Data Transfer Agreement
February 15, 2007
German interior minister Wolfgang Schäuble hailed the decision as a major step to improve to police cooperation, security in freedom in the 27-member EU bloc, of which Germany is the current holder of the presidency.
The joint decision to set up a network of national crime records to improve data exchange will give all member states access to other countries' DNA and fingerprint data, as well as direct online access to vehicle registries.
Under the new rules, police services can ask their colleagues in another country to find out whether they have data matching the profile of a suspected criminal offender.
Info on terrorists, criminals and hooligans to be shared
It also includes the exchange of personal information about potential terrorists and about violent offenders, such as soccer hooligans traveling to matches in other countries.
Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Spain and The Netherlands already adopted the rules in 2005.
Germany and Austria started to share their national criminal registers in December 2006.
Since then some 1,500 DNA traces found in Germany have been matched with persons known to the Austrian criminal authorities while Austria recorded 1,400 hits in Germany.
Slovenia, Italy, Finland, Portugal, Bulgaria, Romania, Greece and Sweden also plan to join the system.
EU ministers said that exchanging data across the bloc would boost member states' investigating powers. However, they did not agree on joint police controls.
Ministers also failed to reach agreement on rules that envisage the deployment of police officers to major accidents or sports events in other EU states while having the same rights and duties as police officers from the host country.