Justice and Home Affairs Council (Hansard, 1 November 2000)

§ Lord Bassam of Brighton

My right honourable friend the Home Secretary attended this Council meeting. The main matters dealt with at the meeting were as follows:

The list of A points was agreed in full, including the three items outstanding from the Justice and Home Affairs (JHA) Council held on 28 September.

Draft framework decision on money laundering, the identification, tracing, freezing, seizing and confiscation of instrumentalities and the proceeds of crime:

There was a broad political orientation subject to certain parliamentary reserves and the European Parliament opinion to a common minimum maximum penalty of four years and that all Member States should be obliged to lift reserves in respect of tax offences to the 1990 Council of Europe money laundering convention's provisions on confiscation of assets. The Council also agreed a declaration to the effect that minimum maximum penalties would be considered on a case by case basis for future instruments.

Draft convention on improving mutual assistance in criminal matters, with particular reference to the fight 108WA against organised crime, the laundering of the proceeds of crime and financial crime:

There was broad agreement, on the basis of a Presidency discussion document, to the principle that legal assistance should not be refused solely on the grounds that an investigation concerned a tax offence or involved the lifting of bank secrecy. A number of Member States considered that such measures should be subject to judicial control; others also raised the practical difficulties involved in supplying lists of bank accounts in the absence of a central register. The Commission acknowledged that Member States would have flexibility in how they chose to abolish grounds of refusal founded in bank secrecy or tax matters; they should nonetheless aim to establish efficient systems for providing assistance in such matters. Work on the convention would continue at expert level on the basis of the discussion document.

Presentation of the conclusions of the seminar from 13–15 September on the laundering of the proceeds of organised crime in Europe:

The Presidency presented the conclusions. There was no discussion.

Proposal for a Council decision establishing a Community mechanism for the co-ordination of civil protection in the event of emergencies—presentation by the Commission:

The Presidency and the Commission presented their respective proposals. Two Member States welcomed the call for an assessment of respective national capabilities with a view to greater co-ordination between existing national structures. Others argued for a European Civil Protection Agency and a third for more European Union-financed training.

Other items:

I proposed a greater operational role for the Chief Police Officer's Task Force and proposed using a Council decision to place this work on a more formal footing. The Presidency concluded that the Council should return to this as necessary.

One Member State registered the need for Justice Ministers to have greater involvement in discussions concerning Organization de Lutte anti-Fraud.

Finally, the Council adopted conclusions regarding the ETA murder the previous night in Spain.

On the afternoon of 17 October, the Justice and Home Affairs Council met jointly with the Ecofin Council. I represented the United Kingdom.

Following a debate on strategy towards more effective co-operation in the financial sector, law enforcement and judicial co-operation, the Council adopted conclusions, a copy of which has been placed in the Library.