L’objectif de la coopération policière et judiciaire en matière pénale est de garantir un niveau élevé de sécurité pour les personnes dans l’UE en prévenant la criminalité et en luttant contre celle-ci.
La coopération intervient entre les forces de police nationales et les autorités judiciaires nationales, avec l’aide d’agences de l’UE telles qu’Eurojust, Europol et le réseau judiciaire européen le cas échéant. Cette coopération implique la collecte et l’échange d’informations sur les personnes.
Avis sur l'initiative en vue de l'adoption d'une décision du Conseil sur le renforcement d'Eurojust et modifiant la décision 2002/187/JAI, JO C 310, 5.12.2008, p.1
On 25 April 2008, the EDPS adopted an opinion on the Initiative of 14 Member States with a view to adopting a Council Decision concerning the strengthening of Eurojust. The initiative aims at further enhancing the operational effectiveness of Eurojust. The EDPS was not asked for advice on this initiative, although a significant part of the initiative deals with the - conditions for - processing of personal data by Eurojust. The opinion was therefore issued on his own initiative.
In his opinion, the EDPS emphasises that he understands the need to improve the legal framework of Eurojust. However, he regrets that the initiative was not accompanied by an impact assessment, together with an analysis of the shortcomings of the existing rules and the expected effectiveness of the new provisions.
Furthermore, the opinion highlights the various arguments in favour of waiting for the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty. Other issues addressed in the opinion are the provisions on data protection, the relations with third parties and the supervision.
Avis concernant la décision de la Commission du 12 décembre 2007 relative à la protection des données à caractère personnel dans le cadre de la mise en oeuvre du Système d'information du marché intérieur (IMI) (2008/49/CE), JO C 270, 25.10.2008, p. 1
This Opinion is part of the broader EDPS efforts to improve the data protection safeguards for this large-scale IT system operated by the European Commission to facilitate information exchanges between competent authorities in Member States in the area of internal market legislation.
The EDPS supports the establishment of this electronic system for the exchange of information. Nevertheless, establishment of a centralized electronic system also creates certain risks. These include, most importantly, that more data might be shared and more broadly than strictly necessary for the purposes of efficient cooperation, and that data, including potentially outdated and inaccurate data, might remain in the electronic system longer than is necessary. The security of a database accessible in 27 Member States is also a sensitive issue, as the system is only as safe as the weakest link in the network permits it to be.
In the Opinion, the EDPS questions the adequacy of the legal basis chosen for the adoption of the IMI Decision. The EDPS recommends that the Commission replaces the IMI Decision by a legal instrument that fulfils the requirement of legal certainty. As an ultimately most sound solution, the EDPS suggests adopting a separate legal instrument for the IMI-system, at the level of the Council and the European Parliament, similar to the Schengen Information System, Visa Information System and other large-scale IT databases.
Additionally, the Opinion provides for a number of suggestions on the provisions regulating the data protection aspects of IMI. These recommendations relate to transparency and proportionality, joint control and allocation of responsibilities, notice to data subjects, rights of access, objection, and rectification, data retention, security measures and joint supervision.
Avis sur l'initiative de la République fédérale d'Allemagne, en vue de l'adoption d'une décision du Conseil concernant la mise en oeuvre de la décision 2007/.../JAI relative à l'approfondissement de la coopération transfrontière, notamment en vue de lutter contre le terrorisme et la criminalité transfrontière, JO C 89, 14.4.2008, p. 1
On 19 December 2007, the EDPS issued his Opinion on the German initiative establishing implementing rules which are necessary for the functioning of the Council Prüm initiative. This initiative aims to step up cross-border cooperation, particularly for fighting terrorism and cross-border crime, by establishing mechanisms to exchange personal data such as DNA profiles and fingerprints.
In his Opinion, the EDPS holds the view that a clear, effective and comprehensive legal framework - combining general provisions and specific tailored rules on data protection - should be in place before the current Prüm initiative enters into force. He also points out that the initiative's implementing rules and their annex are of particular importance since they define crucial aspects and tools of the exchanges of data that are essential to ensure guarantees for concerned persons.
More specifically, the EDPS recommends the following:
the initiative and its annex should benefit from a broad and open discussion involving all relevant actors, such as the European Parliament and Data Protection Authorities;
the accuracy in searches and comparisons of DNA profiles and fingerprints should be duly taken into account and constantly monitored, also in the light of the larger scale of the exchange;
relevant data protection authorities should be put in a position to properly carry out their supervisory and advisory role throughout all the different stages of the implementation.
Comments on the recent developments with respect to the Proposal for a Council Framework Decision on the protection of personal data processed in the framework of police and judicial cooperation in criminal matters
