Exchange of Information and Data between Law Enforcement Authorities within the European Union
Over the last one and a half decades, transnational information exchange between law enforcement authorities within the European Union has been stepped up considerably. This process was originally triggered by the abolition of national borders within the Schengen Area. In the meantime, the process is fed by an ever–growing number of perceived security threats, a misled belief in the problem–solving capacity of technology and a policy of overbidding between some Member States and the EU level. The goal of this process is to establish a pan–European regime of internal security. This paper discusses the legislative aspect of this process and considers its organising principle(s). The paper provides a review of operational and planned databases and systems of information exchange within the EU. It clarifies some of the central concepts in the field of automated information exchange. It describes some of the procedures of information exchange between law enforcement authorities. It identifies some of the side effects of transnational information exchange. Finally, it makes some recommendations how to better manage apparatuses and practises.
In-Depth Analysis
External author
Leon Hempel, Michael Carius and Carla Ilten (Technical University of Berlin, Germany)
About this document
Publication type
Policy area
Keyword
- communications
- cross-frontier data flow
- database
- EDUCATION AND COMMUNICATIONS
- EU police cooperation
- European construction
- European security
- EUROPEAN UNION
- exchange of information
- fight against crime
- information and information processing
- information technology and data processing
- INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
- international security
- judicial cooperation in criminal matters in the EU
- personal data
- POLITICS
- politics and public safety
- social affairs
- SOCIAL QUESTIONS
- terrorism