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Decree No. 2015 - 1297 15 October 2015 On The Publication Of The Agreement Between The Government Of The French Republic And The Government Of The Kingdom Of Belgium Relating To Cross-Border Cooperation In Matters Police And Customs, S...

Original Language Title: Décret n° 2015-1297 du 15 octobre 2015 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, s...

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BUSINESS , INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENT , BILATERAL AGREEMENT , FRANCE , BELGIUM , POLICE , COOPERATION POLICY , COOPERATION TRANSFRONTALIERE , DOUANE , COOPERATION DOUANIERE , ZONE FRONTALIERE , SECURITE ,


JORF n°0242 of 18 October 2015 page 19423
text No. 1



Decree No. 2015-1297 of 15 October 2015 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 police and customs matters, signed at Tournai on 18 March 2013 (1)

NOR: MAEJ1523718D ELI: https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/eli/decret/2015/10/15/MAEJ1523718D/jo/texte
Alias: https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/eli/decret/2015/10/15/2015-1297/jo/texte


President of the Republic,
On the report of the Prime Minister and the Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Development,
Considering the Constitution, in particular articles 52 to 55;
Vu la Act No. 2015-891 of 23 July 2015 authorizing 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 and customs matters;
Vu le Decree No. 53-192 of 14 March 1953 amended on the ratification and publication of international commitments undertaken by France;
Vu le Decree No. 72-854 of 19 September 1972 publishing the European Convention for the Suppression of Road Traffic Offences of 30 November 1964;
Vu le Decree No. 85-1203 of 15 November 1985 publishing the Convention for the Protection of Persons with regard to the automated processing of personal data, made in Strasbourg on 28 January 1981;
Vu le Decree No. 95-304 of 21 March 1995 Publication of the Schengen Agreement Implementation Agreement of 14 June 1985 between the governments of the States of the Benelux Economic Union, the Federal Republic of Germany and the French Republic relating to the gradual removal of controls at the common borders, signed at Schengen on 19 June 1990;
Vu le Decree No. 2005-258 of 14 March 2005 publishing 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 in Tournai on 5 March 2001, as well as an exchange of letters signed in Paris and Brussels on 10 June 2002;
Vu le Decree No. 2007-1401 of 28 September 2007 publishing the additional protocol to the Convention for the Protection of Persons with regard to the automated processing of personal data concerning the control authorities and transboundary data flows, done in Strasbourg on 8 November 2001;
Vu le Decree No. 2008-33 of 10 January 2008 publishing the treaty between the Kingdom of Belgium, the Federal Republic of Germany, the Kingdom of Spain, the French Republic, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the Republic of Austria on the deepening of cross-border cooperation, in particular with a view to combating terrorism, cross-border crime and illegal migration (all two annexes and a statement), done in Prüm on 27 May 2005;
Vu le Decree No. 2010-87 of 22 January 2010 publication of 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 (as a whole an annex), made in Brussels on 18 December 1997;
Vu le Decree No. 2011-1590 of 18 November 2011 issuing the agreement between the Government of the French Republic and the Government of the Kingdom of Belgium concerning the exchange of personal information and data relating to the holders of the vehicle registration certificate contained in the national registration files of the vehicles with the aim of punishing traffic violations, signed in Paris on 13 October 2008,
Decrete:

Article 1


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 at Tournai on 18 March 2013, will be published in the Official Journal of the French Republic.

Article 2


The Prime Minister and the Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Development are responsible, each with respect to him, for the execution of this decree, which will be published in the Official Journal of the French Republic.

