Brussels, 10 October 2022
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Proposal would ensure availability of information to law enforcement in different countries, equivalent access to it, and confidentiality
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The role of Europol, secure network application SIENA to be strengthened
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MEPs propose rule of law safeguards to prevent misuse of the system
To boost exchanges between law enforcement authorities, the Civil Liberties Committee has approved draft rules on sharing information across EU borders.
The aim of the report on information exchanges between law enforcement authorities is to promote exchanges between police and border officers in different EU countries by clarifying the procedures, rules and timeframes of information-sharing, while also strengthening the role of Europol.
According to the new rules, contact points should receive information from authorities in other EU countries on terms equivalent to the authorities of their own country, taking into account the purpose for which the information will be used. At the same time, Europol’s Secure Information Exchange Network Application (“SIENA”) would become the mandatory channel for official cross-border exchanges.
The report was adopted with 42 votes in favour, 12 against, and 1 abstaining, and MEPs approved the start of inter-institutional negotiations with the Council with 52 votes in favour, 0 against, and 2 abstaining.
MEPs want safeguards for rule of law and data protection
To make sure that the system is not misused, MEPs want due diligence measures in cases where information requests come from EU countries that are under Article 7 proceedings because of suspected breaches of the rule of law. Also, MEPs would like to ensure that the information exchanged between law enforcement can also be used as evidence in criminal proceedings, if the member states in question explicitly approve this. They also want a strong regime for confidentiality and data protection, including provisions on deleting erroneous and outdated information after it has been exchanged.
MEPs suggest extending the scope of the legislation to all crimes, whereas the original proposal only covered serious crimes. In other amendments, MEPs want to further refine time-limits for information exchanges and requests, taking into account their urgency and the type of crime concerned. To build trust between personnel on different sides of a border, would like to see mandatory training offered to representatives of points of contact to promote understanding and exchanges.
Background
The proposed Directive on information exchange between law enforcement authorities, revised rules for automated data exchange in police cooperation (“Prüm II”) and a Council Recommendation on operational police cooperation form the ‘EU Police Cooperation Code’ package.
Next steps
The decision to start interinstitutional negotiations will be announced at the second European Parliament plenary in October, where members reaching the medium threshold can request a vote on it in the same plenary. If there is no objection or the report is approved in a vote, it will then form the Parliament’s mandate in negotiations with the Council.