20 OCTOBER 2004. - Act enacting the Agreement between the Government of the Kingdom of Belgium and the Government of the French Republic on Cross-Border Cooperation in Police and Customs, signed at Tournai on 5 March 2001, and the Exchange of Letters in Supplement to the Agreement, made in Paris and Brussels on 10 June 2002 (1) (2)

ALBERT II, King of the Belgians,
To all, present and to come, Hi.
The Chambers adopted and We sanction the following:
Article 1^er. This Act regulates a matter referred to in Article 77 of the Constution.
Art. 2. The Agreement between the Government of the Kingdom of Belgium and the Government of the French Republic on Cross-Border Cooperation in Police and Customs, signed at Tournai on 5 March 2001, and the Exchange of Letters in Supplement to the Agreement, made in Paris and Brussels on 10 June 2002, will come out their full and full effect.
Promulgation of this law, let us order that it be clothed with the seal to the State and published by the Belgian Monitor.
Given in Brussels on 20 October 2004.
ALBERT
By the King:
The Minister of Justice,
Ms. L. ONKELINX
The Minister of the Interior,
P. DEWAEL
Minister of Foreign Affairs,
K. DE GUCHT
Seal of the state seal:
The Minister of Justice,
Ms. L. ONKELINX
____
Notes
(1) Session 2003-2004.
Senate.
Documents: Bill tabled on 22 April 2004, No. 3-644/1. - Report No. 3-644/2.
Annales parlementaire : discussion, meeting of 23 June 2004 - Vote, meeting of 24 June 2004.
House of Representatives.
Documents: Senate draft No. 51-1248/1. - Text adopted in plenary and subject to Royal Assent, No. 51-1248/2.
Annales parlementaire : discussion, meeting of July 15, 2004. Vote, meeting of 15 July 2004.
(2) This Treaty entered into force on 1^er December 2004.

Agreement between the Government of the Kingdom of Belgium and the Government of the French Republic on cross-border cooperation in police and customs matters
The Government of the Kingdom of Belgium
and the Government of the French Republic
The Parties shall,
Given the common border and existing links between the inhabitants of the two countries;
Considering that the security of the inhabitants concerned plays a crucial role in the quality of life of the inhabitants concerned;
Animated to improve the cooperation of territorial units responsible for police and customs missions in their respective border areas;
Recalling the long tradition of this cooperation and the international acts already signed in this area, including the convention of 30 March 1962 on the controls at the Franco-Belgian border and the joint stations for exchange;
Recalling the Convention on Mutual Assistance between Customs Authorities, signed in Rome on 7 September 1967 and the Convention established on the basis of Article K.3 of the Treaty on the European Union on Mutual Assistance and Cooperation among Customs Authorities, signed on 18 December 1997, annex and declarations;
Recalling the exchange of letters signed at Ypres on 16 March 1995 between the Minister of the Interior of the French Republic and the Ministers of the Interior and Justice of the Kingdom of Belgium under which it agreed to implement a structure of consultation and various concrete measures with the aim of improving bilateral cooperation in the common border zone;
Recalling the desire to improve public safety and order in respect of the roll-out expressed by the European Convention for the Suppression of Road Traffic Offences signed in Strasbourg on 30 November 1964 and the agreement on cooperation within the framework of the procedures relating to road offences and the enforcement of monetary penalties signed under the Convention on the Application of the Schengen Agreement in Luxembourg on 28 April 1999;
Considering the Schengen Agreement Implementation Convention of 14 June 1985, signed on 19 June 1990 and its implementing texts;
Convince of the following on cross-border cooperation
Article 1^er
The relevant services for the purposes of this Agreement shall be:
- for the French Party:
- the National Police;
- National gendarmerie;
- customs;
competent in the border departments of the Aisne, the Ardennes, the Meurthe and Moselle, the Meuse and the North, below referred to as the border area;
- for the Belgian Party:
- local police;
- Federal Police;
- Customs Administration and Access
for the provinces of Western Flanders, Hainaut, Namur and Luxembourg, below referred to as the border area
Article 2
The Parties shall, in accordance with their respective sovereignty and the role of the territorially competent administrative and judicial authorities, undertake cross-border cooperation, in the border area, of the police and customs missions, to prevent and facilitate the fight against punishable acts in the cross-border zone referred to in Article 1, within the framework of the provisions of police cooperation provided for in the Agreement of Implementation of the Schengen Agreement and without prejudice to the national cooperation In the customs field, cooperation applies to strict compliance with all prohibitions and restrictions of cross-border traffic.
