Council of the European Union
Brussels, 13 January 2016 (OR. en)
13123/05 DCL 1
CRIMORG 107
DECLASSIFICATION of document: ST 13123/05 RESTREINT UE dated: 17 November 2005 new status: Public Subject: EVALUATIONREPORT THIRD ROUND OF MUTUAL EVALUATIONS "EXCHANGE OF INFORMATION AND INTELLIGENCE BETWEEN EUROPOL AND THE MEMBER STATES AND BETWEEN THE MEMBER STATES RESPECTIVELY" REPORT ON HUNGARY
Delegations will find attached the declassified version of the above document.
The text of this document is identical to the previous version.
13123/05 DCL 1 VG
DG F 2A
EN RESTREINT UE
COUNCIL OF Brussels, 17 November 2005 THE EUROPEAN UNION
13123/05
RESTREINT UE
CRIMORG 107
EVALUATION REPORT ON THE THIRD ROUND OF MUTUAL EVALUATIONS "EXCHANGE OF INFORMATION AND INTELLIGENCE BETWEEN EUROPOL AND THE MEMBER STATES AND BETWEEN THE MEMBER STATES RESPECTIVELY"
REPORT ON HUNGARY
13123/05 AH/ld 1 DG H 2 B RESTREINT UE EN RESTREINT UE
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. INTRODUCTION ...... 3
2. GENERAL INFORMATION AND STRUCTURES ...... 4
3. INTERNAL ORGANISATION OF THE EXCHANGE OF INFORMATION ...... 15
4. EXTERNAL EXCHANGE OF INFORMATION ...... 17
5. EXCHANGE OF INFORMATION BETWEEN MEMBER STATES AND EUROPOL ...... 19
6. EVALUATION BY EXPERT TEAM ...... 24
7. GENERAL CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE EXPERT TEAM ...... 39
ANNEXES
ANNEX A: Programme of visits ...... 42
ANNEX B: List of persons met ...... 43
ANNEX C: List of abbreviations ...... 44
______
13123/05 AH/ld 2 DG H 2 B RESTREINT UE EN RESTREINT UE
1. INTRODUCTION
Following the adoption of the Joint Action of 5 December 1997, a mechanism for evaluating the application and implementation at national level of international undertakings in the fight against organised crime was established.
Following a proposal originating from the Swedish delegation and taken up by the Presidency to evaluate the supply of information and intelligence to Europol and the exchange of information and intelligence between Member States, the MDG adopted the proposal at its meeting on 3 and 4 June 2002.
At its meeting on 3 December 2002 the MDG approved the questionnaire on the third round of mutual evaluations on the topic "exchange of information and intelligence between Europol and the Member States and among the Member States respectively".
Following discussion at the MDG meeting on 9 January 2003, a list showing the order of Member States to be visited was agreed. Hungary is the 16th Member State to be evaluated during the third round of evaluations.
The questionnaires and the objectives of this evaluation are contained in 11679/3/02 REV 3 CRIMORG 71.
The experts in charge of this evaluation were: Mrs Elisabeth HAMIDI (Austria), Mr Damjan POTPARIČ (Slovenia) and Mr Magnus HASSELQUIST (Sweden). Two observers, Mr Francisco Matias (EUROPOL) and Mrs Dora Balazs (Commission), were also present together with representatives from the General Secretariat of the Council.
The evaluation team has prepared the following report with the assistance of the Council Secretariat, on the basis of the observations and conclusions of the experts in the team together with the Hungarian authorities' answers to the questionnaire.
13123/05 AH/ld 3 DG H 2 B RESTREINT UE EN RESTREINT UE
The report first deals with general information and structures (2), followed by the internal organisation of the exchange of information (3) and of the external exchange of information (4), and then deals more specifically with Europol (5). In the last chapter, the experts make a global and technical evaluation and then propose some recommendations to enhance cooperation and effectiveness in the exchange of information within Hungary and with other Member States and Europol.
2. GENERAL INFORMATION AND STRUCTURES 1
2.1. LEGAL BASIS
2.1.1. Acts and decrees The most important acts and decrees for Hungarian authorities in the area of international law-enforcement cooperation and information and intelligence exchange are as follows:
. Act XXXIV of 1994 on the Police (setting up of a police organisation in accordance with the constitution of the Republic of Hungary, its international commitments and the principle of the rule of law)
. Act XXXII of 1997 on the Border Guard
. Act XIX of 2004 on the Customs and Finance Guard
. Act CXXX of 2003 on the co-operation in criminal matters with the members of the European Union (introducing the European Arrest Warrant in Hungary and furthermore establishing forms of co-operation foreseen in the Convention of 29 May 2000 on mutual assistance in criminal matters between the Member States2)
. Act LXXV of 1999 on the Provisions on Combating Organised Crime and Certain Phenomena Connected thereto and on the Amendment of Relevant Legislation
1 This part of the report is based largely on the answers to the questionnaire. 2 OJ C 197, 12,07,00, p. 1.
13123/05 AH/ld 4 DG H 2 B RESTREINT UE EN RESTREINT UE
. Act LIV of 2002 on international cooperation of law-enforcement agencies
. Act LXXXIX of 2001 on the Cooperation Agreement between the Republic of Hungary and the European Police Office
. Act LIV of 1999 on Cooperation and Information Exchange with the Law-Enforcement Network of the European Union and the International Criminal Police Organisation
. Act XXXVIII of 1996 on International Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters
. Joint Decree No. 4/2002 (I. 30.) of the Minister of the Interior and the Minister of Finance on the legal basis, authority and tasks of the International Law Enforcement Cooperation Centre (NEBEK)
. Joint Decree No. 34/2003 (VII. 29.) of the Minister of the Interior and the Minister of Finance on the deployment of Hungarian liaison officers abroad.
2.1.2. Bilateral agreements 2.1.2.1. with Member States Hungary has concluded a series of bilateral agreements or memoranda of understanding with almost all of the EU Member States in the field of criminal matters, especially mutual cooperation and exchange of information in the fight against the different forms of organised crime, terrorism and drug crimes:
Austria (Agreement) parties involved: Hungarian and Austrian governments topics: joint centre for cooperation at the Austrian-Hungarian border at Hegyeshalom, with liaison officers; date of signature: 4 May 2001; effective: 8 June 2001; Government Decree No.: 110/2001 (VI. 21.)
13123/05 AH/ld 5 DG H 2 B RESTREINT UE EN RESTREINT UE
Austria (Agreement) parties involved: Hungarian and Austrian governments topics: Cooperation in the fields of criminal and traffic law enforcement agencies; date of signature: 27 November 1977, Vienna; effective: 1 October 1980; Government Decree No.: 34/1980 (VIII.28.)
Austria (Agreement) parties involved: Hungarian and Austrian governments topics: Cooperation in the fight against international terrorism, illicit trafficking of narcotic drugs and international organised crime; date of signature: 12 July 1996, Nickelsdorf; effective: 1 July 1997; Government Decree No.: 165/1997 (X. 3.)
Austria (Agreement) parties involved: Hungarian and Austrian governments topics: Cooperation for the prevention and suppression of cross border crime, signature: 6 June 2004, Heiligenbrunn; effective: undergoing ratification (Bill to ratify will be submitted to the Parliament soon)
Belgium (Agreement) parties involved: Hungarian and Belgian governments topics: Police cooperation, cooperation in the fight against organised crime; date of signature: 4 November 1998, Brussels; effective: 1 September 2002; Government Decree No.: 153/2002 (VII.5.)
Cyprus (Agreement) parties involved: Hungarian and Cypriot governments topics: Cooperation in the fight against terrorism, illicit drug trafficking and organised crime; date of signature: 13 June 1996, Budapest; effective: 1 September 1999; Government Decree No.: 73/2001 (IV. 27.)
13123/05 AH/ld 6 DG H 2 B RESTREINT UE EN RESTREINT UE
Czech Republic (Agreement) parties involved: Hungarian and Czech governments topics: Cooperation in the fight against terrorism, illicit trafficking of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances and organised crime; date of signature: 16 February 1996, Prague; effective: 27 April 1997; additional agreements: the agreement is undergoing modification 1; Government Decree No.: 91/1997 (VI. 4.)
Estonia (Agreement) parties involved: Hungarian and Estonian governments topics: Cooperation in the fight against terrorism, illicit trafficking of narcotic drugs and organised crime; date of signature: 13 May 1997, Budapest; effective: 31 December 1997; Government Decree No.: 5/1998 (I. 23.)
Finland (Agreement) parties involved: Hungarian and Finnish governments topics: Cooperation in the prevention of crime – especially organised crime – and in the joint action against crime; date of signature: 24 October 2002, Budapest; effective: 22 October 2003; Government Decree No.: 172/2003 (X. 28.)
France (Agreement) parties involved: Hungarian and French governments topics: Cooperation between Interior Ministries; date of signature: 16 January 1997, Budapest; effective: 25 June 1999; Government Decree No.: 88/1999 (VI. 16.).
