedural 
rights of persons and fostering the application 
of the principle of mutual recognition in 
respect of decisions rendered in the absence of 
the person (trials "in absentia").  The aim is 
to determine clear and common grounds for non- 
recognition of decisions rendered following a 
trial at which person concerned did not appear 
and thus amending the existing instruments on 
mutual recognition, including the Framework 
Decisions on the European arrest warrant, on 
financial penalties, and on confiscation 
orders.  Once adopted, the text will establish 
that Member States should recognize judgments 
rendered "in absentia" where the person 
concerned has been given a right to a retrial. 
 
-- Endorsed a report on the setting up of a Common 
Frame of Reference for European contract law. 
 
MURRAY