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Decree No 2005-258 Of 14 March 2005 On The Publication Of The Agreement Between The Government Of The French Republic And The Government Of The Kingdom Of Belgium On Transfrontier Cooperation In Police And Customs Matters, Signed

Original Language Title: Décret n° 2005-258 du 14 mars 2005 portant publication de l'accord entre le Gouvernement de la République française et le Gouvernement du Royaume de Belgique relatif à la coopération transfrontalière en matière policière et douanière, sign

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Keywords

FOREIGN AFFAIRS , INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENT , BILATERAL AGREEMENT , FRANCE , BELLWEDS , COOPERATION AGREEMENT , CROSS-BORDER COOPERATION , FONT , CUSTOMS , EXCHANGE OF LETTERS


JORF No. 0068 of 22 March 2005 Page 4780
Text N ° 6



Decree n ° 2005-258 of 14 March 2005 on the publication of the agreement between the Government of the French Republic and the Government of the Kingdom of Belgium on cross-border cooperation in matters of Police and customs, signed in Tournai on 5 March 2001, and an exchange of letters, signed in Paris and Brussels on 10 June 2002 (1)

NOR: MAEJ0530004D ELI: https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/eli/decret/2005/3/14/MAEJ0530004D/jo/texte
Alias: https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/eli/decret/2005/3/14/2005-258/jo/texte


The President of the Republic,
On the report of the Prime Minister and the Minister for Foreign Affairs,
In light of articles 52 to 55 of the Constitution;
In view of Act No. 2004-148 of 16 February 2004 authorising the approval of the Agreement between the Government of the French Republic and the Government of the Kingdom of Belgium on cross-border cooperation in police matters and Customs (an exchange of letters);
Given the amended Decree No. 53-192 of 14 March 1953 on the ratification and publication of the international commitments entered into by France;
In view of Decree No. 86-907 of 30 July 1986 Publication of the Agreement between the Governments of the States of the Benelux Economic Union, the Federal Republic of Germany and the French Republic on the gradual abolition of checks at the common borders, done in Schengen on 14 June 1985;
In view of Decree No. 95-304 of 21 March 1995 on the publication of the Convention implementing the Schengen Agreement of 14 June 1985 between the Governments of the States of the Benelux Economic Union, the Federal Republic of Germany and Of the French Republic on the gradual abolition of checks at the common borders, done at Schengen on 19 June 1990,
Décrète:

Article 1


Agreement between the Government of the French Republic and the Government of the Kingdom of Belgium relating to the Cross-border cooperation in police and customs matters, signed at Tournai on 5 March 2001, and an exchange of letters, signed in Paris and Brussels on 10 June 2002, will be published in the Official Journal of the French Republic.

Article 2


The Prime Minister and the Minister for Foreign Affairs are each responsible for the execution of this Decree, which will be published in the Official Journal of the French Republic.

Appendix


A C C O R D


BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT OF THE FRENCH REPUBLIC AND THE GOVERNMENT OF THE KINGDOM OF BELGIUM ON TRANSBOUNDARY COOPERATION IN POLICE AND CUSTOMS COOPERATION, AND EXCHANGE OF LETTERS
The Government of the French Republic and the Government of the Kingdom of Belgium,
hereinafter referred to as the Parties,
Given the common border and the existing links between the inhabitants of the two countries;
Considering that the safety of the inhabitants concerned plays a decisive role In their quality of life;
Animated with the intention of improving the cooperation of territorial units responsible for police and customs missions in their respective border areas;
Recalling the long tradition of this Cooperation and international instruments already signed in this field, in particular the Convention of 30 March 1962 on checks at the Franco-Belgian border and the common exchange stations;
Recalling the Convention on assistance Between the customs administrations, signed in Rome on 7 September 1967 and the Convention established on the basis of Article K. 3 of the Treaty on European Union, on mutual assistance and cooperation between Customs administrations, 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 of the Justice of the Kingdom of Belgium, under which it is agreed to implement a consultation structure and various concrete measures to improve bilateral cooperation in the common border area;
Recalling the will to improve safety and public order in the field of driving, expressed by the European Convention for the Suppression of Road Offences signed in Strasbourg on 30 November 1964 and by the Agreement on cooperation in the Framework for the procedures relating to traffic offences and the enforcement of financial penalties, signed within the framework of the Convention implementing the Schengen Agreement in Luxembourg on 28 April 1999;
In view of the Convention on the Application of The Schengen Agreement of 14 June 1985, signed on 19 June 1990 and its implementing texts,
Agree on the following on cross-border cooperation,