  • Annex


    AGREEMENT
    ON THE GOVERNMENT OF THE FRENCH REPUBLIC AND GOVERNMENT OF THE BELGIUM ROYATING TO TRANSBOUNDARY COOPERATION IN POLICY AND DOUGHTER, SIGNED ON 18 MARCH 2013


    The Government of the French Republic
    and
    The Government of the Kingdom of Belgium,
    hereafter jointly referred to as "the Parties",
    CONSCIENTS of the importance of their common border for their respective populations and for the economic and human development of their States, as well as the need for a concerted management of common issues in the border area with a view to ensuring the highest level of security for persons and property;
    CONSIDERING the Schengen Agreement Implementation Convention of 14 June 1985, signed on 19 June 1990, (hereinafter "CAAS") and its implementing texts and recalling its major contribution to the development of bilateral police cooperation and the creation of a common security space;
    CONSIDERING the Convention established on the basis of Article K. 3 of the Treaty on the European Union, on mutual assistance and cooperation between Customs administrations, signed on 18 December 1997, as well as its annex and the declarations supplementing it (hereinafter "the Naples II Convention");
    DETERMINED to deepen the cooperation allowed on the one hand by 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 at Tournai on 5 March 2001, below "the Agreement of Tournai"), and on the other hand by the Agreement between the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany, the Government of the Kingdom of Belgium, the Government of the
    INSTRUCTIONS to develop more integrated forms of police cooperation, sources of synergies between their competent services, including the Treaty between the Kingdom of Belgium, the Federal Republic of Germany, the Kingdom of Spain, the French Republic, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the Federal Republic of Austria of 27 May 2005 on the deepening of cross-border cooperation
    RAPPELANT their concern to contribute effectively to the fight against road insecurity by relying, inter alia, on the European Convention for the Suppression of Road Offences signed in Strasbourg on 30 November 1964, the Agreement between the Government of the French Republic and the Government of the Kingdom of Belgium concerning the exchange of information and personal data relating to the holders of the vehicle registration certificate contained in the national records of registration of vehicles for the purpose of sanctioning
    WHEREAS to register this cooperation in accordance with their commitments in the field of personal data protection, including 1a Council of Europe Convention for the Protection of Persons with regard to the automated processing of personal data of 28 January 1981 and its Additional Protocol concerning the control authorities and cross-border data flows of 8 November 2001, and in compliance with the relevant European legislation;
    The following provisions were agreed:


    Article 1


    1. The competent services of the French Party for the implementation of this Agreement shall:


    - the National Police;
    - the National Gendarmerie;
    - Customs.


    2. The competent services of the Belgian Party for the implementation of this Agreement shall:


    - local police;
    - Federal Police;
    - Customs Administration and Access.


    3. For the purposes of this Agreement is defined as "common jurisdiction area":


    - for the French Party, the departments of the Aisne, the Ardennes, Meurthe-et-Moselle, the Marne, the Meuse, the Moselle, the North, Pas-de-Calais and the Somme;
    - for the Belgian Party, all of its territory.


    Article 2


    1. Parties shall engage in cross-border cooperation between the police and customs offices, in order to prevent and facilitate the fight against punishable acts in their common jurisdiction as defined in Article 1, in accordance with their respective sovereignty and the role of the territorially competent administrative and judicial authorities and without prejudice to the national cooperation of the central bodies. In the customs field, cooperation applies to strict compliance with all prohibitions and restrictions of cross-border traffic.
    2. The cooperation established between the Parties by this Agreement shall be exercised without prejudice to the binding international agreements and the law of the European Union.

    • Part I: CENTRES OF POLICY AND DOUBLE COOPERATION


      Article 3


      1. Police and customs cooperation centres, referred to as the "Community Centres", are located near the common border of the two Parties and are intended to accommodate a staff composed of agents of the two Parties.
      2. The competent services of both Parties shall jointly determine the facilities necessary for the operation of the common centres. They affect the personnel necessary to ensure the proper execution of the missions of the common centres and the continuity of their work.
      3. The common centres maintain documentation to meet the information needs of all units and units responsible for the police and customs missions of both Parties, such as the coordinates of the territorially competent police and customs services and the topography of the area for which they are competent.
      4. The distribution of any possible construction, maintenance and operation costs of each common centre shall, if necessary, be subject to an enforcement agreement between the Parties or an arrangement between their competent Ministers.
      5. Common centres are reported by official registrations.
      6. Within the premises assigned to their exclusive use within the common centres, officers of each Party are entitled to ensure order and discipline. They may, if necessary, require the assistance of agents of the Party in the territory of which they are located.
      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 packages of service from or to common centres may be transported through the care of agents assigned to them without the postal service.