Germany (Agreement promulgated by parliamentary act) parties involved: Hungarian and German governments topics: Mutual protection of confidential information; date of signature: 25 October 1995; effective:15 May 1996; Parliamentary Act No. XXXV. of 1996.
1 Broadening of the scope in order to meet the new forms of cooperation basically set out in the Convention on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters between the Member States of the European Union (OJ 2000/C 197/01).
13123/05 AH/ld 7 DG H 2 B RESTREINT UE EN RESTREINT UE
Germany (Agreement) parties involved: Hungarian and German governments topics: Cooperation in the fight against organised crime; date of signature: 22 March 1991, Bonn; effective: 1 January 1993; Government Decree No.: 15/1993 (I.27.).
Germany (State of Bavaria) (joint declaration) parties involved: Hungarian and Bavarian Interior Ministries topics: Cooperation of Interior Ministries in the fields of general police matters and in the fight against international organised crime, illicit trafficking of narcotic drugs and illegal immigrant smuggling; date of signature: 25 October 2000; effective.
Greece (Agreement) parties involved: Hungarian and Greek governments topics: Cooperation in the fight against terrorism, illicit trafficking of narcotic drugs and organised crime and joint steps against other types of crime; date of signature: 17 February 1993, Budapest; effective: 10 November 1994; Government Decree No.: 15/1995 (II. 22.).
Ireland (Agreement) parties involved: Hungarian and Irish governments topics: Cooperation in the fight against the illicit trafficking of narcotic drugs, money laundering, trade in human beings, terrorism and other serious crimes; date of signature: 3 November 1999, Budapest; effective: 17 August 2000; Government Decree No.: 180/2000 (XI. 8.).
Italy (Security agreement promulgated by parliamentary act) parties involved: Hungarian and Italian governments topics: Mutual protection of confidential information; date of signature: 20 March 2003; effective: 8 July 2004; Parliamentary Act No. LXXXIX of 2004.
Italy (Agreement) parties involved: Hungarian and Italian governments topics: Cooperation in the fight against terrorism, organised crime and the illicit trafficking of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances, date of signature: 13 May 1997, Rome; effective: 17 April 1998; Government Decree No.: 74/1998 (IV. 22.).
13123/05 AH/ld 8 DG H 2 B RESTREINT UE EN RESTREINT UE
Latvia (Agreement) parties involved: Hungarian and Latvian governments topics: Cooperation in the fight against terrorism, illicit trafficking of narcotic drugs and organised crime; date of signature: 6 March 1997, Riga; effective: 14 December 1997; Government Decree No.: 6/1998 (I. 23.).
Malta (Agreement) parties involved: Hungarian and Maltese governments topics: Cooperation in the fight against illicit trafficking of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances and organised crime; date of signature: 18 May 2000, Budapest; effective: 18 December 2000; Government Decree No.: 278/2000 (XII. 29.).
The Netherlands (Agreement) parties involved: Hungarian and Netherlands governments topics: Cooperation of law-enforcement agencies in the fight against international crime; date of signature: 2 November 1998, The Hague; effective: 1 August 1999; Government Decree No.: 176/1999 (XII. 8.).
Poland (Agreement) parties involved: Hungarian and Polish governments topics: Cooperation in the fight against terrorism, illicit trafficking of narcotic drugs and organised crime; date of signature: 15 May 1996, Warsaw; effective: 14 May 1998; additional agreements: the agreement is undergoing modification; Government Decree No.: 88/1998 (V. 8.).
Slovakia (Agreement) parties involved: Hungarian and Slovak governments topics: Cooperation in the fight against terrorism, illicit trafficking of narcotic drugs and other forms of organised crime; date of signature: 28 June 1995, Budapest; effective: 13 October 1995; additional agreements: the agreement is undergoing modification; Government Decree No.: 120/1995 (X. 4.).
13123/05 AH/ld 9 DG H 2 B RESTREINT UE EN RESTREINT UE
Slovenia (Agreement) parties involved: Hungarian and Slovenian governments topics: Cooperation in the fight against terrorism, illicit trafficking of narcotic drugs and organised crime; date of signature: 19 May 1993, Budapest; effective: 19 February 1994; additional agreements: the agreement is undergoing modification; Government Decree No.: 16/1994 (II. 4.).
Spain (Agreement) parties involved: Hungarian and Spanish governments topics: Cooperation in the fight against illicit trafficking of narcotic drugs, terrorism and organised crime; date of signature: 2 March 1992, Budapest; effective: 13 February 1993; additional agreements: the agreement is undergoing modification; Government Decree No.: 50/1994 (IV. 8.).
Sweden (Agreement) parties involved: Hungarian and Swedish governments topics: Cooperation in the fight against illicit trafficking of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances, terrorism and other serious crimes; date of signature: 23 April 1997, Budapest; effective: 1 December 1997; Government Decree No.: 10/1998 (I. 28.).
United Kingdom (Memorandum of Understanding) parties involved: Hungarian and UK governments topics: Cooperation in the prevention of illicit production and trafficking of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances and drug abuse; date of signature: 25 April 1991, Budapest; effective: 21 January 1992; Government Decree No.: 7/1993 (I. 13.).
United Kingdom (Declaration of Understanding) parties involved: Hungarian and UK governments topics: Cooperation in the fight against the illicit trafficking of narcotic drugs, organised crime, international terrorism and illegal migration; date of signature: 9 February 2000, London; effective: 16 August 2000; Government Decree No.: 146/2000 (VIII. 23.).
13123/05 AH/ld 10 DG H 2 B RESTREINT UE EN RESTREINT UE
2.1.2.2. with non-EU Member States As regards bilateral police cooperation agreements with countries outside the EU, Hungary has concluded such agreements with: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, China, Croatia, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Moldova, Morocco, Romania, Russia, Serbia and Montenegro, South Africa, Switzerland, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine, USA and Vietnam.
2.2. STRUCTURES
The following Hungarian law-enforcement agencies have competence for the Europol mandated areas: – The Hungarian National Police1 – The Hungarian Customs and Finance Guard (HCFG) – The Hungarian Border Guard (HBG). They are all civilian agencies but have a military ranking structure.
2.2.1. The Hungarian National Police The Hungarian National Police has the "function of protecting public security and internal order" and in this regard carries out "crime prevention, criminal prosecution, public administration and law-enforcement tasks".2
"On the basis of international treaties and reciprocity, the police shall cooperate with foreign and international law-enforcement organisations and fight international crime."3
To fulfil this function, the police operates within a hierarchical structure, with the High Commissioner at the top and three subordinated general directorates at central level:
1 The former criminal directorate of the Hungarian Tax and Financial Control Bureau has been incorporated into the police. 2 Act XXXIV of 1994 on the Police, Section 1. 3 Act XXXIV of 1994 on the Police, Section 2.
13123/05 AH/ld 11 DG H 2 B RESTREINT UE EN RESTREINT UE
. The Criminal General Directorate with following subunits: 1 o Criminal Investigation Department , o The International Law-Enforcement Cooperation Centre (NEBEK) o The Directorate for Analysis and Coordination (DAC) o The Directorate for Logistics . The General Directorate of Public Security and . The General Directorate of Economy and Administration.
At regional level, police organisations have been set up in the 19 counties (plus the capital Budapest), with local police stations underneath. Following the most recent reorganisation the National Bureau of Investigation, with its six regional agencies, has now also been integrated into the regional level.
2.2.1.1 The International Law-Enforcement Cooperation Centre (NEBEK) The police has established NEBEK as its central point for the collection and dissemination of international information. NEBEK is divided into four units:
. Europol National Unit (ENU), . Interpol National Central Bureau (INCB), . Unit for International Relations and EU Integration, . Message Response and International Telecommunications Unit.
While HCFG and HBG have liaison officers stationed at NEBEK, the centre constitutes an integrated contact point for international and strategic cooperation, especially with Interpol and Europol but also with other foreign law-enforcement services, and assists all Hungarian law-enforcement agencies in their international work.
Regarding the Hungarian National Police, NEBEK . directs, supervises and coordinates international contacts, . prepares, plans, coordinates and executes cooperation programmes and . represents Hungary in SECI cooperation and at international fora.
1 With a more strategic role, supervising all investigating units and supporting the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and the county units inter alia with legal consultation or coordination of investigations.
13123/05 AH/ld 12 DG H 2 B RESTREINT UE EN RESTREINT UE
NEBEK is also involved in the Schengen preparation process, participates in the EU-PHARE programme and in the implementation of EU integration projects.
NEBEK's function in relation to international cooperation and information exchange is described in Act LIV of 1999 on Cooperation and Information Exchange with the Law-Enforcement Network of the European Union and the International Criminal Police Organisation:
"Article 3 Paragraph (1) In their cooperation with international law-enforcement organisations, Hungarian law-enforcement agencies shall forward data and information, shall initiate requests for data, information or inquiry through the International Law-enforcement Cooperation Centre – hereafter NEBEK – established within the police organisation. … Article 4 Paragraph (1) NEBEK is authorised to handle, receive and forward personal and law-enforcement data – including data and information collected in confidential intelligence-gathering – within the jurisdiction of the international law-enforcement organisation, particularly if such data are connected to organised crime, terrorism, illicit drug trafficking, misuse of nuclear and radioactive material, smuggling of aliens, trafficking in human beings, motor vehicle crimes or euro fraud.
