Council move to tackle vehicle crime

Publication date: 22 December 2004

The Council adopted a Decision on tackling vehicle crime with cross-border implications. Its aim is achieve improved cooperation within the European Union, as regards in particular the relationship between illegal car trade and other forms of organised crime, such as trafficking in drugs, firearms and human beings (15687/04).

15687_04_vehicle_crime.pdf (91 KB)

The Decision requires Member States to:
• enhance mutual cooperation between national competent authorities,
• facilitate procedures for a quick repatriation of vehicles released by national competent authorities following their seizure,
• designate a contact point for tackling cross-border vehicle crime, and
• immediately enter a stolen vehicle alert in the Schengen Information System (SIS) and in Interpol's Stolen Motor Vehicle database.

The Council also adopted a Common Position on a draft Regulation providing access to the SIS database for authorities responsible for issuing registration certificates for vehicles, with the purpose of tackling vehicle crime (15790/04, 14238/04 and 14238/04 ADD1). The text will be
forwarded to the European Parliament for a second reading under the co-decision procedure.

The draft Regulation amends the provisions of the Schengen Convention, which set up in 1990 the SIS, an electronic network between Member States containing data on lost and stolen motor vehicles.

This Decision will take effect on the day of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.