Council of the European Union Brussels, 14 January 2016 (OR. en) 6556/1/05 REV 1 DCL 1 CRIMORG 15 DECLASSIFICATION of document: ST 6556/1/05 REV 1 RESTREINT UE dated: 23 March 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 IRELAND Delegations will find attached the declassified version of the above document. The text of this document is identical to the previous version. 6556/1/05 REV 1 DCL 1 VG DG F 2A EN RESTREINT UE COUNCIL OF Brussels, 23 March 2005 THE EUROPEAN UNION 6556/1/05 REV 1 RESTREINT UE CRIMORG 15 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" REPORT ON IRELAND 6556/1/05 REV 1 EL/ld 1 DG H III 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 ..................... 10 4. EXTERNAL EXCHANGE OF INFORMATION .................................................................. 13 5. EXCHANGE OF INFORMATION BETWEEN MEMBER STATES AND EUROPOL ...... 17 6. EVALUATION BY EXPERT TEAM ..................................................................................... 26 7. GENERAL CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE EXPERT TEAM .... 48 ANNEXES ANNEX A: Programme of visits ...................................................................................................... 51 ANNEX B: List of persons met ......................................................................................................... 52 ANNEX C: List of abbreviations ....................................................................................................... 53 _____________________ 6556/1/05 REV 1 EL/ld 2 DG H III RESTREINT UE EN RESTREINT UE 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1. 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. 1.2. 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. 1.3. 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". 1.4. Following discussion at the MDG meeting on 9 January 2003, a list showing the order of Member States to be visited was agreed. Ireland is the tenth Member State to be evaluated during the third round of evaluations. 1.5. The questionnaires and the objectives of this evaluation are contained in document 11679/3/02 REV 3 CRIMORG 71. 1.6. The experts in charge of this evaluation were: Mr. Vassilis TRIANTAFYLLIS (Greece), Mr. Magnus TÖRNER (Sweden) and Mr. Andreas WAGNER (Austria). Two observers, Mr. Olivier CHEVREUL (EUROPOL) and Mr. Jacques VERRAES (Commission), were also present together with the General Secretariat of the Council. 1.7. 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 Irish authorities' answers to the questionnaire. 6556/1/05 REV 1 EL/ld 3 DG H III RESTREINT UE EN RESTREINT UE 1.8. 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 Ireland and with other Member States and EUROPOL. 2. GENERAL INFORMATION AND STRUCTURES 1 Interpretations: "the Act" means The EUROPOL Act 1997; "the Convention" means the Convention based on Article K.3 of the Treaty on European Union on the establishment of a European Police Office (EUROPOL Convention) and the Annex thereto; "the Commissioner" means the Commissioner of An Garda Síochána, the police service of Ireland; The term "customs", where used in this report, means those units and resources in the Office of the Revenue Commissioners with responsibility for the assessment, collection and enforcement of Customs duties, Excise duties, Value-added Tax and other indirect taxes, import and export prohibitions (e.g. drugs law enforcement) and all national laws, EU Regulations and Directives, together with Conventions and Agreements and other relevant areas of criminal justice legislation pertaining to these activities., including investigation and prosecution for evasion. "An Garda Síochána" is the only police organisation in the Ireland. It has a single hierarchical structure and national jurisdiction. It provides both State security and the policing function. It covers all aspects of civil law enforcement including crime investigation, traffic enforcement, immigration services, drugs law enforcement, fraud and financial crime investigations and criminal and subversive intelligence (www.garda.ie). 1 This part of the report is based largely on the answers to the questionnaire. 6556/1/05 REV 1 EL/ld 4 DG H III RESTREINT UE EN RESTREINT UE 2.1 LEGAL BASIS An Garda Síochána The EUROPOL Act 1997 gives the force of law in this jurisdiction to the EUROPOL Convention and provides for related matters. The Act governs the exchange of information and intelligence with EUROPOL. Ireland is currently making the necessary arrangements to enable ratification of changes to the EUROPOL Convention which are contained in three Protocols. A draft scheme of a bill which will include a provision to allow for the ratification of the Europol protocols is now nearing completion. The protocols will be ratified as soon as possible in 2005 There are no legal obstacles to the provision of information to law enforcement authorities in other EU MS. However, there are restrictions on the use to which such information may be put. It cannot be used for evidential purposes and cannot form part of any judicial process. Internal Garda regulations confirm that the EUROPOL National Unit (ENU) is the only body permitted under the Act to liaise with EUROPOL. All exchanges between the competent authorities of Ireland and EUROPOL are transmitted through the ENU having initially been reviewed by the National Criminal Intelligence Unit (NCIU). The primary role of the NCIU is the collation, analysis and dissemination of Garda intelligence in relation to major criminals and organised crime. The NCIU has responsibility for the "quality control" of all intelligence forwarded to EUROPOL via the ENU. The exchange of information/intelligence will not take place unless it has been established, to the satisfaction of the Garda Síochána, that data protection legislation is in place in the receiving country. 6556/1/05 REV 1 EL/ld 5 DG H III RESTREINT UE EN RESTREINT UE Customs Customs services throughout Europe have a long tradition of cooperation and exchange of information and intelligence. Over the years this has been formalised within the EU through a series of Council Directives and Regulations on mutual administrative assistance. These can be summarised as follows: Assessment of Customs duties; preventing, investigating and prosecuting contraventions of Customs Laws and CAP fraud – Naples '67 Convention on Mutual Assistance (operable by Ireland from 01/08/1974) and Council Regulation 515/97 on Mutual Assistance between the MS (operable from 13/03/1998) and Naples II Convention. Excise fraud – Council Directive 77/799 as amended by Council Directives 79/1070 and 92/12 (transposed into Irish law by section 116A of the Finance Act 1992 as inserted by section 98 of the Finance Act 1998). With effect from 26 June, 2004, both of the above areas are also covered by the Convention on Mutual Assistance and Cooperation between Customs Administrations dated 18 December, 1997 (Naples II Convention) which was transposed into Irish law by the Customs and Excise (Mutual Assistance) Act 2001. The Customs Information System (CIS) is a central database facility that involves a secure electronic link between the Customs Services of the EU. The Convention of the 26.7.95 on the use of information technology for customs purposes lays down procedures under which customs administrations may act jointly and exchange personal and other data concerned with illicit trafficking activities and use new technology for the management and transmission of such data. It became operable in March 2003. Administrative co-operation in the field of Value Added Tax particularly with a view to combatting VAT fraud – Council Regulation 1798/2003. 6556/1/05 REV 1 EL/ld 6 DG H III RESTREINT UE EN RESTREINT UE There are also a number of bilateral agreements with HM Customs and Excise in the UK. Where a Member State requires information or evidence that may have