Article 1


Services Competent for the purposes of this Agreement are, each for the purposes of this Agreement:
-for the French Party:
-the national police;
-the national gendarmerie;
-customs,
competent in the border departments of Aisne, Ardennes, Meurthe-et-Moselle, Meuse and North, hereinafter referred to as the border area;
-for the Belgian part:
-the local police;
-the federal police;
-the customs and excise administration,
for The provinces of West Flanders, Hainaut, Namur and Luxembourg, hereinafter referred to as the border area.


Article 2


The Parties undertake, in accordance with their respective sovereignty and The role of the territorially competent administrative and judicial authorities, cross-border cooperation in the border area of police and customs missions to prevent and facilitate the fight against the facts In the cross-border zone referred to in Article 1, within the framework of the police cooperation provisions laid down in the Convention implementing the Schengen Agreement and without prejudice to cooperation at national level organised by Central bodies. In the customs field, cooperation shall apply to the strict control of respect for all prohibitions and restrictions of cross-border traffic.
Cooperation between the Contracting Parties shall be without prejudice to the conventions of law International linking the States Parties, the Community law and the domestic law of the States Parties.


TITLE I
POLICE CENTRES
AND CUSTOMS COOPERATION
Article 3


1. Police and customs cooperation centres are located close to the common border of the two Parties and are intended to accommodate staff of both Parties.
2. The competent services of both Parties shall jointly determine the facilities necessary for the operation of the police and customs cooperation centres.
3. Police and customs cooperation centres shall keep up to date documentation to meet the information needs of the relevant services, as defined in Article 1 of the other country, such as the contact details of the Police and customs territorially competent in the light of Article 1 of this Agreement and the topography of the places in the area they control.
4. The sharing of the costs of construction, maintenance and operation of each centre shall be the subject of an arrangement between the competent ministers of both
. Police and customs cooperation centres are reported by official registration.
6. Within the premises dedicated to their exclusive use within the police and customs cooperation 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. The Parties shall accord for the purposes of the service all facilities under their laws and regulations with respect to the use of telecommunication means.
8. Letters and packets of service from or to the police and customs cooperation centres may be transported by 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 on Belgian territory. It shall function as a service for the exchange of information and coordination between the competent authorities in the border area referred to in Article 1, including their services and subordinate operational forces. It is not intended to operate in an autonomous manner.
Under this Convention, the Parties may modify the number and location of police and customs cooperation centres by the The
competence of each centre is set in the same forms.


Article 5


Police and customs cooperation centres are at the disposal of the Competent services in the border area, as defined in Article 1 with a view to facilitating the smooth operation of cross-border cooperation in police and customs matters, in particular to combat illegal immigration, Cross-border crime and illicit trafficking, to prevent threats to public order.


Article 6


In the areas referred to in Article 5, the competent services collect, analyse and Exchange information on police and customs cooperation in police and customs cooperation centres.
This information is processed in accordance with international, Community and international provisions. Relevant national data protection provisions, as well as those of the Convention of application expressly referred to in Articles 126 to 130 of the Convention for the Application of the Schengen Agreement.


Article 7


Within the police and customs cooperation centres, in the areas referred to in Article 5, the relevant services contribute:
-to the preparation and execution of the outpost operations in situations In accordance with the provisions of Articles 23, 33 and 34 of the Convention for the Application of the Schengen Agreement;
- Assistance in the preparation and support of the observations and prosecutions referred to in Articles 40 and 41 of the Convention implementing the Schengen Agreement, carried out in accordance with the provisions of the Convention and its implementing legislation Work;
-coordination of joint surveillance measures in the border area.


Article 8


The authorities referred to in Article 1 shall be transmitted through the centre of Police and customs cooperation and/or an operational contact point requests for identification of the mineralogical plates by motivating, if necessary, their request.


