Activities of Loránt VINCZE related to 2022/2025(INI)
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on a European Parliament recommendation to the Council and the Commission on the negotiations for a cooperation agreement between the European Union and the International Criminal Police Organization (ICPO-INTERPOL)
Amendments (40)
Amendment 1 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 3
Citation 3
— having regard to the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, and in particular Articles 7 and 8 and 47 thereof,
Amendment 3 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 7 a (new)
Citation 7 a (new)
Amendment 6 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 7 b (new)
Citation 7 b (new)
— having regard the study of the Policy Department for Citizens’ Rights and Constitutional Affairs "Ensuring the rights of EU citizens against politically motivated Red Notices" of 20221a, _________________ 1a https://www.europarl.europa.eu/thinktank /en/document/IPOL_STU(2022)708135
Amendment 11 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas present-day terrorism as well as serious and organised crime are becoming increasingly dynamic, complex, globalised, mobile and mainly transnational phenomena, which require a robust response and more effective, coordinated EU cooperation with international law enforcement authorities and bodies such as the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol); whereas the 2020 EU Security Union sStrategy calls on the Member States to step up cooperto step up multilateral cooperation and coordination between the EU and Interpol, as this is essential to enhancing cooperation and information exchange;
Amendment 18 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas effective international cooperation is a main component of effective law enforcement and judicial cooperation, especially if it involves require the processing and sharing of personal data; whereas bilaterinternational agreements with key partners play an important role in obtaining information and evidence from beyond the EU;
Amendment 19 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas Interpol is one of thethe world’s largest inter-governmentnational criminal police organisations and has an important role to play all over the world; whereas the Commission, on behalf of the EU, isInterpol is based on inter-governmental cooperation; whereas the Commission, on behalf of the EU, entered into negotiations on an international agreement seeking reinforced cooperation with Interpol, including access to Interpol’s databases and the strengthening of operational and strategic cooperation: in December 2021 and it expects to conclude them by the end of 2022; whereas it is paramount to ensure that measuresthe final agreement puts in place measures to guarantee the integrity and correctness of datarespect of the principles relating to the processing of personal data set out in EU law in practice;
Amendment 26 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas the EU and Interpol already have long-standing cooperation in a range of law enforcement-related areas through the operational implementation of the EU policy cycle - /EMPACT (European Multidisciplinary Platform Against Criminal Threats) and by supporting the activities of Member States in cooperation with EU agencies, such as the EU Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol), the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex), the EU Agency for Law Enforcement Training (CEPOL), the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA), and the EU Agency for the Operational Management of Large-Scale IT Systems in the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice (eu-LISA), on the basis of agreements or working arrangements; whereas on 5 November 2001, Europol and Interpol signed an operational agreement followed by a memorandum of understanding allowing the transfer of personal data through their respective liaison officers; whereas on 27 May 2009, Frontex signed a working agreement with Interpol establishing a framework for cooperation with the objective of facilitating the prevention, detection and combating of cross-border crime and improving border security to combat illegal immigration, people smuggling and trafficking in human beings;
Amendment 28 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E
Recital E
E. whereas individual EU Member States in their capacity as Interpol member countries can directly access Interpol’s 19 databases, which include potentially valuable information, are directly accessible by EU Member States as member countries of Interpol, while EU agencies such on individuals, stolen property, weapons and threats such as firearms; whereas Frontex, the EU Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation (Eurojust) and the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) currently do not have any access to these databases in line with their mandates – either directly or on a ‘hit/no hit’ basis – due to the lack of an agreement with Interpol, which is required for this purpose under Interpol’s rules on the processing of data;
Amendment 33 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F
Recital F
F. whereas current cooperation between the EU and Interpol should be stepped up and extended to new areas; whereas procedures should be improved, accelerated and streamlined to address a series of indispensable operational needs in order to facilitate swift access to information related to counter-terrorism including Interpol notices containing information on terrorists in order to increase cooperation to counter shared threats such as terrorism, organised crime, cybercrime, child sexual abuse and trafficking in human beingis already close in the area of counterterrorism; whereas it should be stepped up and extended to new areas to address indispensable operational needs and to implement existing Union legal acts;
