[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 124 (Thursday, September 28, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Page S10493]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




MUTUAL LEGAL ASSISTANCE AGREEMENT WITH THE EUROPEAN UNION (TREATY DOC. 
                              NO. 109-13)

To the Senate of the United States:
  With a view to receiving the advice and consent of the Senate to 
ratification, I transmit herewith the Agreement on Mutual Legal 
Assistance between the United States of America and the European Union 
(EU), signed on June 25, 2003, at Washington, together with 25 
bilateral instruments that subsequently were signed between the United 
States and each European Union Member State in order to implement the 
Agreement with the EU, and an explanatory note that is an integral part 
of the Agreement. I also transmit, for the information of the Senate, 
the report of the Department of State with respect to the Agreement and 
bilateral instruments.
  A parallel agreement with the European Union on extradition, together 
with bilateral instruments, will be transmitted to the Senate 
separately. These two agreements are the first law enforcement 
agreements concluded between the United States and the European Union. 
Together they serve to modernize and expand in important respects the 
law enforcement relationships between the United States and the 25 EU 
Member States, as well as formalize and strengthen the institutional 
framework for law enforcement relations between the United States and 
the European Union itself.
  The U.S.-EU Mutual Legal Assistance Agreement contains several 
innovations that should prove of value to U.S. prosecutors and 
investigators, including in counterterrorism cases. The Agreement 
creates an improved mechanism for obtaining bank information from an EU 
Member State, elaborates legal frameworks for the use of new techniques 
such as joint investigative teams, and establishes a comprehensive and 
uniform framework for limitations on the use of personal and other 
data. The Agreement includes a non-derogation provision making clear 
that it is without prejudice to the ability of the United States or an 
EU Member State to refuse assistance where doing so would prejudice its 
sovereignty, security, public, or other essential interests.
  I recommend that the Senate give early and favorable consideration to 
the Agreement and bilateral instruments.
                                                      George W. Bush.  
The White House, September 28, 2006.

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