On 16 April 2018, Giovanni Buttarelli, the European Data Protection Supervisor (“EDPS”), published Opinion 4/2018 on the Proposals for two Regulations establishing a framework for interoperability between EU large-scale information systems (see Opinion 4/2018). A key take-away is that the EU’s current strategies in respect of information sharing need to evolve if they are to play an effective role in combatting security and border management challenges.
Buttarelli’s Opinion concerns the proposals made in December 2017 for two Regulations to establish a framework for interoperability between EU large-scale information systems, and is further to a reflection paper on interoperability published by the EDPS in November 2017 (see “December Proposals”). Part of the EDPS’s mission is to advise EU institutions on the data protection implications of their policies and to foster accountable policymaking in line with Action 9 of the EDPS Strategy: ‘Facilitating responsible and informed policymaking.’
Currently, the EU operates a number of large-scale information technology databases which are used by public authorities in EU Member States to deal with issues relating to migration, asylum and security in the EU. The December 2017 Proposals relate to expanding the public authorities’ access to and use of data. They would, for example, allow public authorities to access and use the data stored in EU IT systems for investigations relating to identity fraud and identity checks, and enable the streamlining of law enforcement access to databases that do not contain law enforcement information.
Buttarelli, who is responsible in his role as EDPS for monitoring the processing of personal data by the EU institutions and bodies, advising on policies and legislation which affect privacy and cooperating with similar authorities to ensure consistent data protection, remarked:
Competent authorities across the EU must be able to share information in order to manage current migratory challenges and terrorist and crime-related issues. Interoperability, implemented in a well-considered manner and in full compliance with fundamental rights, could prove useful in facilitating this. However, in their current form, the Commission’s Proposals would alter the structure and operation of the EU’s existing IT databases and change the way in which fundamental legal principles in this area have traditionally been interpreted. As the precise implications of this for the rights and freedoms of individuals require more clarity, wider debate on the future of information exchange in the EU, the governance of interoperable databases and the safeguarding of fundamental rights is needed.
The Opinion concludes that resolving the issues related to security and border management require a more intelligent use of the information already available to public authorities. In response to this, the European Commission has instigated a process geared towards the interoperability of both current and future large-scale information systems in EU in the fields of migration, asylum and security.
In recognition of the issues that arise in connection with the December Proposals and the potential impact of interoperability on the fundamental rights of EU citizens, the EDPS has called for wider debate on the issue before further action is taken in this respect. It remains therefore to be seen exactly how the Proposals will be implemented, or indeed when.
