The European Parliament adopted, by 538 votes to 110, with 24 abstentions, a resolution on the recommendation, by the Commission, for a Council decision authorising the opening of negotiations for an agreement between the European Union and Turkey on the exchange of personal data between the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol) and the Turkish competent authorities for fighting serious crime and terrorism.

Assessing the risks : Parliament considered that the necessity of the cooperation with Turkey in the field of law enforcement for the European Union’s security interests, as well as its proportionality , needs to be properly assessed and called on the Commission, in this context, to conduct a thorough impact assessment.

The resolution stated that there are major concerns about respect for fundamental rights in Turkey, in particular as regards the freedom of expression, the freedom of religion, and the right not to be subject to torture or inhumane treatment. It stressed that a prerequisite for launching the negotiations is that Turkey fulfil its horizontal obligation of full, effective and non-discriminatory cooperation with all Member States on justice and home affairs issues, including with Cyprus .

Consequently, Members considered that due caution is needed while defining the negotiating mandate for an EU-Turkey agreement. They called on the Commission to carry out an appropriate impact assessment so as to define the necessary safeguards to be integrated in the agreement.

Ensuring equivalent protection : full consistency with Articles 7 and 8 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights and with the other fundamental rights and freedoms enshrined in the Charter should be fully ensured in the receiving third country to which it is addressed. Parliament insisted that the level of protection resulting from the agreement should be substantially equivalent to the level of protection offered by Union legislation. If such a level of protection cannot be guaranteed, both in legislation and in practice, the agreement should not be concluded.

In particular, the Agreement shall contain:

strict and specific provisions imposing respect for the principle of purpose limitation with clear conditions for the processing of personal data transmitted; a clear and precise provision setting out the data retention period of personal data that have been transferred and requiring the erasure of the personal data transferred at the end of the data retention period; data subjects’ right to information, rectification and erasure as provided for in other Union legislation on data protection; a clear definition of the categories of offences for which personal data shall be exchanged; a clear reference to the name of the independent supervisory authority in charge of supervising the implementation of the international agreement; a monitoring mechanism to be subject to periodic assessments.

Members insisted on the need to:

expressly indicate that onward transfers of information from the competent authorities of Turkey to other authorities in Turkey can only be allowed to fulfil the original purpose of the transfer by Europol and should always be communicated to the independent authority, the EDPS and Europol. To this end, an exhaustive list of the competent authorities in Turkey to which Europol can transfer data should be drawn up. Any modification to such a list that would replace or add a new competent authority would require a review of the international agreement; expressly indicate that onward transfers of information from the competent authorities of Turkey to other countries are prohibited and would result in the immediate ending of the international agreement.

Sensitive data : taking into account Turkey's different societal characteristics and cultural background compared to the EU and the fact that criminal acts are defined differently in the EU than in Turkey, Parliament considered 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 take place in very exceptional cases and be subject to clear safeguards for the data subject and persons linked to the data subject.

Lastly, the resolution stressed that the European Parliament’s consent to the conclusion of the agreement shall be conditional upon satisfactory involvement of the European Parliament at all stages of the procedure.

The Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs adopted the report by Claude MORAES (S&D, UK) on the recommendation, by the Commission, for a Council decision authorising the opening of negotiations for an agreement between the European Union and the Republic of Turkey on the exchange of personal data between the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol) and the Turkish competent authorities for fighting serious crime and terrorism.

The report stated that there are major concerns about respect for fundamental rights in Turkey, in particular as regards the freedom of expression, the freedom of religion, and the right not to be subject to torture or inhumane treatment. It stressed that a prerequisite for launching the negotiations is that Turkey fulfil its horizontal obligation of full, effective and non-discriminatory cooperation with all Member States on justice and home affairs issues, including with Cyprus .

Consequently, Members considered that due caution is needed while defining the negotiating mandate for an EU-Turkey agreement. They called on the Commission to carry out an appropriate impact assessment so as to define the necessary safeguards to be integrated in the agreement.

The report insisted that the level of protection resulting from the agreement should be essentially equivalent to the level of protection in EU law. If such level cannot be guaranteed both in law and in practice, the agreement cannot be concluded.

In particular, the Agreement shall contain:

strict and specific provisions imposing respect for the principle of purpose limitation with clear conditions for the processing of personal data transmitted; a clear and precise provision setting out the data retention period of personal data that have been transferred and requiring the erasure of the personal data transferred at the end of the data retention period; data subjects’ right to information, rectification and erasure as provided for in other Union legislation on data protection; a clear definition of the categories of offences for which personal data shall be exchanged; a monitoring mechanism to be subject to periodic assessments.