Article 9


1. The officers on duty in the police and customs cooperation centres, which belong exclusively to the services of the two signatory states as defined in Article 1, shall work as a team and shall exchange the information they collect. They can respond to requests for information from the competent services of both Parties.
2. Each Party shall maintain the list of officers assigned to police and customs cooperation centres and transmit it to the other Party.
3. Officers assigned to police and customs cooperation centres report to their hierarchy of origin.
4. The competent services of each Party shall designate that of their agents who shall be responsible for organising the joint work with their
. Each Party shall accord to the agents of the neighbouring State affected in the police and customs cooperation centres located on its territory the same protection and assistance as to its own
. The criminal provisions in force in each State for the protection of officials in the performance of their duties are also applicable to offences committed against agents of the other State affected in the cooperation centres Police and customs.
7. The officers assigned to the police and customs cooperation centres shall be subject to the civil and criminal liability regimes of the Party in whose territory they are located, in accordance with Article 43 of the Convention Schengen.
8. The officers of each Party assigned to the police and customs cooperation centres located in the territory of the other Party may surrender and carry out their service by wearing their national uniform or an apparent distinctive sign, as well as Their prescribed weapons for the sole purpose of ensuring, 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 arrangements for the implementation of this paragraph may be the subject of an exchange of letters between the competent ministers.


TITLE II
DIRECT COOPERATION
Article 10


The authorities mentioned in Article 1, the subordinate departments and the corresponding operational units of a Contracting Party may establish direct cooperation with their counterparts in the other Party Where the circumstances justify it and in accordance with the hierarchical rules laid down by each of the services referred to in Article 1. In addition to regular contacts, such cooperation may include the secondment of agents for a limited period of time. They have the task of carrying out liaison functions in the neighbouring State without exercising sovereign rights.


Article 11


Direct cooperation should not be exercised to the detriment of cooperation Subject to Title I of this Agreement, but shall be complementary. Any information obtained in the framework of this cooperation shall be communicated to the police and customs cooperation centre for the purposes of exchange, analysis and, where appropriate, transmission at operational contact points.


Article 12


1. Officers temporarily seconded under Article 10 of this Agreement shall be liaison officers within the meaning of Articles 47 and 125 of the Convention. They shall be subject to the liability regimes identical to those laid down in Article 9 (7) of this Agreement. The secondment agreement referred to in Article 47 (1) and the posting arrangement referred to in Article 125 (1) of the Convention implementing the Schengen Agreement shall, for each of these officers, refer to the particulars of the tasks to be Execute and duration of the detachment.
2. Officers seconded in accordance with paragraph 1 of this Article shall fall within their hierarchy of origin, but shall respect the rules of procedure of their detachment
. Each Party shall grant the agents of the neighbouring State secondment to their units the same protection and assistance as to its own
. The criminal provisions in force in each State for the protection of officials in the performance of their duties are also applicable to offences committed against agents of the other State posted to their units.
5. Officers seconded in accordance with paragraph 1 of this Article shall be subject to the civil and criminal liability regimes of the Party in whose territory 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. They shall have as such access, in accordance with the provisions referred to in Article 6 (2), to any information concerning the border area, relevant to the performance of their tasks. The choice of this information is stopped by mutual agreement between the corresponding unit managers.
2. These officers may be responsible for participating in mixed groups and for the monitoring of public events to which the services of the other Party may be interested. They are not competent for the autonomous enforcement of police measures. The rights and obligations of these officers, as well as the conditions for carrying out the duties provided for in particular with regard to the wearing of uniforms and weapons, shall be subject to the laws and regulations of the country in which such missions are carried out.


Article 14


The corresponding units meet regularly and according to the operational requirements specific to the level of responsibility of the affected units.
On this occasion :
-they take stock of the cooperation of units within their competence;
-they develop and update common intervention schemes for situations requiring coordination of their units on both sides of the Borders;
-they develop joint research plans for their respective units;
-they organize patrols in which a unit of one of the two Parties can receive assistance from one or more agents of a unit From the other Party;
-they schedule joint border exercises;
-they agree on predictable cooperation needs based on planned events or the evolution of various forms of delinquency;
-they Exchange statistical data on various forms of crime.
A record is drawn up at the end of each meeting.


TITLE III
GENERAL PROVISIONS
Article 15


One Joint Working Group composed of representatives of the Contracting Parties shall periodically verify the implementation of this Agreement and identify any necessary additions or updates.
A group composed of those responsible for the Services referred to in Article 1 or their representatives shall meet at regular intervals, or whenever the need arises, and checks the quality of cooperation, discusses new strategies, harmonises the intervention plans, Research and patrol, exchange of statistics and coordination of work programmes.


