Brussels, 10/10/2012 (Agence Europe) - On 10 October, the Committee of Permanent Representatives (Coreper) adopted its negotiation mandate on the proposed “Eurodac” directive. This text will make it possible, to a certain extent, for European police forces to have access to the database of digital fingerprints of asylum seekers, Eurodac. The Council wishes to open discussions with the European Parliament more quickly, but has not yet finished defining its position. Although, overall, it is in favour of the Commission's text, the discussions of the Council will go into detail after the initial phase, after the opening of discussions with the Parliament, which has yet to give its response. The duration of access to the Eurodac database, terms for monitoring compliance with data protection rules, the assurance that this access is carried out for genuine reasons should then constitute the main discussion points of the Member States but also of the Parliament, according to a Council source.
This “Eurodac” text is the final component of the “Asylum” package, which intends to set in place a common European asylum regime by the end of the year. The fact that the Commission's text would make it possible for the European police forces to access the digital fingerprints of asylum seekers under certain conditions has come under fire from the European Data Protection Controller (EDPC), Peter Hustinx. In the view of the EDPC, this option constitutes a serious intrusion into the privacy of people who are already vulnerable and seeking protection. The Commission and the Council, on the other hand, believe that safeguards already exist, such as the proposal allowing police forces access to Eurodac only if all other databases in existence, such as the Prüm database, show no results, the Council source added. (SP/transl.fl)