Security in connection with football matches with an international dimension. Initiative Belgium

The committee adopted the report by Gérard DEPREZ (EPP-ED, B) broadly approving the proposal subject to a number of amendments (under the consultation procedure) aimed mainly at clarifying the text. It felt that the notion of persons who might constitute a threat to law and order was too vague in the proposal and wanted to spell out, for example, that the contact points could exchange personal data relating to individuals who posed a threat to security on the basis of their history. Measures should be taken with a view inter alia to preventing disturbances, and there should be communication between the national football information point and the national police forces in any countries concerned before, during and after a match, rather than simply during a match, as stated in the proposal. The committee also underlined that the information points should maintain up-to-date analyses of risks posed by supporters of the clubs and the national teams of their Member States. Lastly, it wanted to ensure that persons whose data were handled in this context would be fully informed of this fact and would have access to those data.