Paragraph (2) NEBEK is authorised to take over – even by direct access – personal data and law-enforcement information free of charge from any database to which such access is authorised by law for law-enforcement purposes. … Article 5 Paragraph (1) On receipt of an international request for information, NEBEK is authorised and obliged to forward collected data – including data and information collected in confidential intelligence-gathering – in line with the provisions of international agreements and domestic confidentiality regulations to the requesting law-enforcement organisation via physically protected data transmission networks or through its liaison officer abroad. …"
13123/05 AH/ld 13 DG H 2 B RESTREINT UE EN RESTREINT UE
2.2.2. Hungarian Customs and Finance Guard (HCFG) On the basis of the Hungarian Criminal Procedure Code 1, the Hungarian Customs and Finance Guard is authorised to carry out criminal investigations regarding the following crimes 2:
Section Title comments 261/A Violation of a Duty Based on International Law 274 Forgery of Official Documents 287 Infringement of an Obligation Relating to the Trafficking of Internationally Controlled Products and Technology 298 Foreign Trade Activities without Licence 311 Misuse of Excise 311/A Illegal Trafficking of Excise Goods 311/B Conspiracy linked to 311 and 311/A 312 Smuggling and Receiving of Smuggled Goods exclusive competence 296 False Marking of Goods 329 Usurpation 329/A Infringement of Copyright and Certain Rights Related to Copyright 329/B Compromising or Defrauding the Integrity of Technological Measures for the Protection of Copyright and Certain Rights Related to Copyright 329/C Falsifying Data Related to Copyright Management 329/D Violation of Industrial Design Rights if the object of the offence was a product subject to inland revenue or an article subject to customs duty 310 Tax and Social Security Fraud 318 Fraud if the offence was committed in connection with a tax, contribution or subsidy within the competence of the HCFG 276 Forgery of a Private Document, if committed in connection with any of 277/A Counterfeiting of Individual Identification Marks, the crimes above 307 Counterfeiting of Stamps 282- Misuse of Narcotic Drugs committed by exporting, importing or 282/C Misuse of Materials Used for Making Narcotic Drugs transporting if the HCFG detects the 283/A offence or it was reported to the HCFG
1 Section 36, paragraph (2). 2 Regulated in Act IV of 1978 on the Criminal Code.
13123/05 AH/ld 14 DG H 2 B RESTREINT UE EN RESTREINT UE
2.2.3. The Hungarian Border Guard (HBG) The Hungarian Border Guard is authorised 1 to conduct criminal investigations regarding the following crimes 2 if the HBG detects the offence or it was reported to the HBG: Section Title comments 214 Violation of Restriction of Entry and Stay 214/A Assisting Illegal Residence 218 Person smuggling 220 Damaging of a Frontier Sign 274 Forgery of Official Documents if committed in connection with travel documents
3. INTERNAL ORGANISATION OF THE EXCHANGE OF INFORMATION
3.1. LEGAL FRAMEWORK The criminal procedure law determines the powers of the law-enforcement agencies according to the crime committed and both the customs and the border guard agencies have general cooperation agreements with the police.
3.2 SPECIFIC AREAS OF CRIMINAL ACTIVITY
In the case of serious crimes such as drug abuse, terrorism and illegal migration, the mandated law-enforcement agencies formulate cooperation agreements for the execution of parliamentary and governmental resolutions in these fields. These agreements regulate the exchange of information, thus enabling both strategic and operational information exchange.
3.2.1 Drugs Parliamentary resolution 96/2000 (XII.11) on the National Strategic Programme on reducing the scope of the drug problem defines as a short-term aim in the field of supply reduction:
"The chemical profiling of new synthetic drugs, the creation of an early warning system and the permanent updating of the XTC catalogue must be regarded as part of Europol cooperation, and NEBEK is responsible for the international exchange of information in this field."
1 On the basis of Section 36, paragraph (3) of the Code of Criminal Procedure. 2 Regulated in Act IV of 1978 on the Criminal Code.
13123/05 AH/ld 15 DG H 2 B RESTREINT UE EN RESTREINT UE
3.2.2. Illegal migration Hungary has implemented an Integrated Steering Centre to address illegal migration. The ministers concerned (Minister of the Interior, Minister of Finance, Minister of Employment and Labour) issued a joint instruction (20/2004) based on existing cooperation agreements in order to establish coordination as regards in-depth checks. This instruction has also established the Integrated Steering Centre to coordinate the activities of the border guard, the police, the MoI Office for Immigration and Citizenship, the Customs and Finance Guard and the National Supervision for Labour Safety and Employment against illegal migration, both at national and territorial level.
The Centre is led by the Director-General for Policing of the Border Guard. This organisation is the developed version of the in-depth network (CheckNet) that was operational earlier, controlling illegal migration and implementing the effective functioning of a complex filter and control system in the field of the policing of foreign persons. The task of the complex control system is: . to ensure throughout the country the official control of foreign persons provided for in the respective legislation, . detection of illegal migration and any illegal activity linked thereto and . implementation of the necessary official proceedings, by . coordinating the service activities in time, space and methods, . economic use of the powers and means in place, . speeding up information exchange, . omitting total checks, in a differentiated and selective manner.
3.2.3. Terrorism As regards the fight against terrorism, the Anti-terror Coordination Committee should be mentioned, set up as of November 2003, following the terrorist attacks in Istanbul. At its bi-weekly meetings representatives of the following bodies are present: National Security Office, National Security Technical Service, Information Office, Military Intelligence Office, Military Security Office, Border Guard, the MoI Office for Immigration and Citizenship, Coordination Centre Against Organised Crime and the National Police Headquarters Anti-terrorism and Extremism Unit. Representatives of the National Security Cabinet and of the Ministerial Cabinet of the Minister of the Interior also participate in the meetings in order to keep the higher levels informed in an up-to-date manner.
13123/05 AH/ld 16 DG H 2 B RESTREINT UE EN RESTREINT UE
The Committee is a forum both for the direct exchange of information on current cases and for outlining strategies in general terms. The presence of members of the Coordination Centre Against Organised Crime provides an opportunity to gain additional information, as the Centre functions as a national clearing house for all law-enforcement agencies and security/intelligence services. The National Security Office hosts and coordinates the meetings. There is no formal legal basis for the Committee but an appropriate government resolution is in preparation.
4. EXTERNAL EXCHANGE OF INFORMATION
4.1. DATA EXCHANGE PROCESS
Hungary uses NEBEK and the liaison officers at Europol as channels for the exchange of information with Europol.
The Hungarian desk at Europol, the Interpol NCB, bilateral liaison officers and legal attachés are used for exchange of information with other Member States and third states.
All of those channels are available at NEBEK, where an electronic data handling system allows cross-checks of names and relevant personal data in order to avoid duplication of effort caused by similar requests arriving through Europol and Interpol channels.
The system can be reached – from Hungary and from abroad – via designated fax numbers. Law-enforcement data (not classified) arriving from the Europol secure link and Interpol secure link can be entered in this data handling system and NEBEK case officers may send their messages via this system to the Interpol secure link or to fax addresses.
There is no connection between the Europol and Interpol secure links, and Hungarian law-enforcement agencies do not have direct access to the Europol and Interpol links but have to use NEBEK.
The goal is for all criminal information to be transmitted through "one window" – NEBEK.
13123/05 AH/ld 17 DG H 2 B RESTREINT UE EN RESTREINT UE
4.2. CHOICE OF COMMUNICATION CHANNEL
The basic channel for Hungary's international law-enforcement communication, including operational cases, is Europol. If the territorial effect of the case extends outside Europe, the Interpol channel is chosen. Hungary furthermore distinguishes between bilateral and multilateral cases and prefers the Europol channel in cases where the criminal information concerns several EU Members States and organised crime, but in bilateral cases liaison officers are used as well. The director of NEBEK and the heads of the Europol and Interpol units discuss and decide which channel is to be used.
Sometimes a case starts at the Interpol unit, but later the Europol unit receives some aspects of the case. In that event there are two possibilities: 1. The Europol case officer takes over the whole case from the Interpol case officer. 2. The two case officers coordinate the division of work and handle the case using their own respective communication channels (Interpol or Europol). The heads of the units (Interpol, Europol) supervise the workflow.
Hungary tries to remedy the incompatibility of available channels through the use of liaison officers deployed at NEBEK (Customs, Border Guard, National Bureau of Investigation), which could facilitate the access to the databases in their respective law enforcement agencies.