      Article 4


      1. A common centre is located in Tournai. It is competent for the part of the common jurisdiction area, as defined as the "border zone", which consists of:


      - for the French Party, of all departments of the common jurisdiction zone;
      - for the Belgian Party, the provinces of Western Flanders, Hainaut, Namur and Luxembourg.


      2. Under this Agreement, Parties may modify the number and location of common centres by means of implementing agreements or technical arrangements, within the meaning of Article 29.
      3. The provisions of this title shall be implemented without prejudice to other bilateral or multilateral commitments binding on Parties and shall not affect other common centres in which Parties are represented.


      Article 5


      1. The common centres are established to promote the smooth development of cross-border cooperation in police and customs, including the safeguarding of public safety and order and the fight against illegal trafficking, irregular immigration and cross-border crime.
      2. Subject to the jurisdiction of national central bodies, common centres are, for the exchange of information related to the border area, available to all units and services responsible for the police and customs missions of both Parties.
      3. By exception, in operational emergency situations where the exchange by another channel would imply a delay that would hinder the execution of the missions of the requesting service, common centres may also be requested, in their areas of competence, for cases that do not relate to the border area. The central bodies of the Parties are associated with these exchanges of information, in accordance with the respective national organization of each Party.
      4. The common centres collect, process, analyze and reconcile police and customs information to the relevant services in the border area. Similarly, they proceed on the eve and anticipation of criminal phenomena and support the operational services of the Parties.
      5. The information received, operated and transmitted by the common centres shall be treated in accordance with the relevant international, European and national data protection provisions.
      6. Common centres are not intended to carry out operational interventions independently.


      Article 6


      Within the common centres, in the areas covered by Article 5, the relevant services contribute:


      - the coordination of joint monitoring and ad hoc measures in the border area;
      - the preparation and execution of the operations of the surrender of persons in an irregular situation, in particular under the conditions provided by the Arrangement between the Government of the French Republic, on the one hand, and the Governments of the Kingdom of Belgium, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and the Kingdom of the Netherlands, on the other hand, concerning the care of persons at the common borders between France and the territory of the States of the Benelux and by the legislation of the European Union
      - using the preparation and support of cross-border observations and cross-border prosecutions, as defined in the CAAS and the Naples II Convention in particular.


      Article 7


      1. Automated personal data processing is created within the common centres, referred to as "the common file", the purpose of which is the collection and submission of requests for the missions referred to in Articles 5 and 6. The data contained in the automated processing previously implemented by the common centres established between the Parties on the basis of the Tournai Agreement are transferred to this common file.
      2. The registration of personal data in the common file is carried out by the only authorized agents of the Parties assigned to the common centres. Each authorized officer may complete the data previously recorded by another officer, regardless of the national detachment of the officers. Parties agree in the event of a discrepancy between data contained in the common file.
      3. Each detachment ensures, when recording data in the common file, that they are:
      a. collected and processed in a lawful and fair manner;
      b. collected for specific, explicit and legitimate purposes;
      c. adequate, relevant and not excessive in relation to the purposes for which they are collected and processed;
      d. subsequently treated in a consistent manner with their original purpose;
      e. accurate, complete and, if necessary, updated.
      4. Only authorized officers of the common centres have access to personal data recorded in the common file. The processing authority shall make all necessary arrangements to ensure the traceability of the consultations, modifications and deletions of data contained in the common file.
      5. In accordance with their national legislation and in accordance with the directives of their employment authorities, officers of the common centres may communicate to the receiving units or services of their Party of origin data from the common file, if they are necessary for the execution of their missions. The processing authority sets out procedures and tools for the identification and monitoring of data transmissions.
      6. The processing authority shall make all necessary arrangements to prevent the data contained in the common file from being accessed, copied, modified or exported by an unauthorized person. It also ensures that the unauthorized introduction of data into the common file, as well as any unauthorised consultation, modification or deletion - deliberately as fortuitous - of already integrated data.
      7. The personal data recorded in the common file is erased when their integration is incorrect or their knowledge is no longer necessary for the performance of the missions of the common centres. The deletion occurs no later than three years after the last registration.
      8. The data is erased by a detachment officer who initially recorded this data. If this data has been supplemented by an agent of the other detachment, the latter is notified and the updating or deletion of subsequent data is the responsibility of the detachment. Detachments are further informed by any presumption that a data recorded in the common file is incorrectly entered and take all necessary measures to verify and, if necessary, correct or delete such data. They shall promptly inform the relevant services to which such data were provided.
      9. The rights of persons to access personal data concerning them contained in the common file shall be exercised in accordance with the provisions of the law of the State in the territory of which the common file is hosted.
      10. The monitoring of the protection of personal data contained in the common file shall be carried out by the competent authorities of the Parties in accordance with international commitments binding the Parties and European legislation. To this end, inspections are carried out by the officers assigned to the common centres, in conjunction with their employment authorities, or by the national data protection authorities of the Parties.