Cooperation between Contracting Parties shall be carried out without prejudice to the conventions of international law binding on States Parties, the Community law and the domestic law of States Parties.
PART I^er. - Police and customs cooperation centres
Article 3
1. Police and customs cooperation centres are located near the common border of both Parties and are intended to accommodate a staff composed of officers from both Parties.
2. The competent services of both Parties shall jointly determine the facilities necessary for the operation of police and customs cooperation centres.
3. Police and customs cooperation centres maintain documentation to meet the information needs of the relevant services, as defined in Article 1^er the other country, such as the coordinates of the territorially competent police and customs services in the light of Article 1^er of this Agreement and the topography of the areas in which they control.
4. The sharing of possible construction, maintenance and operation costs of each centre will be subject to an arrangement between the competent Ministers of both Parties.
5. Police and customs cooperation centres are reported by official registrations.
6. Within the premises assigned to their exclusive use in police and customs co-operation centres, the agents of the neighbouring State are empowered to ensure order and discipline. They may, if necessary, require the assistance of agents of the State of residence.
7. Parties shall agree for the purposes of the service all facilities under their laws and regulations with respect to the use of telecommunications means.
8. Letters and service packages from or to police and customs cooperation centres may be transported through the care of the officers assigned to them without the postal service.
Article 4
A first police and customs cooperation centre is located in Tournai, Belgium. It operates as an information and coordination exchange service between the competent authorities in the border area referred to in Article 1^er including their services and subordinate operational forces. It is not intended to carry out operational interventions independently.
As part of this Convention, Parties may modify the number and location of police and customs cooperation centres by means of an exchange of notes.
The geographical competence of each centre is set in the same forms.
Article 5
Police and customs cooperation centres are available to the relevant services in the border area, as defined in Article 1^er with a view to promoting the smooth running of cross-border cooperation in police and customs matters, including combating irregular immigration, cross-border crime and illicit trafficking, preventing threats to public order.
Article 6
In the areas referred to in Article 5, the competent authorities collect, analyze and exchange information on police and customs cooperation in police and customs cooperation centres.
This information is processed in compliance with relevant international, community and national data protection provisions, as well as those of the application convention expressly referred to in Articles 126 to 130 of the Schengen Agreement Implementation Convention.
Article 7
Within police and customs cooperation centres, in the areas referred to in Article 5, the relevant services contribute:
- in the preparation and execution of the operations of the surrender of aliens in an irregular situation under the conditions provided for by the Franco-Bénélux agreement of readmission of persons in an irregular situation of residence, and in accordance with the provisions of Articles 23, 33 and 34 of the Schengen Agreement;
- using the preparation and support of the observations and prosecutions referred to in Articles 40 and 41 of the Schengen Agreement Implementation Convention, carried out in accordance with the provisions of the above-mentioned Convention and its implementing legislation;
- coordinating joint monitoring measures in the border area.
Article 8
Authorities referred to in Article 1^er are transmitted by means of the Police and Customs Cooperation Centre and/or an operational contact point to the requests for identification of the mineralogic plates by sending, if any, their request.
Article 9
1. Agents in police and customs cooperation centres, belonging exclusively to the services of the two signatory States as defined in Article 1^er, work as a team and exchange information they collect. They may respond to requests for information from the relevant services of both Parties.
2. Each Party maintains the list of officers assigned to police and customs cooperation centres and transmits it to the other Party.
3. Agents assigned to police and customs cooperation centres fall within their original hierarchy.
4. The competent services of each Party shall designate that of their agents who is responsible for the organization of joint work with its counterparts.
5. Each Party shall grant the agents of the neighbouring State assigned to the police and customs cooperation centres located in its territory the same protection and assistance as to its own agents.
