EU lists data-sharing policies for first time

The EU and its 27 member states have almost 20 programmes, agencies and agreements governing the exchange of personal, business and telecoms data of EU citizens, a first-ever audit has shown.

The arrangements, sometimes only concerning clusters of member states, are designed to facilitate passport-free travel within the EU, to combat terrorism and crime, and to prevent irregular immigration.

However, the programmes vary in their usefulness and range from the SIS system, which gath...