4.3. HUNGARIAN LIAISON OFFICER NETWORK
4.3.1. Hungarian liaison officers stationed abroad As of May 2005, Hungary has . three liaison officers stationed at Europol Headquarters in The Hague (NL), one police, one customs and one border guard liaison officer; . one police officer stationed at the German BKA in Wiesbaden; . one police and one customs officer stationed at the SECI Centre in Bucharest (RO); . one border guard liaison officer at the Risk Analysis Centre in Finland; . one border guard liaison officer at the Ad-hoc Training centre in Austria. In addition, police attachés are stationed at the Hungarian embassies in Moscow (RU), Kiev (UA) and Ankara (TR) 1.
1 Supervised by the Ministry of the Interior.
13123/05 AH/ld 18 DG H 2 B RESTREINT UE EN RESTREINT UE
4.3.2. Liaison officers stationed by Hungarian law-enforcement agencies at NEBEK The HCFG, the HBG and the NBI have each stationed one liaison officer at NEBEK.
4.3.3. Foreign liaison officers stationed at NEBEK At present one Italian police liaison officer is stationed at NEBEK.
5. EXCHANGE OF INFORMATION BETWEEN MEMBER STATES AND EUROPOL
5.1. DATA EXCHANGE PROCESS
Hungary signed a bilateral agreement with Europol in October 2001 and, following accession to the EU and ratification of the Europol Convention and its Protocols, became a full Europol member in September 2004. Statistical records concerning information exchange before it became a full member have not been compiled. In 2004, Hungary's most important partners in the exchange of information and intelligence amongst EU Member States were, in order of importance and in terms of the number of cases: Germany, Spain, Austria, Belgium, Slovakia and Italy. 912 cases were registered at the Europol Hungarian Liaison Office compared with 577 in 2003, an increase of 58%. The exchange of information in concrete criminal cases involved 2 548 exchanges of operational information in 719 cases.
Two-thirds of the operational cases involve four main types of crime: – forgery of money and other means of payment, especially euro counterfeiting (35%); – drug trafficking (16%); – illegal migration 15%); – terrorism (14%) 1. The Hungarian law-enforcement authorities initiated 87 cases (12% of the total).
1 The remaining types are: crimes against the person 6%, money laundering 3%, illegal trafficking of vehicles 2%, others 9%.
13123/05 AH/ld 19 DG H 2 B RESTREINT UE EN RESTREINT UE
5.2. DATA PROTECTION
Hungary states that observance of existing data protection requirements does not influence the level of information exchange with international partners and does not constitute a hindrance. The Hungarian Europol Data Protection Supervisor, in accordance with the provisions of the Europol Convention, regularly monitors the handling of data at the ENU. Inquiries so far have not revealed any significant breaches of data protection rules; the flow of information is continuous.
5.3. CLASSIFICATION OF DATA
Hungary uses the following classification levels: "Europol information" refers to Europol information subject to the basic protection level described in Article 8(1) of the Confidentiality Rules and subject to the general obligation of discretion and confidentiality. "Europol classified information" and "Europol classified documents" refers to information or documents subject to additional security measures as outlined in Article 8(4) of the Confidentiality Rules and marked with one of the classification levels:
*"Europol RESTRICTED", equivalent in Hungary: "Europol korlátozott terjesztésû"
*"Europol CONFIDENTIAL" eq.: "Europol bizalmas"
*"Europol SECRET" eq.: "Europol titkos"
*"Europol TOP SECRET" eq.: "Europol szigorúan titkos"
All types of information will be passed on to Europol.
Problems have arisen, however, in relation to information security requirements. Hungarian legislation is basically harmonised with the EU information security requirements ( four levels of classification). The protection of EU classified information is solved but, as was stated in the Evaluation Report on the Cooperation Agreement between the Republic of Hungary and Europol, November 2001 – April 2003: "Hungarian legislation relating to the classification of information from undercover sources has caused considerable difficulties both for EUROPOL and for Member States since it does not correspond to established practice in Member States. Such information in Hungary is classified as Top Secret – EUROPOL 2 or 3 and cannot be processed in the normal way.
13123/05 AH/ld 20 DG H 2 B RESTREINT UE EN RESTREINT UE
New legislation to avoid over-classification or the power to alter the security marking on receipt would help solve this problem."
The situation at present is the same and the only solution is for the Hungarian Parliament to modify the "Police Act" 1. Necessary amendments are in preparation and a bill has been submitted to the government for adoption that will later be forwarded to the parliament. The bill contains, on the one hand, the promulgation of the Europol Convention and Protocols (already ratified in 2004); on the other hand it will amend the Police Act in order to solve this shortcoming.
5.4. JOINT UNITS WITH OTHER EU MEMBER STATES
So far one joint point of contact for cooperation run by the HBG has been set up at the Austrian-Hungarian border at Hegyeshalom-Nickelsdorf, but since the cooperation is not related to Europol mandated areas, Europol and the ENU are not involved in the information exchange process. At present that centre is functioning in a limited way because it is not suitable for all types of information exchange, but there is a project in Hungary aiming to improve this cooperation.
5.5. DEFINITION OF INFORMATION AND INTELLIGENCE
As far as intelligence is concerned there is no legal definition in Hungary. According to the Cooperation Agreement between the Republic of Hungary and Europol, information is defined as personal and non-personal data.
In addition, a definition of sensitive data is given in Act LXIII of 1992 on the Protection of personal data and the publicity of data of public interest:
1 Act XXXIV of 1994 on the Police, Chapter VII. Secret collection of information Section 63: (1) In order to prevent, detect, interrupt the perpetration of offences, to determine the identity of, and to apprehend the perpetrator, to find a wanted person, to determine his place of stay, or to obtain evidence, the Police, within the limits of the law, may collect information in secret. (2) The data collected in the course of secret data collection, before being used as evidence in criminal proceedings, and on the identity of the person cooperating with the Police, the fact that information is being collected and the technical details of the collection shall be state secret.
13123/05 AH/ld 21 DG H 2 B RESTREINT UE EN RESTREINT UE
"Personal data referring to: a) racial origin, national and ethnic background, political opinion, party membership, religious or other conviction, b) health condition, abnormal addiction, sexual life and criminal record."
5.6. NATIONAL EUROPOL UNIT
The Hungarian ENU is part of NEBEK and cooperates with liaison officers seconded to the NEBEK from Customs, Border Guard and, since 1 April 2005, from the National Bureau of Investigation. Each NEBEK case officer has access to the national police data files, systems and archives such as: Hungarian nationals' records, foreign nationals' and settled persons' files, criminals, vehicles, warrant records (persons, objects), arrested persons, etc. In addition, a terminal to the registry of firms and undertakings registered in Hungary is installed at NEBEK. This way most of the requests can be answered by NEBEK case officers, but they do not have access to the files of the decentralised police units and services. This information can only be collected by coordination.
NEBEK communicates directly with the Hungarian Liaison Desk at Europol through the secure link. The liaison officers forward information to the relevant partner ELOs or to Europol.
The ENU coordinates the information exchange between Hungarian police units involved in international cases and the Hungarian ELOs and facilitates the processing of updated information in ongoing cases. In urgent cases direct contacts between the ELO and the case officer (at the local police unit) are established, and NEBEK is informed later (within 48 hours) in writing.
5.7. AWARENESS OF EUROPOL'S ROLE AND MANDATE
Hungary puts a great deal of effort into raising the awareness of law-enforcement agencies regarding Europol. NEBEK is responsible for the coordination of awareness seminars with Europol, sending trainers, and the Hungarian police educational institute provides the location, accommodation, translation, etc. for the seminar.
13123/05 AH/ld 22 DG H 2 B RESTREINT UE EN RESTREINT UE
The targeted audience depends on the topic, but in all cases NEBEK's Europol and Interpol case officers are delegated to these seminars and the rest of the audience is recruited from relevant directorates of the national criminal police and from the central law-enforcement units of the customs and border guard. In addition, Hungary sends experts to the relevant conferences organised by Europol.
5.8. PARTICIPATION IN AWF
Hungary forwards information to Europol at all stages of cases (before, during and after completion of investigations). At present, Hungary is not interested in participating in all of the active AWFs since some relate to crimes that are not a problem in/for Hungary. Nevertheless, Hungary would feed related information to those AWFs as well for the benefit of other Member States.
5.9. PERCEPTION OF EUROPOL'S VALUE
The present Europol framework is good and meets Hungary's expectations. Problems arise owing to restricted resources. Expert meetings held by Europol are all financed by the national authority and are usually held on weekdays when the cost of air travel is very high. Due to the restricted budget the Hungarian authorities are not able to participate in each meeting and thus cannot exchange information directly.
Europol has given added value to several Hungarian cases through the fast connection between national authorities, direct contact between liaison officers and/or the immediate assistance of Europol's analysis background and capacity.
In total, Hungary assesses the information flow between Europol and Hungary as adequate.