      Article 8


      1. Each detachment shall take the necessary steps to ensure the highest level of safety and security of service premises, vehicles and equipment in the common centre and to ensure the integrity of the infrastructure and systems involved in its operation.
      2. Each detachment ensures respect for the confidentiality of the information and documents received in connection with the operation of the common centre, whether they have been subject to special protection on the part of their transmitter or whether it has explicitly prohibited their dissemination.
      3. The information and documents, received by a detachment of the common centre and considered by their transmitter as confidential or subject to special protection, may be disclosed only after the express written authorization of the original transmitter.


      Article 9


      The common centres also participate in the cross-border exchange of information, including personal data, with a view to enabling a more effective suppression of road safety offences committed in the territories of both Parties and in this capacity contribute to the fulfilment of their obligations in this area.


      Article 10


      1. Officers in common centres, exclusively from the competent departments of the Parties, 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 shall maintain the list of officers assigned to the common centres and transmit it to the other Party.
      3. Agents assigned to the common 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 counterpart. This agent bears the title "Common Center Coordinator". The Parties shall ensure that the ranks of their respective coordinator are balanced and that the identity of their future coordinator is strengthened.
      5. Each Party shall grant the officers of the other Party assigned to the common 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 affected State clans common centres.
      7. The officers assigned to the common centres are subject to the rules of civil and criminal liability of articles 21, paragraphs 1 to 3, and 22 of decision 2008/615/JAI. However, when the agents assigned to a common centre assist the services of the other Party at their request, the host State is responsible, in accordance with its national law, for the damages that these agents cause to third parties in the context of such assistance.
      8. The agents of each Party assigned to the common centres may travel to the territory of the other Party and perform their service by wearing their national uniform or an apparent distinguishing sign, as well as their individual service weapons and any other means of constraint authorized for the sole purpose of ensuring their self-defence or that of others, in accordance with the laws and regulations of the State of residence.

    • Part II: DIRECTE COOPERATION


      Article 11


      1. The competent departments of each Party and their subordinate units shall establish direct cooperation in the area of common jurisdiction with their counterparts of the other Party, in accordance with the rules of organization established by their respective national authorities.
      2. In addition to regular contacts between counterpart units, this cooperation may include the mutual removal of liaison officers and the establishment of joint patrols and other forms of joint operations.
      3. Direct co-operation does not prejudice the cooperation referred to in Part I of this Agreement, but is complementary to it. Any information obtained through this cooperation shall be communicated to the common centres for exchange and analysis.


      Article 12


      1. The task of the dedicated liaison officers for the implementation of this Agreement is to facilitate contacts between the competent services of the two Parties without exercising prerogatives of public power, except under the conditions provided for by the national law of each Party, by the international commitments binding the two Parties or by the relevant normative acts of the European Union. A detachment agreement may, if necessary, be established by the relevant services and their respective authorities.
      2. These agents work in relation to the corresponding units of the unit to which they are assigned. As such, they have access to all information concerning the common jurisdiction area, which is useful for the fulfilment of their mission. The choice of this information is agreed between the officials of the corresponding units. The provisions of sections 7 and 8 apply by analogy.
      3. These officers may be responsible for participating in joint operations, within the meaning of Article 17 of Decision 2008/615/JAI, and for monitoring public events relevant to the services of the other Party.


