13.8.2008 Official Journal of the European Union L 218/129 (Acts adopted under the EU Treaty) ACTS ADOPTED UNDER TITLE VI OF THE EU TREATY COUNCIL DECISION 2008/633[JHA of 23 June 2008 concerning access for consultation of the Visa Information System (VIS) by designated authorities of Member States and by Europol for the purposes of the prevention, detection and investigation of terrorist offences and of other serious criminal offences THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, Having regard to the Treaty on European Union, and in particular Article 30(1)(b) and Article 34(2)(c) thereof, Having regard to the proposal from the Commission, Having regard to the Opinion of the European Parliament, Whereas: Council Decision 2004/512/EC of 8 June 2004 establishing the Visa Information System (VIS) (!) established the VIS as a system for the exchange of visa data between Member States. The establishment of the VIS represents one of the key initiatives within the policies of the European Union aimed at establishing an area of freedom, security and justice. The VIS should have the purpose of improving the implementation of the common visa policy and should also contribute towards internal security and to combating terrorism under clearly defined and monitored circum- stances. During its meeting of 7 March 2005 the Council adopted conclusions stating that ‘in order to achieve fully the aim of improving internal security and the fight against terrorisnt’, Member State authorities responsible for internal security should be guaranteed access to the VIS, ‘in the course of () OJ L 213, 15.6.2004, p. 5. @) ) their duties in relation to the prevention, detection and investigation of criminal offences, including terrorist acts and threats, ‘subject to strict compliance with the rules governing the protection of personal data’. It is essential in the fight against terrorism and other serious crimes for the relevant services to have the fullest and most up-to-date information in their respective fields. The Member States’ competent national services need informa- tion if they are to perform their tasks. The information contained in the VIS may be necessary for the purposes of preventing and combating terrorism and serious crimes and should therefore be available, subject to the conditions set out in this Decision, for consultation by the designated authorities. Moreover, the European Council has stated that Europol has a key role with respect to cooperation between Member States’ authorities in the field of cross-border crime investigation in supporting Union-wide crime prevention, analyses and investigation. Consequently, Europol should also have access to VIS data within the framework of its tasks and in accordance with the Convention of 26 July 1995 on the Establishment of a European Police Office (). This Decision complements Regulation (EC) No 767/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 July 2008 concerning the Visa Information System (VIS) and the exchange of data between Member States on 7 stay- visas (VIS Regulation) (°) insofar as it provides for a legal base under Title VI of the Treaty on European Union authorising access to the VIS for designated authorities and for Europol. 0] C 316, 27.11.1995, p. 2. Convention as last amended by the Protocol amending that Convention (O] C 2, 6.1.2004, p. 3). See page 60 of this Official Journal.