Amendment 35 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F a (new)
Recital F a (new)
F a. whereas procedures governing the access to data by Europol should be improved, accelerated and streamlined to address a series of indispensable operational needs, notably swift access to information held by Interpol in relation to counter-terrorism in order to increase cooperation to counter shared threats such as terrorism, organised crime, cybercrime, child sexual abuse and trafficking in human beings;
Amendment 40 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H
Recital H
H. whereas the new agreement should establish a modern and coherent framework for the EU’s agencies’ cooperationcooperation of EU agencies with Interpol, taking into account the latest developments in combating terrorism and cross-border, transnational, serious and organised crime; whereas the agreement should respond to current operational needs, as well as to the EU’s latestnd comply with the applicable Union data protection rlegime andal framework and relevant jurisprudence by the European Court of Justice (ECJ); whereas the agreement will provide the legal basis for the exchange of operational information, including personal data, and access to relevant Interpol databases by Union agencies in line with their mandates;
Amendment 44 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I
Recital I
I. whereas interoperability has been a priority since at least, May 2019, when thethe adoption of the Union legal framework for interoperability between EU information systems in the area of justice and home affairs was adoptedin May 2019 led to exploratory talks between the EU and Interpol on the need to enter into a cooperation agreement; whereas an advanced and shared data infrastructure is currently in place in the EU for police and judicial cooperation, asylum and migration, as well as borders and visa; whereas this advanced and shared data infrastructure, and the IT systems and EU databases that constitute it, allows for very limited and highly regulated information sharing with third countries or international organisations;
Amendment 49 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital J
Recital J
J. whereas, according to the negotiation mandate, the new agreement should regulategovern cooperation between Interpol and Europol, the EPPO, Eurojust and Frontex and provide direct access by these Union agencies and Member States for the performance of their tasks to two of Interpol’s databases - the Stolen and Lost Travel Document (SLTD) and Travel Document Associated With Notices (TDAWN) databases via the European Search Portal (ESP), in compliance with EU data protection requirements and with fundamental rights;
Amendment 54 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital K
Recital K
K. whereas international organisations continue to report abuses by some states of Interpol’s notice system in order to persecute national human rights defenders, civil society activists and journalists in violation of international standards on human rights; whereas according to reports by international actorof the Commission and civil society organisations, Interpol has significantly reformed and strengthened its red notices review processes, as well as its support systems for national central bureaus in member countries, reformed the setup and functioning of the Commission for the Control of Files, (CCF), which enforcinges its complaints mechanism, appointed a data protection officer and implemented a learning and knowledge- sharing programme;
Amendment 62 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital L
Recital L
L. whereas Russia still remains a member of Interpol and whereas cooperation with the European Union and Interpol members is based on trust; whereas trust between parties relies on the swift tackling of misuse of Interpol notices by countries seeking to use Interpol systems for political ends; whereas, in this context, Interpol’s systems must respect human rights and the rule of law, and uphold its commitments onArticle 3 of the Interpol Constitution, which strictly prohibits Interpol to undertake any intervention or activities of a political, religious, racial or military abusecharacter;
Amendment 66 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital L a (new)
Recital L a (new)
L a. Whereas in recent years authoritarian regimes were successful in abusing the system of Red Notices, persecuting individuals also outside of their jurisdictions and subjecting them to real, practical, and invasive restrictions of their lives and fundamental rights; whereas Russia, a country that is responsible for circulating most politically motivated red notices, including against EU citizens - such as the Lithuanian judges, prosecutors and investigators looking into the events in Vilnius on the 13th of January 1991 - still remains a member of Interpol; whereas beside Russia other countries have also used the system of red notices to politically target their citizens;
Amendment 72 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Recalls that European values and fundamental rights must be the basis of European security policiesUnion policy in the area of law enforcement cooperation, ensuring respect for the principles of necessity, proportionality and legality and safeguarding accountability and judicial redress, while enabling effective protection of individuals, particularly the most vulnerable; recalls, further, that these principles should be at the core of the development of digitalisation in the area of justice and security and the development of the interoperability framework for the many systems in justice and security, including borders;
