6.8.2008 Official Journal of the European Union L 210/1 III (Acts adopted under the EU Treaty) ACTS ADOPTED UNDER TITLE VI OF THE EU TREATY COUNCIL DECISION 2008/615[JHA of 23 June 2008 on the stepping up of cross-border cooperation, particularly in combating terrorism and cross-border THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, Having regard to the Treaty on European Union, and in particular Article 30(1)(a) and (b), Article 31(1)(a), Article 32 and Arti- cle 34(2)(c) thereof, Having regard to the initiative of the Kingdom of Belgium, the Republic of Bulgaria, the Federal Republic of Germany, the Kingdom of Spain, the French Republic, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the Republic of Austria, the Republic of Slovenia, the Slovak Republic, the Italian Republic, the Republic of Finland, the Portuguese Republic, Romania and the Kingdom of Sweden, Having regard to the Opinion of the European Parliament (1), Whereas: Following the entry into force of 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 stepping up of cross-border cooperation, particularly in combating terrorism, cross- border crime and illegal migration hereinafter (Priim Treaty), this initiative is submitted, in consultation with the European Commission, in compliance with the provisions of the Treaty on European Union, with the aim of incorporating the substance of the provisions of the Priim Treaty into the legal framework of the European Union. 1 The conclusions of the European Council meeting in Tampere in October 1999 confirmed the need for improved exchange of information between the competent authorities of the Member States for the purpose of detecting and investigating offences. (") Opinion of 10 June 2007 (not yet published in the Official Journal). crime In the Hague Programme for strengthening freedom, security and justice in the European Union of November 2004, the European Council set forth its conviction that for that purpose an innovative approach to the cross-border exchange of law enforcement information was needed. 3) The European Council accordingly stated that the exchange of such information should comply with the conditions applying to the principle of availability. This means that a law enforcement officer in one Member State of the Union who needs information in order to carry out his duties can obtain it from another Member State and that the law enforcement authorities in the Member State that holds this information will make it available for the declared purpose, taking account of the needs of investigations pending in that Member State. The European Council set 1 January 2008 as the deadline for achieving this objective in the Hague Programme. Council Framework Decision 2006/960/JHA of 18 Decem- ber 2006 on simplifying the exchange of information and intelligence between law enforcement authorities of the Member States of the European Union (%) already lays down rules whereby the Member States’ law enforcement authorities may exchange existing information and intelli- gence expeditiously and effectively for the purpose of carrying out criminal investigations or criminal intelligence operations. The Hague Programme for strengthening freedom, security and justice states also that full use should be made of new technology and that there should also be reciprocal access to national databases, while stipulating that new centralised European databases should be created only on the basis of studies that have shown their added value. () O] L 386, 29.12.2006, p. 89.