The European Commission launched a public consultation on Friday 12 June with a view to extending the European framework for the exchange of police data (‘Prüm’) to partner third countries.
The initiative is intended to regulate the automated sharing of biometric and identification data in order to improve the fight against organised cross-border crime.
At present, the ‘Prüm II’ regulation allows Member States to exchange data such as DNA profiles, fingerprints, facial images, vehicle registers and police records. However, cooperation with third countries is subject to bilateral and regional agreements with separate legal bases and technical standards.
Against a backdrop of intensified police cooperation with countries such as the United Kingdom, Ukraine and Canada, the Commission therefore wants to put an end to this fragmentation, which, it says, results in “inefficiencies, legal uncertainty and unequal levels of data protection”.
The consultation is open until 7 August. An impact assessment, expected in the third quarter of 2026, will evaluate several options, ranging from a guide to best practice to the creation of a new flexible legislative framework. The Commission plans to present its proposal for a regulation by the end of the year.
Read the consultation: https://aeur.eu/f/mcj (Original version in French by Justine Manaud)