Article 16


The competent services of each Party referred to in Article 1
Organization charts and telephone directories of operational units in their border area;
-develop a simplified code for the commission of offences;
-exchange relevant professional publications
They disseminate the information exchanged with the police and customs cooperation centres and the corresponding units.


Article 17


The competent services of each Party referred to in Article 1 shall promote appropriate language training for those of their agents who may serve in police cooperation centres Customs and customs units. The Parties shall ensure an update of the language knowledge of officers whose assignment in the border area is confirmed.


Article 18


The competent services of each Party concerned shall Article 1 shall exchange trainees in order to familiarise their agents with the structures and practices of the competent services of the other Party.


Article 19


Services Each Party referred to in Article 1 shall organise reciprocal visits between their corresponding units in the border area.
They shall invite agents appointed by the other Party to participate in their professional seminars and Other forms of continuing training.
As regards liability for damage caused by agents in the exercise of their mission, the relevant provisions of Article 9 (7) of the This Agreement.


Article 20


The provisions of this Agreement shall be within the framework and limits of the budgetary resources of each Party.


Article 21


Each Party may refuse, in whole or in part, its cooperation or subject it to certain conditions where it considers that the request or the carrying out of an assistance operation is likely to affect the sovereignty, Security, public order, the rules governing the organization or operation of the judicial authority or other essential interests of the State or to restrict its national law.


Article 22


Each Party shall notify the other of the completion 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 date of receipt of the second Notification.
This Agreement shall be concluded for an unlimited period. Each Contracting Party may denounce it at any time with six months' notice. Such denunciation shall not affect the rights and obligations of the Parties relating to projects undertaken under this Agreement.
Done at Tournai, March 5, 2001.
In two originals in each of the French languages and Dutch, both texts being equally authentic.


For the Government of
of the French Republic:
Daniel Vaillant
Minister of the Interior
For the Government
the Kingdom of Belgium:
Antoine Duquesne
Minister of the
Marc Verwilghen
Minister of Justice
Didier Reynders
Minister of Finance



DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR,
DE LA SECURITY INTÉRIEURE
AND DES LOCAL FREEDOMS
MINISTER


Paris, June 10, 2002.


Mr. Antoine Duquesne, Minister of the Interior of the Kingdom of Belgium
Minister,
Following the discussions between representatives of our two Governments on Franco-Belgian police and customs cooperation, I have the honour, of the order of my Government, to propose that, on the basis of Article 14 of the Agreement between the Government of the French Republic and the Government of the Kingdom of Belgium Relating to cross-border cooperation in police and customs matters, signed at Tournai on 5 March 2001, the competent services officers within the meaning of Article 1 of the aforementioned agreement may participate in joint patrols in the area Of the border as defined in Article 1 of the Agreement.
In this context, the officers of the State on whose territory the joint patrol will take place will be able to carry out checks and arrests. Officials from the other state will only take part in the joint patrol as observers. 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 would be grateful if you would be able to tell me whether the above provisions have been approved by your Government. In this case, this letter and your reply will constitute an agreement between our two Governments which will enter into force on the date of entry into force of the Agreement between the Government of the French Republic and the Government of the Kingdom of Belgium on cross-border police and customs cooperation, signed on 5 March 2001 in Tournai.


Nicolas Sarkozy



THE MINISTER OF INTERIOR


Brussels, June 10, 2002.


Monsieur Sarkozy, Minister of the Interior, Internal Security and Local Freedoms of the French Republic
Minister,
I am pleased to acknowledge receipt of your letter concerning the 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 in your letter collect our approval.
As regards the responsibility of the agents Participating in joint patrols, they will be subject to the Party's civil and criminal liability regimes in the territory of which they are located, in accordance with Articles 42 and 43 of the Schengen
. Consider that the exchange of letters to which we are proceeding will constitute a common interpretation of Article 14 of the Agreement between the Government of the Kingdom of Belgium and the French Republic concerning police and customs cooperation. Your letter and this letter will constitute an agreement between our two Governments, which will enter into force on the date of entry into force of the agreement signed on 5 March 2001 in Tournai.


Antoine Duquesne


Done at Paris, March 14, 2005.


Jacques Chirac


By the President of the Republic:


The Prime Minister,

Jean-Pierre Raffarin

Foreign Minister,

Michel Barnier


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