Activities of Ralf SEEKATZ related to 2020/2048(INI)
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on the European Parliament recommendation to the Council and the Commission concerning the conclusion of an agreement, under negotiation, between the European Union and New Zealand on the exchange of personal data between the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol) and the New Zealand authorities competent for fighting serious crime and terrorism
Amendments (17)
Amendment 7 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 8 a (new)
Citation 8 a (new)
— having regard to the Council Decision authorising the opening of negotiations with New Zealand for an agreement between the European Union and New Zealand on the exchange of personal data between the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation ('Europol') and the New Zealand authorities competent for fighting serious crime and terrorism adopted on 13 May 20201a _________________ 1a ST 7047/20 + ADD1
Amendment 16 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B a (new)
Recital B a (new)
Ba. whereas the Europol programming document 2020-20222a highlights that the full and successful implementation of EMPACT activities, in particular at the operational level, is not possible without close partnership with third states and organisations; whereas the EU and New Zealand are close in their outlook on global security issues and pursue similar approaches in this regard; _________________ 2aEuropol Programming Document 2020- 2022 adopted by Europol's Management Board on 25 March 2020, EDOC# 1003783v20E
Amendment 17 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B b (new)
Recital B b (new)
Bb. whereas Europol and the New Zealand Police have already established a framework of enhanced cooperation through a Working Arrangement and a Memorandum of Understanding, both signed in 2019, which allow the New Zealand Police to use SIENA and to permanently deploy a liaison officer to the Europol headquarters in The Hague;
Amendment 18 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas ion 13 May 202018, the Council unanimously adopted its negotiation mandates to authorise the opening of negotiations with eight countries (Turkey, Israel, Tunisia, Morocco, Lebanon, Egypt, Algeria and Jordan) and Parliament set out its position on these eight mandatesNew Zealand by written procedure;
Amendment 20 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas Europol has already set up multipleconcluded multiple operational agreements on personal data exchange with third countries in the past and the Union launched negotiations with eight countries in the MENA region (Turkey, Israel, Tunisia, Morocco, Lebanon, Egypt, Algeria and Jordan) in 2018;
Amendment 25 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E
Recital E
E. whereas Europol has designated the threat level from Jihadi terrorists as high, and whereas in 2018, they were responsible for all deaths from terror attacks in the EUjihadism was the most prevalent form of terrorism, accounting for all deaths from terror attacks in the EU, but whereas the number of arrests of right-wing terrorists, whilst remaining at a comparatively low level, increased for the third year in a row and effectively doubled in comparison to 2017;
Amendment 32 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F
Recital F
F. whereas Europol has reportedMember States have reported to Europol that law enforcement agencies used data exchange tools to foil, disrupt or investigate Jihadi129 terrorist attacks oin 24 occasions in 2018018, of which 24 cases were attributed to Jihadi terrorism, 19 to left-wing terrorism, one to right-wing terrorism, 83 to ethno-nationalist and separatist terrorism, one to single issue terrorism, and five to an unspecified form of terrorism;
Amendment 33 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F a (new)
Recital F a (new)
Fa. whereas Europol has pointed to the high adaptability of organised crime and its ability to extract long-term gains from crises and whereas the Agency has assessed the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cybercrime to be the most visible and striking compared to other criminal activities, as cybercriminals have been successfully exploiting emerging opportunities and vulnerabilities;
Amendment 34 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G
Recital G
Amendment 36 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H
Recital H
H. whereas in the light of the 2019 Christchurch lone gunman attack, futureoperational cooperation to be formalised under the agreement between the EU and New Zealand, by enabling the exchange of personal data, could be essential for preventiong and prosecution shouldng other serious crimes which will be planned or perpetrated within the EU or worldwide in the future;
Amendment 44 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
Amendment 46 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. InsistReiterates that the level of protection provided for in the agreement should be essentially equivalent to the level of protection provided for in EU law; welcomes, in this context, the formal recognition of New Zealand as a country providing an adequate level of data protection by the Commission in 2012;
Amendment 51 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Believes that, since Europol recognises that the terrorist threat level from returning foreign freedom fighters, radicalised European Muslims and their families is high, it is essential fo improved cross- border information exchange byetween all relevant law enforcement agencies, within the EU and with globally, to partners, should be prioritised in order to fight serious crime and terrorism; therefore urges the Member States to work faster to secure their borders more effectively;
Amendment 54 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Requests that the agreement contain the necessary safeguards and controls with respect to the protection of personal data; welcomes that the transfer of personal data revealing racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs, trade-union membership, genetic data or data concerning a person’s health and sex life should only be permitted in exceptional cases where such transfers are strictly necessary and proportionate for preventing and combating criminal offences covered by the agreement; stresses that clear safeguards for the data subject, persons linked to the data subject and persons linked to the criminal offence such as witnesses and victims should be defined to guarantee respect for fundamental rights;
Amendment 60 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Is of the opinion that, in line with the principle of purpose limitation, the future agreement should explicitly lay down a list of criminal offences in relation to which personal data can be exchanged, in line with EU criminal offences definitions when available; considers that this list should include the activities covered by such crimes, and the persons, groups and organisations likely to be affected by such transferslikely effects of the transfer of personal data;
Amendment 69 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Urges the Council and the Commission to work with the Government of New Zealand to define, pursuant to Court of Justice case law and within the meaning of Article 8 (3) of the Charter, which independent supervisory authority is to be in charge of supervising the implementation of thevested with effective powers of investigation and intervenational agreement; is of the opinion that such an authority should be agreed on and established before is to be in charge of overseeing the implementation of the international agreement can enter into force; insists that the name of this authority and the contact detailsshould be expressly included in the agreement;
Amendment 72 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Considers that eithe independent supervisory bodyr of the contracting parties should also have the power to decide to suspend or terminate the agreement in the event of a breach; considers that under the agreement, authorities should be allowed to continue to process any personal data falling within the scope of the agreement transferred prior to its suspension or termination; consideragrees that a procedure for monitoring and periodically evaluating the agreement should be established in order to evaluate both the partners’ compliance with the agreement and the functioning of the agreement in relation to the operational needs of Europol;