Connection of Europol and Eurojust to the SIS:State of Play - Hoofdinhoud

COUNCIL OF PUBLIC Brussels, 16 January 2006

THE EUROPEAN UNION

5263/06

LIMITE

SIRIS 9 SCHENGEN 2 EUROJUST 1 EUROPOL 1 COMIX 41

NOTE from : Presidency to : SIS/SIRENE Working Party/Mixed Committee (EU-Iceland/Norway/Switzerland) No. prev. doc. : 8794/05 SIS-TECH 44 COMIX 301 RESTREINT UE

14633/05 SIRIS 126 SCHENGEN 42 EUROPOL 40 EUROJUST 82 COMIX 774

Subject : Connection of Europol and Eurojust to the SIS: State of Play

Introduction

• 1. 

  This document is intended to describe the connection of Europol and Eurojust to the SIS according to Council Decision 2005/211 i/JHA of 24 February 2005 1 in more detail. Thus greater

legal certainty and clarification of ambiguities should be achieved.

• 2. 

  In this respect, the former Presidency asked Europol to respond to several questions in December 2005. The answers to these questions, set out in the Annex to this Note, should help clearly to identify what use Europol will make of SIS data searched for in the system. Since Eurojust does not have an information system like Europol, such a questionnaire did not apply to Eurojust. However, both organisations should fully respect all the relevant provisions of the Schengen Convention, namely Articles 103 and 118. The Presidency wants to achieve a finalised common view on how the connection of Europol and Eurojust will be implemented and how SIS will be used within these organisations.

5263/06 JSS/ml 1 Legal requirements

• 3. 

  Europol shall within its mandate have the right to have access to, and to search directly, data entered into the Schengen Information System in accordance with Articles 95, 99 and 100 of the

Schengen Convention. 2 The national members of Eurojust and their assistants shall have the right to

have access to, and search, data entered in accordance with Articles 95 and 98 into the Schengen

Information System. 3

• 4. 

  Europol and Eurojust may only search data which they require for the performance of their

  4

tasks. It must be emphasised that the Schengen Information System is a hit/no-hit system exclusively and may not be used for any other purposes.

• 5. 

  Where a search by Europol or a national member of Eurojust reveals the existence of an alert in the Schengen Information System, the body making the search shall inform the Member

State which issued the alert. 5

• 6. 

  Use of information obtained from a search in the Schengen Information System by Europol is subject to the consent of the Member State concerned. If the Member State allows the use of such

information, the handling thereof shall be governed by the Europol Convention. 6

• 7. 

  Any communication of information obtained from such a search by Europol or a national member of Eurojust may only be communicated to third States and third bodies with the consent of

the Member State having issued the alert. 7 Therefore Europol or Eurojust should contact the

SIRENE office in the country issuing the alert.

2 Article 101A(1) Schengen Convention, inserted by Council Decision 2005/211 i/JHA of 24

February 2005

3 Article 101B(1) Schengen Convention, inserted by Council Decision 2005/211 i/JHA

4 Article 101A(2) and Article 101B(2) Schengen Convention, inserted by Council Decision

2005/211/JHA

5 Article 101A(3) and Article 101B(3) Schengen Convention, inserted by Council Decision

2005/211/JHA

6 Article 101A(4) Schengen Convention, inserted by Council Decision 2005/211 i/JHA

7 Article 101A(4) and Article 101B(3) Schengen Convention, inserted by Council Decision

2005/211/JHA 8. Every search made by Europol or a national member of Eurojust (or an assistant) shall be

recorded in accordance with the provisions of Article 103 of the Schengen Convention. 8 Every use

of data to which a national member of Eurojust (or an assistant) has acceded shall be registered.

• 9. 

  No parts of the Schengen Information System shall be connected nor shall the data contained therein to which Europol or the national members of Eurojust (or their assistants) have access be transferred to any computer system for data collection and processing in operation by or

at Europol or Eurojust, nor shall any parts of the Schengen Information System be downloaded. 9

This provision does not apply for Europol with the consent of the Member State concerned.

• 10. 

  The access to data entered into the Schengen Information System shall be limited to specifically authorised staff of Europol and to the national members of Eurojust (and their

assistants) and shall not be extended to Eurojust staff. 10

• 11. 

  Measures as provided for in Article 118 of the Schengen Convention shall be adopted and

applied by Europol and the national members of Eurojust. 11 Therefore Europol and Eurojust shall

adopt the necessary measures to protect access to data stored in the Schengen Information System by unauthorised persons.

• 12. 

  The Joint Supervisory Body, set up under Article 24 of the Europol Convention, has the right to review the activities of Europol in the exercise of its right to accede to and to search data

entered into the Schengen Information System. 12 Furthermore the Joint Supervisory Authority has the task of checking that the provisions of the Schengen Convention are properly implemented 13

and therefore has the right to audit the activities of Europol and the national members of Eurojust in respect of competences granted to them.

8 Article 101A(6)(a) and Article 101B(5) Schengen Convention, inserted by Council Decision

2005/211/JHA

9 Article 101A(6)(b) and Article 101B(6) Schengen Convention, inserted by Council Decision

2005/211/JHA

10 Article 101A(6)(c) and Article 101B(7) Schengen Convention, inserted by Council Decision

2005/211/JHA

11 Article 101A(6)(d) and Article 101B(8) Schengen Convention, inserted by Council Decision

2005/211/JHA

12 Article 101A(6)(e) Schengen Convention, inserted by Council Decision 2005/211 i/JHA

13 Article 115 Schengen Convention

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