13123/05 AH/ld 23 DG H 2 B RESTREINT UE EN RESTREINT UE
6. EVALUATION BY THE EXPERT TEAM
6.1. INTRODUCTION
The Republic of Hungary covers a total area of 93 030 km2 and is administratively divided into 19 counties (megyék) plus the state capital Budapest (with app. 1.8 million inhabitants). Hungary shares a total of 2 237 km of land borders with 3 Member States 1 and 4 non-EU Member States 2. Hungarian (Magyar) is the official language for the population of app. 10.1 million. The approximate number of 29.5003 police officers results in a ratio of one officer per 342 inhabitants.
6.2. ORGANISATION OF THE EVALUATION
The evaluation team met with officials of the Ministry of the Interior, the Coordination Centre against Organised Crime, the National Police, the Customs and Finance Guard and the Border Guard. A visit to the police headquarters of Fejér county also provided information on work at regional level. While the team focused on international information and intelligence exchange with Europol and other Member States, it also took note of national exchanges between various institutions and departments involved in the fight against serious, international or organised crime.
6.3. GENERAL COMMENTS
The meetings and presentations were professionally organised and well structured, in consequence providing a comprehensive overview of law-enforcement organisation in Hungary and the practical aspects of daily work. The delegation of experts received sufficient information to better understand the information exchange and intelligence sharing within and between all Hungarian law-enforcement agencies, even when they do not share the same databases/systems. Overall the experts were impressed by the open and positive attitude of all practitioners encountered during their visit, and the positive spirit of cooperation towards the evaluation purposes.
1 To the west with Austria (356 km) and with Slovenia (102 km), and to the north with the Slovak Republic (670 km). 2 To the northeast with Ukraine (137 km), to the east with Romania (453 km), and to the south with Croatia (355 km) and with Serbia & Montenegro (164 km). 3 As of July 2005.
13123/05 AH/ld 24 DG H 2 B RESTREINT UE EN RESTREINT UE
6.4. ORGANISATION OF LAW ENFORCEMENT STRUCTURES
6.4.1. Hungarian National Police 6.4.1.1. Directorate of Analysis and Coordination (DAC) Unfortunately no official from this Directorate has been available to meet with the experts during the evaluation visit but later on the following information has been provided in writing: The DAC is a central criminal organisation with national authority that belongs to the Criminal Directorate of the National Police Headquarters (NPHQ). It is internally divided into two departments and with a staff of 871 it organises and runs tasks of developing and operating data handling of criminal investigation, serves and handles data, makes strategic and operative crime analysis and coordination.
6.4.1.1.1 Department of Analysis and Coordination This department of the DAC has strategic and operative analysing, evaluating and coordinating tasks. In the field of operative crime analysis at national level and at the level of the Criminal Directorate of the NPHQ the department inter alia . performs factual analysis and evaluation, . evaluates the records and data of the police’s criminal departments, . makes proposals to determine strategy, tactics and some methods of police action against economic and organised crime, . coordinates activity of criminal departments in intelligence and investigation, . plans and carries out the training and further education of crime analysing staff (operational and strategic).
Regarding strategic crime analysis at national level it . carries out regular and occasional strategic crime analysis according to statistical data, reports and guides, . evaluates the condition of crime and criminal investigation two times a year, . produces monthly crime and criminal investigation reports, . directs criminal statistical data-serving, . prepares national and regional special reports about crime and criminal investigation.
1 Of which 25 deal with analysis and evaluation.
13123/05 AH/ld 25 DG H 2 B RESTREINT UE EN RESTREINT UE
6.4.1.1.2. Department of Criminal Data Handling and Warrant This department deals with organising, developing and running tasks related to the development and operation of the criminal information system and in addition manages and serves criminal data. Amongst other tasks, in cooperation with the NPHQ’s information technology departments, it organises, develops and runs the criminal information system and also operates and supervises information-systems used by the NBI and the Criminal Support Directorate. It operates, develops and guarantees the safety of local networks.
6.4.1.1.3. Relations to other units
Based on the existing legal framework and the NPHQ standards the DAC exchanges data with the NEBEK, NBI and as the central organisation commissioned by the police also with the CCOC. In the first half of 2005 the DAC has supplied data 32 times to NEBEK and 4 times to the NBI and also informed the CCOC about 4200 criminal proceedings Besides the Directorate is also dealing with analysis and evaluation for the NBI in order to encourage special crime investigation.
Since there has been no meeting with representatives from the DAC it is not possible for the experts to properly evaluate either the functioning or the intelligence analysis capacities associated with this unit. However, the DAC seems to play a crucial role in the Hungarian law enforcement information and intelligence exchange. It is the custodian of the centralised Polygon database containing all intelligence data from regional and central police units (see 6.5) and also the designated point of contact for data exchange with the Coordination Centre against Organised Crime (see 6.4.4.) Noticing the huge difference in volume of data exchange between DAC and CCOC compared to exchanges with the NEBEK the experts feel that the information flow for international cooperation purposes should be evaluated. It appears that the NEBEK is not included and used to the fullest extend possible.
6.4.1.2. National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) During their visit to the National Bureau of Investigations, the evaluators learned that the NBI has a central office and also established 6 regional units. The Bureau has national jurisdiction and is mandated to detect and investigate all crimes that fall within the Europol mandate. Under certain conditions it is authorised to overtake cases from other units.
13123/05 AH/ld 26 DG H 2 B RESTREINT UE EN RESTREINT UE
The NBI conducts undercover and open operations and investigations and handles most of the international cases of the Hungarian National Police. In a meeting the management staff of the NBI stated that according to the current Hungarian criminal procedure code1 the prosecutors should be the leading authority for criminal cases, but that capacity has not yet been developed sufficiently. Consequently the NBI for the time being maintains that leading role. It was reported, that the NBI is participating in joint international investigations, e.g. together with Germany, Bulgaria and Europol related to currency counterfeiting. NBI authorities emphasized the importance of the Liaison Officers network for their international cooperation and also outlined the severe cooperation problems caused by the current system of over-classification of information from operational sources.
The experts found it positive that the NBI has the full mandate within the police for the fight (prevention and investigation) against serious, cross border and organised crime and remarked positively on the Hungarian involvement in joint international investigations.
6.4.2. Hungarian Customs and Finance Guard (HCFG) The HCFG operates on three levels of organisation, (central, regional, local) with a Central Criminal Investigation Directorate and six subordinated investigation offices situated at the regional level. Customs investigators through the NEBEK have established good cooperation with foreign customs, police and border services. Direct communication with foreign liaison officers and Hungarian ELO's takes place on a daily basis to exchange mainly pre-investigation information. Customs officials claimed that the participation in AWFs, in particular AWF Smoke, is important for Hungary but in practical terms quite problematic. Attending international meetings is costly and a restricted budget would only allow for limited participation. Therefore customs is considering to second an expert for this AWF for a limited time to Europol.
6.4.3. Hungarian Border Guard (HBG) Authorities of the HBG explained the Hungarian focus on the fight against illegal migration. The fact that Hungary covers a long external EU border (with Ukraine, Romania, Croatia and Serbia Montenegro) and the specific threat caused by illegal migration eventually led to the establishment of the Integrated Steering Centre.
1 Act XIX of 1998, Code on Criminal Procedure, entry into force 1 July 2003.
13123/05 AH/ld 27 DG H 2 B RESTREINT UE EN RESTREINT UE
Based on a decree from 2004, the Integrated Steering Centre has been set-up on the central level with similar structures in the regions as well. It is neither a physical centre nor an operational unit but a management system comprising of: a) a management board, conducting strategic meetings twice per year with representatives from:
o HBG (chairing) o Office for Immigration and Citizenship (in charge of refugees / legal entries) o Hungarian National Police (HNP) (illegal entries) o HCFG (illegal entries) o National Labour and Employment Agency, b) a management group1 holding monthly meetings to organise the information flow and joint operations.
The experts were told that whoever initiates a joint operation would take the lead. In addition it was also mentioned that through the envisaged participation of all services in such actions it should be guaranteed that spill-over information and intelligence not directly related to illegal migration reaches the competent authorities immediately. In 2004 there have been around 3 200 such operations on all levels and the expert team noticed with interest that the evaluation of the system took place in a management board meeting that was held the same day they visited the HBG.2
6.4.4. Coordination Centre against Organised Crime (CCOC) The Coordination Centre against organised crime has been established in 2000 as an independent organisation, supervised by the Ministry of Interior, to identify and minimise overlap and duplication in the fight against organised crime3 that might be caused by the fragmented law enforcement / intelligence situation in Hungary. By law the mandate is limited to a national scope and the CCOC is prevented from having any direct international contacts. However, it assists other agencies, upon seldom requests, in their international work through cross checks in its database.
1 Same institutions represented as in the management board. 2 Result not yet published. 3 Later including terrorism as well.