Amendment 79 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Recommends that the Commission follow the Council’s approach and duly take into account the difference between differentiation between the areas of law enforcement, judicial cooperation in criminal matters, and police cooperation, on the one hand, and border management on the other handthe area of border security;
Amendment 85 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Recommends that the Commission provide during the negotiations on controlled access to Interpol’s databases by EU Member States and EU agencies the necessary safeguards and guarantees to ensure full compliance with the horizontal EU data protection legal framework and, with the specific safeguards and data protection requirements stipulated by the legal bases of the Union agencies and the EU information systems, and with fundamental rights; stresses that the agreement should at least provide the safeguards already provided by the Europol RegulationRegulation (EU) 2016/794;
Amendment 92 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. RecommendExpects special vigilance during the negotiations due to the sensitivity of the data concerned and to the number of third countriesy members of Interpol, which are not party to an equivalent agreementinternational agreement pursuant to Article 218 TFEU allowing for the exchange of operational personal data with the EU, or whose authorities to which personal data is intended to be transferred are not covered by a Commission adequacy decision;
Amendment 99 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Recommends the adoption of the safeguards and guarantees needed to authorise the European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS) Central Unit established within Frontex and EU Member States to access Interpol’s SLTD and TDAWN databases via the ESP, as well as of the safeguards and guarantees needed to efficiently implement the revised Visa Information System Regulation thatRegulation (EU)2008/767 authorisesing EU Member States to access Interpol’s SLTD and TDAWN databases via the ESP when examining applications for visas or residence permits, in full compliance with EU data protection requirements and with fundamental rights;
Amendment 106 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Recommends thatCalls on the Commission to ensure that the level of personal data protection and the protection of individuals’ fundamental rights and freedoms currently guaranteed under EU primary and secondary law is maintained in exchanges of personal data with Interpol; the Commission’sguaranteed by the agreement with Interpol is essentially equivalent to that under EU primary and secondary law; stresses that the negotiation strategys should not lead to a weakening of the fundamental rights and freedoms of natural persons, and in particular of their rights to data protection and to privacy;
Amendment 108 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. RecommendStresses that the Commissionagreement should guarantee that the transfer of personal data is adequate, relevant and limited to what is necessary for and proportionate to the purpose for which it has been transferredis transferred; highlights further that it should provide for the possibility to indicate any restriction on access or use, including a restriction on further transfers, or erasure at the time of transfer;
Amendment 114 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Recommends that the Commission guarantee that the processing of data is limited to what is necessConsiders it necessary to require that the purposes for which data may be transferred should be clearly in individual cases for the purposes ofspelt out in the agreement and that any further data processing incompatible with the initial purpose ishould be prohibited; considers that the agreement has to clearly indicate that decisions based solely on the automated processing of personal information without human involvement are not allowed;
Amendment 117 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
Amendment 124 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Recommends that the Commission guarantee that data iInterpol does not retained data for longer than is necessary for the purpose for which it was transferred; in this context, expects the agreement has to provide rules on storage, including on storage limitation, on review, correctification and deletion of personal data;
Amendment 128 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Recommends thatCalls on the Commission to ensure the rights to administrative and judicial redress for any person whose data are processed under this agreement and that it guarantees effective remedies;
Amendment 131 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Stresses that law-enforcement cooperation and information sharing are important tools to combat crime and terrorism and pursue justice, but they need to be targeted and used with commonsubject to appropriate safeguards and checks; underscores that they should address fundamental rights challenges in particular by enhancing data quality, mitigating bias, detecting errors and avoiding any form of discrimination in the decision-making process;
