Fight against crime and fraud: use of payment cards, information required for the offences

In adopting the report by Mr Gerhard SCHMID (PSE, D) Parliament approved the joint action on payment cards in the context of action against organized crime, with the following amendments: - clearer definition of the acts covered by the joint action: the Member States should designate a point of contact responsible for forwarding and receiving requests concerning counterfeiting or misuse of payment cards or the misuse of information stored thereon; - in the course of their activities the law enforcement agencies could forward to the issuers of payment cards only strategic information comprising precise data on fraudulent transactions. These services might not pass on any personal data. Parliament also called for deletion of the provision that each Member State would decide on the nature and extent of information supplied which would change the nature of the aim of the joint action which sought to strengthen cooperation in this sector. Lastly, the tasks envisaged by this draft joint action should be assumed in the medium term by Europol following the entry into force of the Europol Convention. �