13123/05 AH/ld 28 DG H 2 B RESTREINT UE EN RESTREINT UE
The representatives presented an overview of the work of the Centre. It collects data1 from 10 different agencies (Civil and Military secret services, HNP, HCFG, HBG, Prosecution services) through designated single points of contacts2. These agencies fall within the competencies of three different Ministries. The data is reaching the CCOC in different and partly incompatible formats. A stand-alone system with state of the art database and analysis software is used for storage and further analysis of the received information and intelligence for which 45 analysts are employed. The act on the Centre3 provides for a mandatory reporting by all clients and the CCOC should function as a clearinghouse / broker for all intelligence and information related to its mandated area. Through established working procedures it also guarantees the confidentiality and protection of sources and interests of the owners of information stored in its database. However, its authorities admitted that the Centre struggles to receive proper and comprehensive data from the agencies thus preventing that the designed comprehensive system can be fully unfolded.
The experts were told that the Centre contributes via the Hungarian ENU to the annual Europol OCR. In addition it was also mentioned that based on a recent governmental decision. the Centre will also be in charge to produce the Hungarian contribution to Europol's OCTA.
The production of the OCTA requires a strong international engagement (file no) and it appears to the experts that the current mandate of the CCOC is not reflecting this requirement appropriately.
It was emphasised that the Centre is not supervising the information flow from its clients to foreign authorities in cases of international relevance (e.g. for law enforcement agencies to / through the NEBEK). This remains the sole responsibility of the owner of the information. In spite of this some intelligence generated by the analytical capacity of this centre is returned later on to law enforcement agencies for operational purposes.
1 From criminal records and also intelligence. 2 DAC is the PoC for the Police. 3 Act CXXVI. of 2000.
13123/05 AH/ld 29 DG H 2 B RESTREINT UE EN RESTREINT UE
6.5. DATABASES
Law enforcement officers throughout Hungary do have access to basic national police databases from the Ministry of Interior, such as the criminals records, foreign nationals and settled persons files, vehicle registration, pending warrants (persons and objects), arrested persons.
Besides there is a second level of databases in each law enforcement agency for criminal investigation purposes only accessed by the respective agencies: . ROBOCOP at HNP and HBG1 a centralised database for open information accessible by all police and border guard officers at all levels. . NYOSZAD at HCFG, also for open information, stemming from customs criminal investigations.
These databases don’t communicate electronically and are not accessible from each other at any point. However regarding the integration of data from HCFG and the Prosecutor services, there is some development to note. Within a pilot project one HCFG unit since January 2005 is entering its information related to criminal investigations directly into the ROBOCOP system and it is envisaged to sign an interagency agreement for the entire HCFG to join the ROBOCOP database. This is expected to be operational as of January 2006 and NYOSZAD would subsequently remain for archive purposes only. The Prosecutor services are also expected to join the ROBOCOP database, soon.
There are other restricted access databases for the purpose of storing intelligence and pre- investigation information on main criminal targets: . POLYGON at HNP a database for intelligence and confidential information, available at county level where analysis and evaluation units as with the NBI exist. They store their confidential information / intelligence in
1 Following the evaluation visit Hungary notified that as of 27 July 2005, HBG ceased to use the ROBOCOP system, starting the new NeoZsaru (NeoCop) system which is based on the former one. NeoCop contains open information on investigations and within a public security module personal data of those whose identity has been checked by the HBG. Access rights would be similar to those of ROBOCOP.
13123/05 AH/ld 30 DG H 2 B RESTREINT UE EN RESTREINT UE databases set-up for their geographical scope. These regional POLYGON databases are not interconnected but certain information (objects only) is nightly uploaded to the central POLYGON database at the DAC and hits with existing entries are reported back. NBI is not automatically informed in these cases.
. OPERA at HBG a database separated from POLYGON and running on a stand-alone system and containing data on secret intelligence-gathering carried out by HBG.
At HCFG due to the limited mandate and scope of work there is currently no centralised database for intelligence purposes but regional and local units use own individual applications. Officials met expect that HCFG will join the POLYGON database also for their purposes and subsequently will share their data with the police the same way as with the use of the Robocop system.
Databases for open information are accessible at all levels and by all officers currently drawing on two separated systems, ROBOCOP and NYOSZAD. Hungarian authorities reported that the merge into one common database for all law enforcement in Hungary is projected and the evaluators took positive note of this. They are of the opinion that for national co-ordination in law enforcement it is a good decision to have all agencies jointly using one common system and store its data in one comprehensive database. This will help identifying and avoiding overlap and duplication of work.
6.6. INTERNAL EXCHANGE OF INFORMATION
6.6.1. Evaluation system
A police regulation introduced in 2000 the 4x4 system as mandatory for the evaluation of information and intelligence. This evaluation is done by the investigators who initially obtain the information before it is entered into the relevant database.
13123/05 AH/ld 31 DG H 2 B RESTREINT UE EN RESTREINT UE
6.6.2. Information exchange / information flow The combination of law enforcement competencies in agencies of clear national dimension (HNP, HCFG, HBG, to a certain extent also the CCOC) with agencies with a clear regional dimension (e.g. the several county police forces, NBI regional agencies) originate a complex system of information flow amongst all partners not necessarily involving all of them at the same level. To facilitate their work law enforcement agencies use operational databases for both investigations and criminal intelligence.
6.6.3. Intelligence exchange Intelligence exchange is far more difficult in Hungary since databases are separated and fragmented. Even on the central level there are separate non-interlinked databases for different services. The aim to establish a centralised structure devoted to enhance the intelligence sharing for prevention and investigation purposes related to organised crime is registered with the implementation of the CCOC but the centre is lacking contributions from connecting agencies consequently not covering the comprehensive overview it is expected to have. Due to its specific function, it cannot share or exchange all of its available data. As one official stated during the visit: "There are cases where we know far more than the case handling officers at the police". The expert team assess the implementation of the CCOC as a positive step ahead in this specific field since it obviously represents an effective intelligence led policing oriented mechanism in dealing with sensible data, identifying levels of risk and threats based on standardised indicators and data received from all law enforcement and security agencies. However, this centralised agency is currently not focussing its activities on international cooperation.
6.6.4. Communication system The national flow of intelligence and information is obstructed by lack of a secure electronic communication system. As it was explained to the team Hungarian officers in need of a rapid exchange of data for operational reasons use informal and other available means of communication that are not secure (e.g. open fax and phone lines).
As stated in several presentations, the current legal provisions over-classify data that is obtained through a specific method rather than taking the content into consideration to determine the necessary classification. Subsequently data that in other Member States could be processed electronically in Hungary can not and need to be forwarded as hardcopy using couriers instead, a cumbersome and time-consuming procedure.
13123/05 AH/ld 32 DG H 2 B RESTREINT UE EN RESTREINT UE
The experts formed the impression that the combination of insufficient means of secure communication and the legal provisions for the classification of data have a detrimental effect for national and international information exchange of Hungarian law enforcement agencies.
6.6.5. Analysis The responsibilities for analysis of law enforcement data are divided between different bodies creating some overlap. Not having received sufficient information about the DAC, it appears that this unit has the overall responsibility for analysis and coordination of strategic and operational criminal data, within the National Police. In addition, the CCOC with its capacity of 45 analysts is tasked to identify and minimise overlap and duplication in the fight against organised crime and handling respective data. It should be stressed that the CCOC, which potentially represents the largest analytical capacity in Hungary direct its data management competencies for internal purposes and inter-agency cooperation only, not focusing on international cooperation or information-exchange. The NBI is on a national level responsible for inter alia the fight against serious and organised crime and terrorism but also for the analysis of data concerning its area of responsibility. For the time being with eight analysts employed only operational analysis can be carried out at the NBI. The county police also employ analysts. According to the presentation given by the Fejér county police, its two analysts are busy with serving the central units needs for information rather than conducting analysis for regional purposes. In addition Customs and Border Guards do also have analytical capacity which could not be fully explored by the evaluation team. The opportunity to exchange analysis results or disseminate them to competent authorities and operational departments is obstructed also on national level by the a.m. legislation concerning classification of data.
Overall the evaluation team had the impression that analytical work of the police is concentrated in the field of operational analysis and that there may be room to further develop strategic analysis respectively with an international dimension. The dissemination of analytical results on a strategic level ought not to be hampered by the legal obstacle of security classification while there are no operational data involved. Regarding the fragmented structure for analytical work the evaluators consider a risk that criminal intelligence and data are not optimally exploited.
13123/05 AH/ld 33 DG H 2 B RESTREINT UE EN RESTREINT UE
6.6.6. Inter institutional cooperation Cooperation agreements exist between all law enforcement agencies as the basis for different formats of cooperation. In the area of drug related crime, a strategic cooperation agreement between HCFG and National Police puts HCFG in charge whenever connections or links to the borders can be established but limits authority in pure national cases to the police. However, case information is exchanged on a daily basis and HCFG claims to always request background information on own cases from the police. As a result the police would be automatically informed about all drug related customs activities. The huge number of joint operations in the field of illegal migration are another vivid example of institutionalised cooperation between all law enforcement agencies. Several officials during their presentations gave examples of practical collaboration in criminal investigations where individual case-specific agreements between all parties involved (including security services) regulate cooperation and responsibilities.
