Commission Decision of 15 December 2006 establishing the Commission's standard security measures and alert states and amending its Rules of Procedure as regards operational procedures for management of crisis situations (2007/65/EC) (repealed)

Commission Decision

of 15 December 2006

establishing the Commission's standard security measures and alert states and amending its Rules of Procedure as regards operational procedures for management of crisis situations

(2007/65/EC) (repealed)

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 218(2) thereof,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing European Atomic Energy Community, and in particular Article 131 thereof,

Having regard to the Treaty on European Union, and in particular Article 28(1) and Article 41(1) thereof,

Whereas:

(1) It is appropriate for the Commission to establish operational procedures and measures to manage crises and emergencies (hereinafter referred to as crisis situations), and, in particular, to ensure that all necessary decisions can be taken as efficiently and rapidly as possible, while ensuring that they remain subject to political control.

(2) It is necessary for the Commission to establish an operational structure for crisis management.

(3) Procedures and measures should, inter alia, be established to manage the security aspects of a crisis situation. In the interests of clarity, the procedures and measures to be used in normal security conditions should also be specified.

(4) Good management of crisis situations involves the possibility of rapidly warning the personnel of the nature of the threat and of protective measures to be taken.

(5) Current practice in the Member States and in other international organisations shows that the establishment of a system of alert states is the most efficient way to ensure that appropriate and proportional security measures are taken in response to the evaluated risk level. A system comprising standard security measures and three alert states should therefore be established. It should apply to all the premises of the Commission.

(6) The Commission provisions on security annexed to its internal Rules of Procedure by Commission Decision 2001/844/EC, ECSC, Euratom(1) provide for a member of the Commission to be responsible for security matters and for implementation of the Commission's security policy.

(7) The general principles established in Section 2 of the Annex to those provisions on security establish general principles of legality, transparency, accountability and subsidiarity (proportionality) which apply equally to crisis management.

(8) The attribution of authority within the Commission and the particular situation of the delegations of the Community in third countries require specific procedures and distinct types of action, depending on whether the security measures concern the premises of the Commission in the Member States or in third countries.

(9) According to the principle of continuity of public service, the Commission should be able to accomplish its tasks in all circumstances as set out in the Treaties. Consequently, in the case of exceptional and unforeseeable events which make it impossible for the Commission to adopt decisions as a College by written or oral procedure as provided for in its Rules of Procedure(2), the President of the Commission should have extraordinary powers to take any measure which, in the context of the specific situation, is considered urgent and necessary.

(10) The Commission provisions on operational procedures for crisis management, as annexed to its internal Rules of Procedure by Decision 2003/246/EC, Euratom(3), should therefore be amended accordingly. For reasons of clarity, they should be replaced by this Decision,

HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:

(1)

OJ L 317, 3.12.2001, p. 1. Decision as last amended by Decision 2006/548/EC, Euratom (OJ L 215, 5.8.2006, p. 38).

(2)

OJ L 347, 30.12.2005, p. 83.

(3)

OJ L 92, 9.4.2003, p. 14.