Negotiators from the European Parliament and the Swedish Presidency of the Council of the EU are meeting on Thursday 2 March for a new trilogue on the Eurodac regulation, the biometric database of migrants and asylum seekers in the EU.
A first trilogue took place in December, followed by technical meetings. But the meeting of 2 March is not presented by those familiar with the dossier as conclusive, as other meetings are necessary.
Thursday’s topics will include fingerprinting of minors over 6 years of age, access to Eurodac by national law enforcement authorities without specific authorisation, and the link with the entry/exit system, which is expected to enter into force this year.
The aim of European Parliament rapporteur Jorge Buxadé (ECR, Spanish) remains to reach an agreement with the Swedish Presidency of the EU Council, but this scenario of a text ready for June is a bit “optimistic”, says his entourage.
On the issue of fingerprinting minors, one of the open issues is the presumption of age and the benefit of the doubt, which the European Parliament believes should benefit the child. Parliament also wants many safeguards for children, such as a ban on detention, but the EU Council states that detention is an issue dealt with in other legislation.
On the entry/exit system (the automated system for registering travellers on short-stay visas entering and leaving the EU), the EU Council wants to give access to national asylum authorities, which almost all European Parliament groups refuse, according to one source.
The Eurodac Regulation is one of the texts of the Pact on Migration and Asylum. The EU Council adopted its mandate in June 2022 (see EUROPE 12969/1) and made it one of its priorities, along with the regulation on migrant screening, to move forward in parallel with the solidarity-related texts.
Link to the table of 20 February: https://aeur.eu/f/5k3 (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)