Police cooperation: cross-border assistance with regard to meetings attended by large numbers of people from more than one Member State. Initiative Netherlands

PURPOSE : to strengthen cross-border police cooperation with regard to meetings attended by large numbers of people from more than one Member State , at which policing is primarily aimed at maintaining law and order and security and preventing and combating criminal offences.

PROPOSED ACT : Council Decision (Initiative of the Netherlands).

CONTENT : one of Europe's objectives is to provide citizens with a high level of safety within an area of freedom, security and justice.  This means that adequate intervention by police officers must be possible when problems of the kind indicated above occur.  To that end, proper planning and effective means of giving cross-border assistance are indispensable.  The aim of this Decision is to improve the planning of cross-border assistance and to make it more effective.

In order to avoid duplication, the aim of this initiative follows on from earlier initiatives such as Joint Action of 26 May 1997, adopted by the Council on the basis of Article K.3 of the Treaty on European Union, with regard to cooperation on law and order and security (97/339/JHA).

As regards the planning of international assistance, it is proposed to lay down a procedure whereby, in the last quarter of each calendar year, the Presidency of the Council will present an overview of :

- the international events scheduled for the following calendar year;

- the international assistance required for those international events. 

In order to make international cooperation effective, it is important to resolve the main difficulties which arise.  The Presidency of the Council will make a review of international assistance provided over the past year.  The review will comprise of an overview of the international events that have taken place, an overview of the international assistance provided in the year in question, an overview of the main difficulties observed by the Member States regarding international events and recommendations as to how the difficulties could be resolved.

The review shall be prepared by the central bodies for law and order and security. Member States shall submit the information together with any recommendation they may wish to make in that connection, no later than 1 December each year.

In order to make agreements already concluded accessible, it is proposed that the General Secretariat of the Council to draw up an inventory. On the basis of that inventory, within one year the Council will discuss whether the main difficulties observed can be resolved by adapting the relevant European legislation, in particular some Articles of the Schengen Convention.