Amendment 138 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Recommends that in view of the rules governing access to data and information sharing in the different EU systems and databases, the terms of the future cooperation agreement with Interpol should provide the safeguards and guarantees needed to give controlled access to Interpol’s databases via the ESP by Member States and relevant EU agencies as required to carry out their tasks, in line with their access rights and EU or national law covering such access and in full compliance with EU data protection requirements and fundamental rights;
Amendment 146 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Recalls that according to the EU’s current legislative framework, the transfer of data from the EU to third countries and international organisations is allowed only if the recipients of this information are able to guarantee an adequate level of personal data protection; recommends in this context to that inof the absence of an adequacy decision on Interpol,Union; underlines in this context that the agreement should constitute the legal basis allowing the transfer of personal data to Interpol, provided that it is legally binding and enforceable against all parties to the agreement and that it includes appropriate data protection safeguards;
Amendment 147 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 a (new)
Paragraph 18 a (new)
18 a. Stresses that the transfer of personal data revealing racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs, trade-union membership, genetic data, biometric data for the purpose of uniquely identifying a natural person, and data concerning a person's health and sex life or sexual orientation, should only be allowed in exceptional circumstances and where such transfer is necessary and proportionate in the individual case for preventing or combating criminal offences that fall within the scope of the Agreement; emphasises that the Agreement must provide appropriate safeguards be provided to address the specific risks of processing special categories of data, especially for minors and victims of offences;
Amendment 151 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Recommends limiting the application of derogations for onward transfers to the cases already allowed for EU agencies and bodies concerned when transferring personal dataof personal data to the cases provided for in Chapter V of Regulation (EU)2018/1725;
Amendment 162 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22
Paragraph 22
22. Stresses, with a view to future cooperation, that despite recent reforms, transparency remains a challenge both at the individual and the organisational level in Interpol, as does a lack of available statistical information on the operation of its notices systems; encouragescalls, therefore, on the Commission, therefore, to take actions to ensure that Interpoo seek a commitment from Interpol that it will further develops the legal framework andnecessary structures and rules as well as substantive tools allowing consistent and transparent processing of requests, reviews, challenges, corrections and deletions;
Amendment 173 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23 a (new)
Paragraph 23 a (new)
23 a. Expects the Council to deliver on its commitment to “continue to support Interpol in the promotion of the existing INTERPOL standards and procedures for data quality and compliance and [to] invite Interpol on a regular basis to inform the Council at working group level”1a _________________ 1a Council declaration on Interpol’s red notices - CSL doc 6217/22
Amendment 175 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23 b (new)
Paragraph 23 b (new)
23 b. Calls on the Commission to use the negotiations with Interpol to request the organisation to produce, update and make available procedural and substantive tools on the legal handling of Red Notices, ensuring consistent and transparent processing of requests, reviews, challenges, corrections and deletions;
Amendment 178 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23 c (new)
Paragraph 23 c (new)
23 c. Calls on the Commission to include in the negotiations with Interpol the production of yearly statistical data on the processing of requests for Red Notices with data on country of request, criminal offence category, review outcome, reasons for denial, and the use of available sanctions against member countries, based on which Interpol should develop public risk profiles of Red Notice requesting countries in order to strengthen the effectiveness of the enforcement mechanisms of Interpol;
Amendment 180 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23 d (new)
Paragraph 23 d (new)
23 d. Calls on the Commission to ensure that statistical data on EU Member States’ handling of requests for Red Notice arrests are collected for all Member States;
Amendment 181 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23 e (new)
Paragraph 23 e (new)
Amendment 190 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 a (new)
Paragraph 24 a (new)
24 a. Considers it important that the agreement provides for a monitoring mechanism and periodic assessments to evaluate its functioning in relation to the operational needs of the relevant Union agencies as well as its compliance with data protection and other fundamental rights;
Amendment 193 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25
Paragraph 25
25. Recommends providing for the possibility of suspending or terminating the agreement in cases of breaches of its provisions, notably those on personal data by one of the parties, specifying that personal data falling within the scope of the agreement transferred prior to its suspension or termination may continue to be processed in accordance with the terms of the agreement;