      Article 13


      1. Competent officers may participate in joint patrols within the common jurisdiction area. They are carried out in a service vehicle with a distinctive and unambiguous marking of one of the competent departments of the Parties or from that party, which may be removed from the patrol to carry out their duties.
      2. The operational direction of the joint patrol shall be assumed, on the territory of each Party, by the designated officer for that purpose by the competent service of that Party. This direction is thus assumed alternatively by an officer of each Party, depending on the crossings of the common border carried out by the patrol.
      3. The patrol officers work together and provide assistance to carry out the missions that echo them. They manage any incident and deal with any offence found during the course of the patrol in accordance with the Party's law in the territory of which the incident occurs or the offence is found.
      4. Agents present in the territory of the other Party may exercise prerogatives of public power under the direction and, in general, in the presence of agents of the Party in the territory of which the patrol takes place. The exercise of these prerogatives of public power shall be carried out in accordance with the procedure provided for in the national legislation of the Party on the territory of which such intervention is taking place, and in accordance with international commitments binding the Parties and the legislation of the European Union. The territorially competent officer acting in the direction of the patrol shall ensure that the officers of the other Party are aware of the conditions set out in its national law for the exercise of prerogatives of public power and shall ensure their respect during the patrol.
      5. The State of registration of the vehicle in which a joint patrol is carried out does not affect the administrative and judicial prerogatives of the territorially competent agents or their right to derogate from the road traffic rules of their State within the limits and under the conditions prescribed by their national legislation.
      6. The provisions of this Article shall apply by analogy to other forms of joint operations, if the competent authorities have agreed.


      Article 14


      1. In the event of an emergency or in serious accidents involving persons or property and requiring prompt intervention by the police forces, the intervention of the patrol closest to the site, regardless of its Party of origin, is permitted in order to ensure first aid and to secure the site before the arrival of the territorially competent unit.
      2. Stakeholders immediately notify the host State. The latter acknowledges receipt of this information and is obliged to take the necessary measures without delay in order to deviate the danger and resume the situation in hand. Stakeholders can only act on the territory of the receiving State until the receiving State has taken the necessary measures. Stakeholders are required to comply with the instructions of the host State.
      3. Where they are located in the territory of the other Party as part of such an intervention, these agents and their vehicles are subject to the same road traffic rules as the agents and vehicles of the Party in the territory of which the intervention takes place, including with respect to the rules of priority, including the use of optical and sound signals.


      Article 15


      1. When implementing any of the forms of direct cooperation provided for in Articles 12 to 14 of this Agreement or any other modality of cooperation agreed upon by the services of the Parties on the basis of Article 11, agents of a Party present in the territory of the other Party shall enjoy the same protection and assistance in the performance of their functions as agents of that Party. They are subject to the criminal liability regime provided for in Article 22 of Decision 2008/615/JAI.
      2. With respect to the settlement of damage caused to third parties by agents of a Party, in the event that they intervene on the basis of Article 13 of this Agreement or participate, under Article 12, paragraph 3, of this Agreement, in a joint operation within the meaning of Article 17 of Decision 2008/615/JAI, the liability regime provided for in Article 21, paragraphs 1 to 3, of Decision 2008/615/JAI shall apply In cases where agents of a Party intervene on the basis of Article 14 of this Agreement or participate, under Article 12, paragraph 3, of this Agreement, in the supervision of public events, the liability regime provided for in Article 21, paragraph 4, of Decision 2008/615/JAI shall apply.
      3. The conditions for the execution of these officers' missions, including those relating to the wearing of uniforms and individual endowment weapons, are defined in accordance with the provisions of Article 19 of Decision 2008/615/JAI.
      4. The agents of a Party present in the territory of the other Party in the course of an operation within the scope of direct cooperation within the meaning of this title may be equipped with the collective weapons imposed by their national legislation, if they are on board a vehicle of their service or unit of origin.
      5. The agents of a Party present in the territory of the other Party, as part of an operation within the scope of direct cooperation within the meaning of this title or other forms of intervention, may, under the conditions provided by the national law of the State in the territory of which the mission takes place, apprehend a surprise person in flagrante de commission or participation in the commission of a flagrant offence punishable by territorial imprisonment,


