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EU: Council of the European Union: Digest of LIMITE documents

28 May 2014

Operational roles

Future role of COSI (EU doc no: 7843/3/14, pdf):

"It is important that COSI only acts where it adds value, having due regard to the already initiated work streams, and does not interfere with the activities of MS´ security and intelligence services."

"COSI... encourages EU Agencies to report malfunctions on operational cooperation and information exchange"

"the sensitivity of the COSI issues and the necessity to coordinate all the national structures involved."

"Increasing COSI’s visibility: The visibility of COSI within the Council meetings should be increased. COSI should stimulate debates in the Council on EU internal security issues and the Council could assign COSI with appropriate topics, according to its competencies. In other words, COSI should advise the Council on EU internal security matters without prejudice to COREPER’s role and competences."

And see earlier critique of how COSI is run from: Austria, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Spain, Finland, France, Hungary, Greece, Italy, Poland, Romania, Sweden, Slovenia, Slovakia delegations: Future role of COSI (EU doc no: 6954-14, pdf)

Draft EU Maritime Security Strategy (9382/14, pdf):

"Sea matters: The Sea is a valuable source of growth and prosperity for the European Union and its citizens. The EU depends on open, protected and secure seas and oceans for economic development, free trade, transport, energy security, tourism and ecological diversity."

"Maritime security is understood as a state of affairs of the maritime domain, in which international law and national law is enforced, freedom of navigation is guaranteed and citizens, infrastructure and resources are protected."

"The preservation of freedom of navigation, the protection of the global EU supply chain and of maritime trade, the right of innocent passage of ships and the safety and security of their crew and passengers"

Draft Council Decision amending Decision 2013/233/CFSP on the European Union Integrated Border Management Assistance Mission in Libya (EUBAM Libya) - Adoption (9255/14, 22 pages, pdf) 75 million euro is available for this purpose.

Multiannual European e-Justice Action Plan 2014-2018 (6548/2/14, 26 pages, pdf) Detailed Four-year Action Plan

General guidance for the organisation and work of the informal groups (5859/2/14, pdf) The e-Justice Plan above envisages "informal groups": ""if necessary, informal groups of the Member States involved in specific projects can meet in order to make progress in these areas of work (…)".

Foreign fighters and returnees from a counter-terrorism perspective, in particular with regard to Syria: state of play and proposals for future work (9280/14, 14 pages, pdf) Envisages using SIS II to track suspicious persons and Europol Analysis Work File. Refers to cooperation with third countries.

Draft revised EU Strategy for Combating Radicalisation and Recruitment to Terrorism (5643/3/14, 14 pages, pdf)

Overview of expert groups and networks related to the LEWP and the provisional planning of their meetings (8709/14, pdf) Updated overview of the expert groups and networks related to the LEWP and the provisional planning of their meetings, including Network of police dog professionals in Europe (KYNOPOL), European medical and psychological experts' network for law enforcement (EMPEN), European network of airport law enforcement services (AIRPOL), European partnership of water police forces and inland navigation inspectorates (AQUAPOL) and ATLAS, the EU special forces network.

Interpol discussion paper on the use of Interpol's border security data systems (9004/14, pdf):

"The EU has been consistent in its usage of the SLTD, at about 200 million searches every year from 2010 to 2013.... While this looks promising, it can also be misleading – searches from the UK, Croatia and France make up more than 90% of these 200 million searches, implying that only 3 out of the 28 EU countries run searches on a regular basis."

Preparation for the accession of the UK to the SIS II - Report of discussions of the Working Party for Schengen Matters (SIS/SIRENE) on 9 April 2014 (8838/14, pdf):

"there are, however, several open issues to which the UK did not provide a satisfactory answer or solution."

Report on the meeting of ENLETS held on 28-29 April 2014 in Athens (9836/14, pdf)

Draft arrangement between the European Parliament, the Council and the High Representative on the forwarding to and handling by the European Parliament of classified information in the area of CFSP (9648/14, pdf)

Discussion paper on the future of the CCWP (9174/14, pdf) Customs Cooperation Working Party

CYBER Policy: Road map development - examination (9298/14, pdf)

"Delegations will find in the Annex a working version of the road map developed by the Presidency on the basis of the UK proposal and delegations' comments."

Council Conclusions ("soft law")

Preventing and combating all forms of violence against women and girls, including female genital mutilation - Draft Council Conclusions (9476/14, pdf)

Council conclusions on the Commission 2013 report on the application of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights and the consistency between internal and external aspects of human rights’ protection and promotion in the European Union (9330/14, pdf)

"Underlines in this respect that the provisions of the Charter are binding on the Member States when they are implementing Union law, and that a number of provisions of the Treaties as well as of provisions of secondary law refer directly or indirectly to fundamental rights and are equally binding on the Member States."

Draft legislation

European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) (8999/14, pdf)

Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing an Entry/Exit System (EES) to register entry and exit data of third country nationals crossing the external borders of the Member States of the European Union (8418/14, 46 pages, pdf) Council developing its negotiating position with lots and lots of Member State positions.