Brussels, 01/02/2008 (Agence Europe) - MEPs wanted to clarify the legal framework of operations carried out by the special intervention units sent to help member states deal with crises. On Thursday 31 January, the Parliament adopted (by 558 votes to 56, with 10 abstentions) the report by Armando França (PES, Portugal) on special intervention unit cooperation. The report supports the Austrian initiative to complement the “Prüm decision” that was adopted in 2007 (see EUROPE 9444). According to the draft decision, any member state can call for the help of another state's special intervention unit in situations of crisis or acts of terrorism. MEPs insisted that such a request had to be made to the competent authority designated by each member state. They also stressed that, when one member state's officers are involved in operations in another member state, it will be their state of origin that will be responsible for damage caused by them during the course of the operation. (B.C.)