| 4 June 2009 The Council adopted the following conclusions: "THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, REITERATING its determination to make the protection of children one of the priorities of the European Union and its Member States; REAFFIRMING the objective of the European Union to facilitate the free movement of persons within an area without internal borders, while at the same time ensuring safety and security on its territory; EMPHASISING the responsibility of the European Union to provide European citizens with a high standard of security in the area of free movement without internal borders; WELCOMING the initiative of the Czech Presidency to enhance the use of the Schengen Information System (SIS) and SIRENE Bureaus for better protection of children; RECALLING the Council (JHA) meeting in Brussels on 27 and 28 November 2008, where conclusions on cross-border child alerts were adopted; WISHING to contribute intensively to support cooperation between Member States' competent authorities in the field of child protection, especially through SIS and SIRENE cooperation; RECALLING the necessity of paying due care and attention to minors who are crossing external borders; RECALLING that both the Schengen Convention and the SIS II legal instruments call on Members States to pay particular attention to missing minors; WELCOMING the recent increase in the number of "hits" while carrying out searches using the Schengen Information System in the territories of the Member States, and recalling the need for the swift implementation of the new functionalities proposed for the SIS, such as photographs and interlinking; ACKNOWLEDGING the SIRENE Bureaus' crucial role in searches carried out through the SIS and the need to provide them with the necessary competences and resources to ensure fulfilment of their tasks in the exchange of supplementary information; EMPHASISING the necessity of using all available police and other tools to start and perform searches for missing minors without prejudice to the security of the children concerned; WISHING to expand the discussion on sharing additional data on potentially dangerous offenders, including sexual offenders against minors, considering both existing and potential future possibilities of using the SIS for this purpose; BEARING IN MIND the principles of proportionality, necessity and adequacy and the obligation to respect fundamental rights, notably the right to privacy and the protection of personal data, CALLS ON Member States - to enhance the use of SIS and SIRENE cooperation in protection of children, especially as regards missing minors, using the recommendations and best practices provided in 6367/3/09 REV 3 SIRIS 24 ENFOPOL 33 FRONT 23 JUSTCIV 89 COMIX 140; - to define and implement the necessary arrangements at national level to improve cooperation between the SIRENE and other competent national authorities involved in the search for missing minors and child care, in order to ensure the most effective protection of children; - to continue addressing issues related to protection of minors in all relevant preparatory bodies of the Council."
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