La Strada Documentation Center

Opinion of the European Data Protection Supervisor on the Eurodac Proposal

Document number
1965
Date
2009
Title
Opinion of the European Data Protection Supervisor on the Eurodac Proposal
Author/publisher
European Data Protection Supervisor
Availability
View/save PDF version of this document
Document type(s)
EU law, Meeting Documentation/Conference Reports,
Keywords
Opinion of the European Data Protection Supervisor on the Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and the Council concerning the establishment of 'Eurodac' for the comparison of fingerprints for the effective application of Regulation (EC) No [.../...][establishing the criteria and mechanisms for determining the Member State responsible for examining an application for international protection lodged in one of the Member States by a third-country national or a stateless person] (COM(2008)825)
Summary

On 18 February, the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) adopted two opinions responding to the European Commission's proposals for amending the EURODAC Regulation and the Dublin Regulation presented in December 2008 as part of the so-called ‘Amendment Package' aiming to ensure a higher degree of harmonisation within the Common European Asylum System. The EDPS overall supports the objectives of the revision and welcomes the considerable attention which has been devoted in both proposals to the fundamental rights of third country nationals and/or stateless persons and, in particular, the protection of personal data. However, the EDPS also makes a number of observations and puts forward recommendations. In particular, the EDPS insists on the need to clarify the provisions regarding the rights of the data subjects in both proposals. With regards to the EURODAC proposal, the EDPS calls for a better coordination and harmonisation of fingerprinting procedures at EU level. Furthermore, the EDPS draws particular attention to the new mechanisms for information sharing introduced in the proposal revising the Dublin Regulation, as it will involve extremely sensitive personal data on the people seeking asylum. (source: ECRE Weekly Bulletin)

Related documents