      Article 16


      1. The responsible units meet regularly and according to the operational requirements of the respective units.
      2. On this occasion:


      - they 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 common border;
      - they jointly develop research plans for the benefit of their respective units;
      - they assess the effectiveness of joint patrols and other types of joint operations carried out by their units in the common jurisdiction area and ensure their adequacy with regard to criminal flows and disturbances to security and public order in their respective territorial jurisdiction areas;
      - they program common 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.


      3. A report is prepared at the end of each meeting.

    • Part III: COMMON PROVISIONS


      Article 17


      1. A strategic steering group, composed of representatives appointed by the competent Ministers of the Parties, oversees the implementation of this Agreement and in particular ensures the regular monitoring of the legal work that is attached to it.
      2. An operational working group, composed of the relevant officials and representatives of the relevant administrative and judicial authorities, meets as required. It monitors the quality of cooperation, discusses new strategies, harmonizes intervention, research and patrol plans, exchange statistics and coordinates work programmes.


      Article 18


      1. The competent services of each Party shall:


      - communicate the organization charts and telephone directories of the operational units of their common jurisdiction zone;
      - 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.


      2. They disseminate information exchanged with common centres and corresponding units.


      Article 19


      The relevant training and development services, including:


      - by exchanging, designing and jointly implementing educational programmes for training and development;
      - by jointly organizing training and development seminars and cross-border exercises;
      - inviting representatives of the relevant services of the other Party to attend, as observers, particular exercises and operations;
      - by conducting mutual visits between the corresponding units of the common jurisdiction zone;
      - allowing representatives of the services of the other Party to participate in training, seminars and refresher courses;
      - through interns to familiarize staff with the structures and practices of the services of the other Party;
      - informing each other on the domestic law in force on their national territory, in particular on the rules of use of arms and road traffic;
      - promoting appropriate language training for staff who are likely to serve in common centres and units in the common jurisdiction area.


      Rule 20


      1. As part of the missions provided for in this Agreement, as well as in the context of cross-border observation and cross-border prosecution, marine and river resources and air assets may be engaged by a Party in the territory of the other Party.
      2. During cross-border missions, officers are subject to the same requirements for air, sea or river transport as the Party ' s agents in the territory of which the mission is continued.
      3. The modalities for the implementation of mutual support and joint operations by air, sea or river are subject to enforcement agreements if necessary.


      Article 21


      1. Parties shall take all appropriate police coordination measures in the common area of jurisdiction to enable the implementation of administrative measures for the removal of persons.
      2. The officers of a Party may travel to the territory of the other Party, in accordance with the procedure agreed between the competent administrative authorities, to carry out the missions referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article. Transit notices are sent, prior to the border crossing, to the common centres.
      3. For these missions, officers are wearing their service uniforms and carrying and using their regulatory weapons and equipment, in accordance with the provisions of Article 19 of Decision 2008/615/JAI.
      4. For the purpose of carrying out these missions, officers may exercise, in the territory of the other Party, a constraint on persons entrusted to them, for the duration necessary for the handover of such persons to the competent authorities of the other Party.
      5. For these missions, agents of a Party present in the territory of the other Party shall enjoy the same protection and assistance in the performance of their functions as agents of that Party. They are subject to the criminal liability rules set out in Article 22 of Decision 2008/615/JAI; subsection 4 of section 21 applies for damage to third parties.
      6. The above provisions are also applicable mutatis mutandis to the necessary coordination measures to ensure the security of the translation operations of persons necessary for the operation of the judicial authorities of their States.