The expert team took positive note of Hungarian inter institutional cooperation taking place regularly according to well-established procedures.
6.7. EXTERNAL EXCHANGE OF INFORMATION
6.7.1. Information flow Hungary has centralised law enforcement competencies dealing with international cooperation (Europol and Interpol national units, in the future also the SIRENE unit) in the NEBEK at the National Police Headquarters. It is in a position to enhance information-exchange amongst them and from/to outside partners on a 24 hours principle. The NEBEK is an integrated contact point for international cooperation with all Hungarian law enforcement organisations represented. A filing system for the entire centre containing open information from Interpol, Europol and other sources has been implemented. Received hardcopies of such communication is scanned and attached to the respective file. The system is not designed or used to store or process classified information, which is stored separately. However, NEBEK extracts basic entities and stores them in their filing system enabling them to retrieve and compare data.
13123/05 AH/ld 34 DG H 2 B RESTREINT UE EN RESTREINT UE
This is the only system for co-ordinating national requests to/from the Hungarian law enforcement organisations and to avoid possible duplication of efforts in responding to international requests through cross checking names or personal data. If a request is not registered at NEBEK there is no other way to find out if a similar or linked request has been made already. The system is only accessible at the NEBEK. Accordingly the need for co-ordination on national level can only be identified if data is sent to NEBEK to be checked and processed. Operational units at NBI, HCFG and HBG have no such filing systems nor do they forward requests handled individually (see 6.7.2.) to the NEBEK for cross-checking.
6.7.2. Choice of communication channel In the presentation received at the NEBEK Hungarian officials explained that besides the obvious distinction (communication with non-EU-MS via Interpol or bilateral channels, with Member States within the Europol mandate via Europol) there are cases with overlap or where the geographical or topical dimension cannot be determined by the initial information/request. The Hungarian principle for the choice of the communication channel in those cases is, that singular requests or cases exceeding the Europol mandate can be handled via Interpol. In daily morning meetings, the heads of both units decide about the channel depending on the focus of the individual case.
Urgent cases after regular working hours can be brought to the attention of the respective heads of unit or even to the Director of NEBEK but case officers would be competent to handle most requests independently.
According to the information received during the evaluation visit, Hungarian law enforcement for international communication is practically using many different channels, not always employing the NEBEK. As an explanation it was stated that the NEBEK is assessed to be understaffed to fulfil its function appropriately. Direct communication takes place between investigating units and the Hungarian ELOs, liaison officers and bilateral contacts on the basis of cooperation agreements, sometimes even in parallel. Examples were given by the NBI, which maintains daily contacts with international partners, and/or the Hungarian ELO and according to own estimations, app. only 20% of NBI's international information exchange is channelled through the NEBEK (IP or ENU). The remaining 80% are direct bilateral contacts not fully registered at the NEBEK's electronic handling system.
13123/05 AH/ld 35 DG H 2 B RESTREINT UE EN RESTREINT UE
HCFG officials fully acknowledging its role and function but assessed the NEBEK's work as sometimes too slow. They estimated that in app. 50% of international exchanges bilateral contacts to/through foreign liaison officers stationed in Hungary would be the preferred channel for communication for customs.
The experts found it remarkable that obviously the majority of international communication from/to investigation units is not directed through or even copied to the NEBEK/ENU. They recommend to evaluate the current working procedures and implement written guidelines for the choice of communication channels.
6.7.3. Coordination of international communication Efficient international communication and cooperation rely on the national contact point having in general a strong secure national communication supported by a workflow system and access to relevant national data.
Each NEBEK case officer when responding to an information request to or from international entities has direct access to the basic national police databases plus to the registry of companies in Hungary. Liaison officers from all Hungarian law enforcement agencies should facilitate the information access to the decentralised databases not directly accessible by the NEBEK but they do not have direct online access to their services’ information pools.
The central law enforcement intelligence database is situated at the DAC and NEBEK case officers do not have direct online access to it. Any queries or cross-checks by the NEBEK/ENU would have to be done manually and it was stated to the evaluators that NEBEK case officers would take hardcopies and walk to the offices of the DAC to deliver these requests
The evaluators realised that the lack of direct access to all law enforcement databases at the NEBEK generates difficulties in fast information handling.
13123/05 AH/ld 36 DG H 2 B RESTREINT UE EN RESTREINT UE
Taking into consideration Hungary’s increasing international communication the expert team felt that the co-ordination of cases and information exchange through the NEBEK as the designated contact point for all law enforcement agencies in Hungary should be improved. This would help avoiding double work in other Member States caused by repeated requests. It would also enhance internal coordination and provide requesting units with supplementary information whenever links to existing entries in the NEBEK workflow system are identified.
6.7.4. Europol National Unit The Hungarian ENU is part of the NEBEK and also serves as the contact point for cooperation with the SECI-Centre in Bucharest. It comprises of five officers (one HENU plus four case officers)1.
In its daily work the Hungarian ENU is not able to conduct comprehensive checks in all relevant databases without consulting other units by exchanging hardcopies and using couriers and according to the presentation refrains from doing so in a number of cases due to lack of manpower.
The experts assess that this workflow system is not enabling swift information exchanges therefore likely to have a negative impact on the motivation of operational units (national and international) to cooperate with the ENU in urgent cases. They are also of the opinion that the ENU should be sufficiently staffed to fulfil its function accordingly.
6.7.5. Hungarian Desk at Europol The desk is physically located within Europol and uses the infrastructure made available to it by Europol. The Hungarian desk is recognised as part of the ENU in accordance with Article 4 of the Europol Convention and the experts took positive note that it is staffed with representatives from all Hungarian law enforcement agencies in full compliance with the “Ideal Liaison Desk” as outlined in doc. DK/04/42772r1 presented at the HENU meeting on 26./27.04.2004 and approved by the Member States. According to Hungarian officials, ELO's should have direct access to the same operational databases available also to the ENU but due to data protection issues, this access is currently suspended.
1 In relation to this, the INCB consist of a Head of unit, one deputy, 20 case officers and one secretary.
13123/05 AH/ld 37 DG H 2 B RESTREINT UE EN RESTREINT UE
Communication between the ELOs and Hungarian law enforcement agencies should be channelled through the ENU at the NEBEK, yet the expert’s findings show direct communication is taking place frequently not always involving the ENU, particularly in urgent cases. The current system of over-classification of information from operational sources also obstructs communication with the Hungarian Desk.
6.7.6. Information related to AWF The three Hungarian law enforcement agencies participate through the ENU in 11 AWF and most of the data provided is historic and not including intelligence or classified data due to the classification problem. The designated experts for the police participation in AWF are within the NBI and HCFG considers seconding a national expert to the Hungarian Desk at Europol who should also be nominated expert to AWFs with customs participation in order to allow attendance of analysis group meetings.
Hungarian participation in AWFs has been known in general terms even on the county level with more detailed knowledge at the central investigation units and officials stated that AWFs are recognised as an important instrument and have already shown great value for Hungary so far.
Taking the current classification method into account, the evaluation team believe that following the expected amendment to the Police Act, the quantity and the quality of Hungarian contributions to AWFs can be increased.
6.7.7. Europol Information System As the national body within the police for the fight against serious and organised crime the NBI has responsibilities related to the contribution to the Europol Information System (EIS). The consequences of these responsibilities may not be evident to the NBI authorities met by the experts.
The Hungarian representative in the EIS project board, a member of the Fejér county police, explained that for communication with the EIS Polygon and Robocop could be possible sources of information to be forwarded to the EIS. However, a decision about the exact information to be processed is still pending, as there is also no decision yet, if the counties will be allowed direct access or have to communicate through NEBEK.
13123/05 AH/ld 38 DG H 2 B RESTREINT UE EN RESTREINT UE
6.7.8. Awareness Information about international police cooperation and the exact role and function of the NEBEK as contact point for all related communication has been well known by all officials met. Regarding the role and function of Europol in general, its products and training courses, the experts found that information has been disseminated widely.
The awareness of the advantages of cooperation with Europol and other Member States is proven in many parts of the Hungarian law enforcement organisations but the experts are of the opinion that there is still room for improvement, especially regarding the use of the ENU as national contact point and the use of the EIS.
7. GENERAL CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE EXPERT TEAM
Overall the experts realised that Hungary has a very complex and fragmented law enforcement system resulting in the need for a sophisticated information exchange system. The lack of sufficient means for secure communication is intertwined with the current legal requirements for classification of data. This has a detrimental effect to Hungarian contribution to Europol, specifically to AWFs, and to Hungarian law enforcement information and intelligence exchange in general. However, cooperation with Europol is taken very seriously and despite financial, staffing and legal obstacles utmost efforts are made to meet the demands of international information exchange and cooperation.
In light of the findings outlined in this report the team of experts found it appropriate to make the following recommendations:
7.1. FOR HUNGARY
7.1.1. Prioritise the implementation of a system enabling swift and secure electronic communication between all law enforcement services at all levels including the Hungarian desk at Europol. (see 6.6.4. and 6.7.5.)