6. The criminal provisions in force in each State for the protection of civil servants in the performance of their duties are also applicable to offences committed against agents of the other State assigned to police and customs cooperation centres.
7. Agents assigned to police and customs cooperation centres are subject to the civil and criminal liability regimes of the Party in whose territory they are located, in accordance with Article 43 of the Schengen Convention.
8. Agents of each Party assigned to police and customs cooperation centres located in the territory of the other Party may surrender and perform their service by wearing their national uniform or an apparent distinguishing sign, as well as their regulatory weapons only to ensure, where appropriate, their self-defence or that of others in accordance with the laws and regulations of the State of residence. As appropriate, the practical modalities for the implementation of this paragraph may be the subject of a letter exchange between the competent Ministers.
PART II. - Direct cooperation
Article 10
Authorities referred to in Article 1^er, subordinate services and corresponding operational units of a Contracting Party may establish direct cooperation with their counterparts of the other Contracting Party, where the circumstances warrant and in accordance with the hierarchical rules established by each of the services referred to in Article 1^er. In addition to regular contacts, such cooperation may include the reciprocal removal of agents for a limited period of time. They are responsible for carrying out liaison functions in the neighbouring State without exercising sovereign rights.
Article 11
Direct co-operation shall not be exercised against the cooperation referred to in Part I^er but must be complementary. Any information obtained under this cooperation shall be communicated to the Police and Customs Cooperation Centre for the purpose of exchange, analysis and, where appropriate, transmission to operational contact points.
Article 12
1. Agents temporarily detached under Article 10 of this Agreement shall be liaison officers within the meaning of Articles 47 and 125 of the Agreement. They are subject to the liability regimes identical to those provided for in Article 9 § 7 of this Agreement. The detachment agreement referred to in section 47, paragraph 1^erand arrangement on the detachment referred to in section 125 (1)^er, of the Schengen Agreement Implementation Convention mentions for each of these officers the particularities of the tasks to be performed and the duration of the detachment.
2. Detached staff in accordance with paragraph 1^er of this section shall be subject to their original hierarchy but shall respect the rules of procedure of their unit of detachment.
3. Each Party shall provide the same protection and assistance to the agents of the neighbouring State in their units as to its own agents.
4. The criminal provisions in force in each State for the protection of civil servants in the performance of their duties are also applicable to offences committed against agents of the other State detached in their units.
5. Detached staff in accordance with paragraph 1^er of this article shall be subject to the civil and criminal liability regimes of the Party in the territory of which they are located.
Article 13
1. The agents referred to in Article 12 of this Agreement shall work in relation to the corresponding units of the unit to which they are assigned. In this capacity, they have access, in accordance with the provisions referred to in Article 6, paragraph 2, to any information concerning the border area, useful for the fulfilment of their mission. The choice of this information is agreed between the officials of the corresponding units.
2. These officers may be responsible for participating in joint groups and for monitoring public events to which the services of the other party may be interested. They are not competent for the autonomous execution of police measures. The rights and obligations of these officers, as well as the conditions for the execution of missions, including with regard to the wearing of uniforms and weapons, are subject to the laws and regulations of the country in which these missions are carried out.
Article 14
The responsible units meet regularly and according to the operational requirements of the respective units.
On this occasion:
- take stock of the cooperation of the units within their competence;
- they develop and update common intervention schemes for situations requiring coordination of their units on both sides of the border;
- they jointly develop research plans for their respective units;
- they organize patrols in which one unit of either Party may receive assistance from one or more officers of one unit of the other Party;
- they program joint border exercises;
- they agree on the needs of predictable cooperation according to the planned demonstrations or the evolution of various forms of crime;
- they exchange statistical data on different forms of crime.
A report is prepared at the end of each meeting.
PART III. - General provisions
Article 15
A joint working group composed of representatives of Contracting Parties shall periodically review the implementation of this Agreement and identify any necessary supplements or updates.
A group composed of those responsible for the services referred to in Article 1^er, or their representatives, meets at regular intervals, or as long as the need is felt and checks the quality of cooperation, discusses new strategies, harmonizes intervention, research and patrol plans, exchange statistics and coordinates work programmes.
