EU ministers agree to share DNA and fingerprint data

BRUSSELS - European interior ministers have informally agreed to share personal data such as DNA as part of the fight against crime and terrorism, representing an important move in the sensitive policy area.

At an informal gathering in Dresden, Germany together with the European Commission succeeded in rallying all 27 member states behind a plan to grant mutual access to vehicle registration data, DNA files and stored fingerprints.

"Our aim is to create a modern police information network for more effective crime control throughout Europe," said German interior minister Wolfgang Schäuble, with the commission now expected to draw up a concrete plan before a formal EU ministers meeting on 15-16 February.

Germany itself has already pioneered the scheme together with six other EU states (Belgium, France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Austria and Spain) under the so-called Prüm treaty which was signed in 2005 outside EU structures.

The commission will now formally propose the transposition of the Prüm treaty into EU law – a move now also backed by the UK and Ireland which until recently had reservations.

But it is unlikely that the move will amount to a simple copy-pasting of the Prüm text into EU law-books, with one EU diplomat stating that "the devil is in the detail" in the sensitive policy area.

The UK, Ireland, the Czech Republicand Poland said they needed more time to examine the financial and judicial implications of the German proposal, according to press reports.

Matches in database

Mr Schäuble highlighted that since Germany and Austria started to share DNA data under the Prüm provisions, 1,500 matches were found when German untraceables were checked against the Austrian database and 1,400 vice versa.

"These figures are proof that the idea behind the Prüm Treaty to create a network of existing national databases is a simple, yet very effective means to fight cross-border crime and international terrorism."

Civil liberties groups are however viewing the Prüm treaty with mistrust, with recent remarks by NGO Statewatch suggesting the treaty "turns the traditional forms of exchange upside down."

"Up to now treaties defined which data should be communicated and under what conditions. This is even the case in the Europol Convention and its far-ranging regulations. The "principle of availability" says that all data can be transferred and the Prüm treaty accepts this principle."

Despite the legal wrangling expected to accompany the proposal, the backing received by Mr Schäuble in Dresden represents an early success for the German EU presidency.

The preliminary agreement comes despite claims by the European Commission that EU decision-making in justice and home affairs is stuck because the policy area is subject to unanimous, not majority voting.

Cross-border divorce

Meanwhile, the commission in Dresden also got enough political support to push ahead with its proposal to simplify cross-border divorces across the 27-nation bloc.

Although Malta – where divorce is not permitted - has voiced strong opposition to the commission plan, most countries endorsed the scheme, with around 170,000 divorces annually involving couples of different nationalities.

Ireland, which requires a four-year separation period, as well as the United Kingdom, have said they will use their so-called opt-out which both countries have under the EU treaty on justice matters.