7.1.2. Take necessary steps to adopt and implement appropriate amendments of the Police Act regulating the classification of data as soon as possible and prepare for the related consequences. (see 5.3., 6.4.1.2., 6.6.4. and 6.6.5.)
13123/05 AH/ld 39 DG H 2 B RESTREINT UE EN RESTREINT UE
7.1.3. Consider to develop a comprehensive national system and procedures for intelligence exchange from local to central level including procedures and written guidelines to optimise the use of the NEBEK for international communication. In cases of direct exchange ensure the NEBEK to be properly informed of such communication. (see 6.4.1.1.3., 6.5., 6.6.3., 6.7.1. and 6.7.2.)
7.1.4. Enable direct access for NEBEK case officers and the Hungarian ELOs to all relevant law enforcement databases, in particular to the central intelligence database (POLYGON) at the DAC. (see 6.7.3., 6.7.4. and 6.7.5.)
7.1.5. Encourage all authorities responsible for the information processing to the CCOC to fulfil their obligations and to further include CCOC concerning international requests. (see 6.4.4., 6.6.3. and 6.6.5.)
7.1.6. Continue the process of setting up joint databases for criminal information and intelligence for all law enforcement agencies. (see 6.5.)
7.1.7. Evaluate the current division of analytical capacities and responsibilities with a view to enhance strategic analysis within the National Police. (see 6.6.5.)
7.1.8. Involve the relevant law enforcement agencies and units in the national project related to the EIS. (see 6.7.7. and 6.7.8.)1
7.1.9. Clarify the role and responsibilities of the DAC related to operational and strategic feedback to law enforcement authorities and related to the information flow for international cooperation purposes. (see 6.4.1.1.3. and 6.6.5.)
1 Following the evaluation visit, Hungary provided additional information that it has started the preparations of the accession to the EIS via the expansion of the current ROBOCOP system.
13123/05 AH/ld 40 DG H 2 B RESTREINT UE EN RESTREINT UE
7.2. FOR EUROPOL
7.2.1. Finalise the pilot project on video conferencing and consider utilising this technique for small scale expert meetings aiming at reducing travel costs for Member States. (see 5.9. and 6.4.2.)
7.2.2 Promote the use of secure telephone conferencing between Europol and Europol national units. (see 5.9 and 6.4.2)
7.3. FOR THE OTHER MEMBER STATES
7.3.1. Second representatives from all relevant law enforcement agencies to the ENU and to the National Desk at Europol. (see 5.6. and 6.7.5.)
7.3.2 Consider the implementation of common data bases for all law enforcement services involved in the fight against organised crime. (see 6.5.) ______
13123/05 AH/ld 41 DG H 2 B RESTREINT UE EN RESTREINT UE
ANNEX A PROGRAMME OF VISITS
Day 1 (14 June): Budapest
8:45- transfer to HNPQ 9:30- visit to the International Law-Enforcement Cooperation Centre (NEBEK) at the NPHQ. The delegation is welcomed by Brig. Gen. Dr. László Berta, Director General for Criminal Investigations of the Police 10:00- welcome by Lt. Col. Zoltán Dani, Director of NEBEK. Presentations of the NEBEK units (ENU, Interpol Hungarian National Bureau, Division of International Information, International Division), with specific focus on the process of handling information 12:00- lunch at the HNPQ building with Dr. Mátyás Hegyaljai, Head of ENU
13:30- visit to the HNPQ National Bureau of Investigation 16:00- transfer to hotel In the evening: dinner offered by the Ministry of the Interior; hosted by Dr. Krisztina Berta, Deputy State Secretary for international relations.
Day 2 (15 June): Budapest
9:30- transfer to the Coordination Centre Against Organised Crime 10:00- welcome and presentation of the Centre by Brig. Gen. István Mikó, Deputy Director of the Centre 12:00- lunch at the Centre
14:00- visit to the National Headquarters of the Customs and Finance Guard 16:00- transfer to hotel 18: 30- transfer to restaurant 19:00- dinner hosted by Lt. Col Dani and Dr. Hegyaljai.
Day 3 (16 June): Székesfehérvár
8:00- transfer to Fejér County Police Headquarters 9:00- Meeting with Dr. Károly Papp, Head of the County Police Headquarters. Introduction of the IT unit of the County Police Headquarters. Lt. Col. József Laki, head of the unit (and member of the Europol EIS Project Board) presents the work of his unit and the current situation regarding preparation for Hungarian EIS accession 11:30- lunch offered by the County Police Headquarters
13:00- transfer to Budapest 14:00- visit to the National Headquarters of the Border Guard. Welcome by Col. János Lapis, head of the Integrated Steering Group of the Operational Department of the Border Guard 15:00- transfer to Budapest Airport.
______
13123/05 AH/ld 42 ANNEX A DG H 2 B RESTREINT UE EN RESTREINT UE
ANNEX B
LIST OF PERSONS MET
International Law-Enforcement Cooperation Centre (NEBEK) at the NPHQ Brig. Gen. Dr. László Berta, Director General for Criminal Investigations of the Police Lt. Col. Zoltán Dani, Director of NEBEK Dr. Mátyás Hegyaljai, Head of Europol National Unit
Ministry of the Interior Dr. Krisztina Berta, Deputy State Secretary for international relations. János Majercsik, Head of the International Department Dr. Péter Stauber, Office for EU Cooperation Dr. Gábor Petö, Office for EU Cooperation
National Bureau of Investigations Lt. Col. István Orosz, Head of Unit Lt. Col. Miklós Oláh, Head of Unit Cpt. József Pöltl, Head of Unit Dr. Attila Rigó, Senior Detective
Coordination Centre Against Organised Crime Brig. Gen. Dr. Endre Jónás, Deputy General Director of the Centre Col. Imre Kunos, Head of Department of Strategic Analysis
Fejér County Police Headquarters Dr. Károly Papp, head of the County Police Headquarters Lt. Col. József Laki, head of the IT unit (and member of the Europol EIS Project Board) Col. Miklós Sándor Col. Tamás Takács Lt. Col. Zoltán Lasancz Maj. Tamás Murányi Cpt. Tamás Hanyecz
Hungarian Customs and Finance Guard Lt. Col Gábor Varga, Deputy Direcor of criminal directorate
National Headquarters of the Border Guard Col. János Lapis, head of the Integrated Steering Group of the Operational Department of the Border Guard Cpt. Dr. Gyula Miklós Maj. Attila Szinák
______
13123/05 ext/AM/dg 43 ANNEX B DG H 2 B RESTREINT UE EN RESTREINT UE ANNEX C LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS/GLOSSARY OF TERMS
ACRONYM HUNGARIAN ENGLISH TRANSLATION ABBREVIATION OR EXPLANATION TERM AWF Elemző munkafájl Analysis Work File BKA (German) Bundeskriminalamt Federal Bureau of Criminal Investigation CCOC Szervezett Bűnözés elleni Coordination Centre against Koordinációs Központ Organised Crime (SZEBEKK) DAC Elemző és Koordinációs Directorate of Analysis and Igazgatóság (EKI) Coordination EIS Europol Információs Rendszer Europol Information System ELO Europol összekötőtiszt Europol Liaison Officer ENU Europol Nemzeti Egység Europol National Unit HBG Határőrség Hungarian Border Guard HCFG Vám- és Pénzügyőrség Hungarian Customs and Finance Guard HENU Europol Nemzeti Egység Head of Europol National Unit vezetője INCB Interpol Nemzeti Iroda Interpol National Central Bureau MDG Szervezett Bűnözés Elleni Multidisciplinary Group on Multidiszciplináris Csoport Organised Crime NBI Nemzeti Nyomozóiroda (NNI) National Bureau of Investigation NEBEK Nemzetközi Bűnügyi International Law Enforcement Együttműködési Központ Communication Centre NeoCop NeoZsaru new Border Guard database for open information NPHQ Országos Rendőr- National Police Headquarters főkapitányság (ORFK)
13123/05 AH/ld 44 ANNEX C DGH 2 B RESTREINT UE EN RESTREINT UE
ACRONYM HUNGARIAN ENGLISH TRANSLATION ABBREVIATION OR EXPLANATION TERM NYOSZAD Customs database for open information OCR Szervezett Bűnözési Jelentés Organised Crime Report OCTA Szervezett Bűnözési Organised Crime Threat Fenyegetettség-értékelés Assessment OPERA OPERA Border Guard database for intelligence PHARE (French) Pologne Hongarie Poland and Hungary Assistance Assistance à la Reconstruction for Economic Restructuring des Economies Programme POLYGON Polygon Police database for intelligence ROBOCOP Robotzsaru Police / old Border Guard database for open information SECI Délkelet-európai Southeast European Együttműködési Cooperative Initiative Kezdeményezés XTC Extasy Ecstasy
______
13123/05 AH/ld 45 ANNEX C DGH 2 B RESTREINT UE EN