      Article 22


      1. In the exercise of their police and customs duties, for the implementation of their administrative and judicial competences, the officers of the competent services may, if necessary, circulate in the territory of the other Party, until the next possibility of turning back to their own territory.
      2. Transit notices are sent, prior to the border crossing, to the common centres.
      3. In connection with the links made in the territory of the other Party on the basis of this article, agents of a Party may exercise coercion or retention in respect of persons and property under their authority, for the strictly necessary period of time to be carried out. The assistance of a Party patrol in the territory of which the transit takes place is required if the right of that Party imposes it.


      Article 23


      1. In order to facilitate the strictly necessary travel to operational missions in the common area of competence, the relevant services and units of the Parties may, if necessary, transit through the territory of the other Party.
      2. Transit notices are sent, prior to the border crossing, to the common centres.
      3. Where they are located in the territory of the other Party, the agents concerned do not exercise their police or customs powers and comply with the road traffic rules in force therein.


      Article 24


      1. The competent departments and units of the Parties may exchange good practices in the use of automated reading devices for registration plates and the use of data from such automated processing.
      2. The competent departments of the Parties, in conjunction with their other national or local authorities, shall coordinate the deployment of such systems in the common jurisdiction area.


      Rule 25


      1. The services and units of the Parties may be made available to vehicles or equipment in order to ensure their mutual support, through joint operations or not, and exchange good practices on their use.
      2. The services and units of the Parties may be made available to vehicles or equipment specific to one of them, as well as specialists necessary for their use, for the management of specific operational commitments.
      3. The services and units of the Parties may jointly acquire vehicles or equipment and consider all useful opportunities for this purpose.
      4. The terms and conditions of disposition or acquisition (as the case may be) of such vehicles or equipment and any related specialists shall, where appropriate, be subject to an enforcement agreement or technical arrangement within the meaning of Article 29 of this Agreement.

    • Part IV: FINAL PROVISIONS


      Rule 26


      1. Parties shall contribute jointly and equitably to the financing of the cooperation established by this Agreement, which is in principle implemented within the limits of the current operating expenses of the services concerned.
      2. The Parties shall agree as appropriate on the financial arrangements for common centres and the availability and acquisition of equipment in accordance with Articles 3 and 25 of this Agreement. They also agree on the distribution of financial expenses resulting from any other projects that they would decide to develop in common.


      Rule 27


      Seizure of a request for cooperation made under this Agreement, each Party may reject it completely or partially if it considers that its acceptance, in addition to the non-compliance provided for in this Agreement, would be contrary to its international commitments or to European legislation or that its acceptance would affect the fundamental rights of the person, sovereignty, security, public order, the rules of organization or operation of the other essential judicial or judicial authority. In this case, she informs the other Party on an official basis.


      Rule 28


      Any dispute relating to the interpretation or application of this Agreement shall be settled by consultation or negotiation between the Parties.


      Rule 29


      1. 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.
      2. This Agreement shall be concluded for an unlimited period of time.
      3. At its effective date, this Agreement repeals 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 at Tournai on 5 March 2001, as well as the exchange of letters signed in Paris and Brussels on 10 June 2002.
      4. This Agreement may be amended by mutual agreement between the Parties; these amendments come into force under the conditions provided for in the first paragraph.
      5. This Agreement may also be subject to performance agreements or technical arrangements, specifying or supplementing the implementation of its provisions.
      6. Each Party may denounce this Agreement at any time with a notice of six months. This denunciation does not jeopardize the rights and obligations of Parties related to projects under the project.


      Done at Tournai on March 18, 2013, in two original French and Dutch copies, both texts being equally authentic.


      For the Government of the French Republic:
      Manuel Valls
      Minister of Interior


      For the Government of the Kingdom of Belgium:
      Joëlle Milquet
      Minister of Interior
      Annemie Turtelboom
      Minister of Justice


Done on October 15, 2015.


François Hollande

By the President of the Republic:


The Prime Minister,

Manuel Valls


Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Development,

Laurent Fabius

(1) Effective October 1, 2015.
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