Friday

29th Mar 2024

France tops mass DNA-collection in EU

  • Of all EU member states, France has collected the most DNA profiles (Photo: Reuters)
Listen to article

France has amassed more DNA profiles than any other EU state, according to an internal EU document dated 25 March and obtained by EUobserver.

As of the end of last year, the security-centric French state has a database of over six million DNA profiles.

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Get the EU news that really matters

Instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

By comparison, Germany comes in at a distant second with 1.2 million, followed by Spain at 460,000 and the Netherlands at almost 400,000.

Out of the six million DNA profiles in France, some 800,000 are classified as not having been matched to any person.

The DNA datasets are used to help investigate criminal offences and are compared in an automated form with available DNA profiles from other EU states, says the document.

The United Kingdom has benefited the most from the French database, with almost 12,000 DNA matches last year. It is not immediately clear if these matches led to any arrests.

With the exception of Germany and Malta, the DNA datasets continue to increase among all other EU member states.

This includes France, which added another 200,000 profiles to its database over the past year alone.

The mass collection of DNA profiles in France also follows years of legislative manoeuvres that advocacy groups say pose a fundamental risk to civil liberties.

A so-called global security bill adopted last year sought to expand state surveillance and prevent people from sharing images of police officers.

Amnesty International, ahead of its adoption, said the law risked creating a dystopian surveillance state.

The civil rights groups last month, in an annual global report, again highlighted the global security law as ripe for abuse by authorities who have since cracked down on peaceful protesters.

Belgium, France, UK in EU court surveillance blow

Although non-binding, a critical opinion from the EU's top court could mean laws in Belgium, France and the UK allowing for the indiscriminate bulk collection of people's data may have to be eventually amended to respect EU privacy rules.

Analysis

More hype than substance in EU counter-terror plans

The 22 March anniversary of the Brussels bombing will trigger a lot of soul searching. But EU counter-terrorism strategies over the past 10 years have been crisis-driven with little follow through or oversight.

French voters urged to shun Le Pen in run-off

Several failed candidates in French elections have urged their voters to back president Emmanuel Macron in the second round to keep out far-right contender Marine Le Pen.

EU Parliament set to sue EU Commission over Hungary funds

The European Parliament will likely take the European Commission to court for unblocking more than €10bn in funds for Hungary last December. A final nod of approval is still needed by European Parliament president, Roberta Metsola.

Opinion

Potential legal avenues to prosecute Navalny's killers

The UN could launch an independent international investigation into Navalny's killing, akin to investigation I conducted on Jamal Khashoggi's assassination, or on Navalny's Novichok poisoning, in my role as special rapporteur on extrajudicial executions, writes the secretary-general of Amnesty International.

Opinion

I'll be honest — Moldova's judicial system isn't fit for EU

To state a plain truth: at present, Moldova does not have a justice system worthy of a EU member state; it is riven with corruption and lax and inconsistent standards, despite previous attempts at reform, writes Moldova's former justice minister.

Latest News

  1. Kenyan traders react angrily to proposed EU clothes ban
  2. Lawyer suing Frontex takes aim at 'antagonistic' judges
  3. Orban's Fidesz faces low-polling jitters ahead of EU election
  4. German bank freezes account of Jewish peace group
  5. EU Modernisation Fund: an open door for fossil gas in Romania
  6. 'Swiftly dial back' interest rates, ECB told
  7. Moscow's terror attack, security and Gaza
  8. Why UK-EU defence and security deal may be difficult

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Nordic Council of MinistersJoin the Nordic Food Systems Takeover at COP28
  2. Nordic Council of MinistersHow women and men are affected differently by climate policy
  3. Nordic Council of MinistersArtist Jessie Kleemann at Nordic pavilion during UN climate summit COP28
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersCOP28: Gathering Nordic and global experts to put food and health on the agenda
  5. Friedrich Naumann FoundationPoems of Liberty – Call for Submission “Human Rights in Inhume War”: 250€ honorary fee for selected poems
  6. World BankWorld Bank report: How to create a future where the rewards of technology benefit all levels of society?

Join EUobserver

EU news that matters

Join us