Article 16
The competent services of each Party referred to in Article 1^er :
- communicate the organization charts and telephone directories of operational units in their border area;
- develop a simplified code to designate places of commission of offences;
- exchange their relevant professional publications and organize regular reciprocal collaboration in the drafting of them.
They disseminate information exchanged with police and customs cooperation centres and corresponding units.
Article 17
The competent services of each Party referred to in Article 1^er promote appropriate language training for those of their agents who are likely to serve in police and customs cooperation centres and related units. Parties shall provide an update of the language knowledge of officers whose assignment in the border area is confirmed.
Article 18
The competent services of each Party referred to in Article 1^er exchanges of trainees to familiarize their officers with the structures and practices of the relevant services of the other Party.
Article 19
The competent services of each Party referred to in Article 1^er organize reciprocal visits between their corresponding units of the border area.
They invite agents designated by the other Party to participate in their professional seminars and other continuing training modes.
With regard to liability for damage caused by agents in the course of their mission, the relevant provisions of Article 9 paragraph 7 of this Agreement shall be applied.
Rule 20
The provisions of this Agreement shall be consistent with the budgetary limits of each Party.
Article 21
Each Party may refuse, in whole or in part, its cooperation or subject it to certain conditions when it considers that the request or execution of a assistance operation may affect the sovereignty, security, public order, the rules of organization or operation of the judicial authority or other essential interests of the State or restrict its national law.
Article 22
Each Party shall notify the other of the fulfilment of the constitutional procedures required for the entry into force of this Agreement, which shall take effect on the first day of the month following the day on which the second notification is received.
This Agreement shall be concluded for an unlimited period of time. Each Contracting Party may denounce it at any time with a notice of six months. This denunciation does not jeopardize the rights and obligations of Parties relating to projects under this Agreement.
Done at Tournai on March 5, 2001, in two original copies in each of the French and Dutch languages, both texts being equally authentic.

Exchange of letters in addition to the Agreement, made in Paris and Brussels on 10 June 2002
Minister,
As a result of the discussions that took place between representatives of our two governments on the Franco-Belgian police and customs cooperation, I have the honour of my Government to suggest that, on the basis of article 14 of the agreement between the French government and the government of the Kingdom of Belgium on the cross-border cooperation in police and customs signed in Tournai on 5 March 2001, the competent border agents
Within this framework, State officials in the territory of which the joint patrol will take place may carry out inspections and arrests. The officers of the other State will only participate in the joint patrol as an observer. The latter will participate in joint patrols of their national regulatory uniform. They will carry their individual weapon of service which can only be used in the event of self-defence.
I should be grateful if you would let me know if the foregoing provisions are in favour of your government. In this case, this letter, together with your answer, will constitute an agreement between our two governments that will enter into force on the date of the entry into force of the agreement between the Government of the French Republic and the Government of the Kingdom of Belgium on cross-border cooperation in police and customs matters, signed on 5 March 2001 in Tournai.
N. SARKOZY

Minister,
I am pleased to acknowledge receipt of your letter regarding joint patrols in the border area.
I have the honour, on behalf of the Government of the Kingdom of Belgium, to inform you that the provisions of your letter collect our approval.
With regard to the responsibility of officers who will participate in joint patrols, they will be subject to the civil and criminal regimes of the Party in the territory of which they are located, in accordance with Articles 42 and 43 of the Schengen Convention.
We consider that the exchange of letters to which we proceed will constitute a common interpretation of Article 14 of the Agreement between the Government of the Kingdom of Belgium and the French Republic on police and customs cooperation. Your letter and this letter will constitute an agreement between our two governments that will come into force on the effective date of the agreement signed on March 5, 2001 in Tournai.
A. DUQUESNE

Minister,
As part of the agreement between the Government of the Kingdom of Belgium and the French Republic on cross-border cooperation in police and customs signed on 5 March 2001 in Tournai, I would like to inform you that the Dutch language version contains a translation error in article 1 concerning the terms "Western Flanders". These terms must be read as "West-Vlaanderen" instead of "Oost-Vlaanderen".
As a result, my services consider that the French text of the agreement is the one that makes faith.
A. DUQUESNE