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EU: Council of the European Union: The future of CATS is up for discussion

01 August 2011

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EU: Council of the European Union: The future of CATS is up for discussion: EU doc no: 13206-11 (pdf). In 1993 the Maastricht Treaty provided the legal basis for the K4 Committee (senior officials from Member States' Interior Ministries) dealing with the Justice and Home Affairs (JHA) area of police and judicial cooperation in criminal matters. Under the Amsterdam Treaty this was re-named at the Article 36 Committee (CATS). In the hierarchy of decision-making (both legislative or operational) measures are drafted at Working Party level (law enforcement officers and officials) which passes "sensitive" issues up to CATS for guidance before they are agreed by COREPER (the permanent representations of each Member State in Brussels) prior to formal adoption by the Justice and Home Affairs Council. The Lisbon Treaty provides no legal basis for CATS so COREPER decided on 24 November 2009 to continue its existence until 1 January 2012. (the continued existence of the SCIFA Committee dealing with borders, immigration and asylum is similarly subject to review)

This Presidency Note offers three alternatives: a) abolish CATS, b) keep CATS in its present form and c) "Reform" CATS (the most likely outcome). However, apart from the lack of a legal basis, the Lisbon Treaty created the Standing Committee on operational cooperation in internal security (COSI) - which is preluded from drafting legislation. In addition the Permanent Representations in Brussels have created a new set of players: "JHA Counsellors" who increasingly set the agenda and prepare drafts for the Working Parties.

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