Members insisted on the need to:

expressly indicate that onward transfers of information from the competent authorities of Turkey to other authorities in Turkey can only be allowed to fulfil the original purpose of the transfer by Europol and should always be communicated to the independent authority, the EDPS and Europol. To this end, an exhaustive list of the competent authorities in Turkey to which Europol can transfer data should be drawn up. Any modification to such a list that would replace or add a new competent authority would require a review of the international agreement; expressly indicate that onward transfers of information from the competent authorities of Turkey to other countries are prohibited and would result in the immediate ending of the international agreement.

Taking into account Turkey's different societal characteristics and cultural background compared to the EU and the fact that criminal acts are defined differently in the EU than in Turkey, Members considered 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 take place in very exceptional cases and be subject to clear safeguards for the data subject and persons linked to the data subject.

Lastly, the report stressed that the European Parliament’s consent to the conclusion of the agreement will be conditional upon satisfactory involvement of the European Parliament at all stages of the procedure.

PURPOSE: to open negotiations for an agreement between the European Union and Turkey on the exchange of personal data between the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol) and the Turkish competent authorities for fighting serious crime and terrorism.

BACKGROUND: in a globalised world where serious crime and terrorism are increasingly transnational and polyvalent, Europol should therefore be able to exchange personal data with law enforcement authorities of third countries to the extent necessary for the accomplishment of its tasks.

Regulation (EU) 2016/794 establishes a legal framework for Europol. It sets out the rules for the transfer of personal data from Europol to third countries and international organisations. Since the entry into application of the Regulation (1 May 2017), and pursuant to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), the Commission is responsible, on behalf of the Union, for negotiating international agreements with third countries for the exchange of personal data with Europol.

Taking into account the political strategy as outlined in the European agenda on security and the potential benefits of closer cooperation in this area, the Commission considers it necessary to start negotiations in the short-term with eight countries , as identified in the 11th progress report towards a genuine and effective Security Union.

The 2016-2020 Europol strategy identifies the Mediterranean region as priority for enhanced partnerships. The 2017-2020 Europol external strategy also stresses the need for closer cooperation between Europol and the Middle East/North Africa (MENA) due to the current terrorist threat and migration-related challenges.

Turkey is a key partner for the European Union. Cooperation in the area of migration was stepped up on the basis of a Joint Action Plan activated at the EU-Turkey Summit held on 29 November 2015 and the EU-Turkey Statement of 18 March 2016, with the aim to end irregular migration from Turkey to the EU, in full compliance with EU and international standards.

The EU-Turkey Statement has been producing tangible results, despite the challenging circumstances. The number of irregular border crossings since activation of the Statement continues to be substantially reduced and the loss of lives has been stemmed.

Deepening cooperation with Europol is relevant in the context fulfilling all remaining benchmarks under the Visa Liberalisation Roadmap.

Based on data available as well as Europol's in-house expert knowledge, cooperation with Turkey is needed in particular to counter the following crime phenomena:

· terrorism : Islamist terrorism, in particular Daesh but also al-Qaeda, constitutes a common threat;

· migrant smuggling : despite patrolling exercised by the Turkish authorities in the coastal, land and airports areas, and the systematic interception of irregular migrants, organised smuggling networks still continue to operate. Migrant smugglers are using Turkey to smuggle migrants from Asia, Africa and the Middle East into Europe;

illicit trafficking of firearms : crime rates and the smuggling of weapons from Syria represents a potential danger for the EU;

· drug trafficking : Turkey has long been and remains a significant transit country for illicit drug trafficking;

· counter-terrorist financing : Turkey is an important regional financial centre, particularly for Central Asia and the Caucasus, the Middle East, and Eastern Europe. Turkey’s rapid economic growth over the past 15 years, combined with its commercial relationships and geographical proximity to unstable, conflict-ridden areas, such as Iraq, Syria, and Crimea, makes Turkey vulnerable to money laundering risks.

CONTENT: the purpose of this Recommendation for a Council Decision is to obtain from the Council an authorisation from the Council for the Commission to negotiate, on behalf of the European Union, an agreement between the European Union and Turkey on the exchange of personal data between the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol) and the Turkish competent authorities for fighting serious crime and terrorism.

In order to respect the principle of purpose limitation , cooperation under the agreement shall only cover forms of crime and related criminal offences for which Europol is competent. In particular, cooperation should aim to combat terrorism and prevent radicalisation, disrupt organised crime, including trafficking of migrants, firearms and drugs, and combat cybercrime.

The agreement should respect fundamental rights and observe the principles recognised by the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, in particular the right to private and family life, the right to the protection of personal data, and the right to effective remedy and fair trial.