Prüm Convention

The Prüm Convention (sometimes known as Schengen III Agreement^[1]) is a treaty which was signed on 27 May 2005 by Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Spain in the town of Prüm in Germany. The convention was joined later by other members of the Schengen Agreement.

The treaty was based on an initiative by the then German Minister Otto Schily from mid-2003.^[2] Core elements of the concention were picked up by EU Council Decision 2008/615/JHA on 23 June 2008 on the stepping up of cross-border cooperation, particularly in combating terrorism and cross-border crime.^[3]

Contents of the Convention

The Convention was adopted so as to enable the signatories to exchange data regarding DNA, fingerprints and Vehicle registration of concerned persons and to cooperate against terrorism. It also contains provisions for the deployment of armed sky marshals on flights between signatory states, joint police patrols, entry of (armed) police forces into the territory of another state for the prevention of immediate danger (hot pursuit), and cooperation in case of mass events or disasters. Furthermore, a police officer responsible for an operation in a state may, in principle, decide to what degree the police forces of the other states that were taking part in the operation could use their weapons or exercise other powers.

Relation to the European Union

The Convention was adopted outside of the European Union framework (and its mechanism of Enhanced co-operation), but asserts that it is open for accession by any Member state of the European Union and that:

provisions of this Convention shall only apply in so far as they are compatible with European Union law ... [EU law] should take precedence in applying the relevant provisions of this Convention

— Convention on the stepping up of cross-border cooperation, particularly in combating terrorism, cross-border crime and illegal migration, Article 47

Additionally the text of the Convention and its annexes were circulated on 7 July 2005 between the delegations to the Council of the European Union.

Some of the Convention provisions, falling under the former third pillar of the EU, were later subsumed into the police and judicial cooperation provisions of European Union law by 2008 Council Decisions,^[3][4] commonly referred to as the Prüm Decision. It provides for Law Enforcement Cooperation in criminal matters primarily related to exchange of Fingerprint, DNA (both on a hit no-hit basis) and Vehicle owner registration (direct access via the EUCARIS system) data. The data exchange provisions are to be implemented in 2012. The remaining provisions of the Convention falling under the former third pillar are not yet adopted into EU law.

Parties to the convention

The states which have ratified the convention are:

  Convention participant

  EU member interested in participating

  EU member state not participating

Several other states, including Greece, Italy, Portugal and Sweden, have notified the Council of the European Union of their desire to accede to the Prüm Convention.^[8]

Norway and Iceland have signed a treaty with the EU which enacts "certain provisions of Council Decision 2008/615/JHA".^[9] Neither state has yet to ratify the agreement as of 2012.^[10]

Notes

1. ^ Christopher Walsch (July 2009). "Europeanization and Democracy: Negotiating the Prüm Treaty and the Schengen III Agreement". Croatian Political Science Review 45 (5). http://hrcak.srce.hr/39933?lang=en. Retrieved 29 August 2010. 
2. ^ The Treaty of Prüm: A Replay of Schengen?
3. ^ ^{a b} OJ L 210, 6 August 2008, p. 1
4. ^ Decision 2008/616/2008 implementing 2008/615/2008
5. ^ ^{a b c d} "Convention between the Kingdom of Belgium, the Federal Republic of Germany, the Kingdom of Spain, the French Republic, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the Republic of Austria concerning the intensification of cross-border cooperation, particularly in the fight against terrorism, cross-border crime and illegal migration". Federal Law Gazette 2006 II p. 626. 2012-01-30. http://www.auswaertiges-amt.de/cae/servlet/contentblob/607270/publicationFile/165214/Statusliste-EN.pdf. Retrieved 2012-04-14. 
6. ^ "Treaty between the Kingdom of Belgium, the Federal Republic of Germany, the Kingdom of Spain, The French Republic, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the Republic of Austria concerning the intensification of cross-border cooperation, particularly in the fight against terrorism, cross-border crime and illegal migration". UN Treaty database. 2009-09-04. http://treaties.un.org/Pages/showDetails.aspx?objid=0800000280263b7b. Retrieved 2012-04-14. 
7. ^ "Convention between the Kingdom of Belgium, the Federal Republic of Germany, the Kingdom of Spain, the French Republic, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the Republic of Austria on the stepping up of cross-border cooperation, particularly in combating terrorism, cross-border crime and illegal migration". Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 2012-04-14. http://www.minbuza.nl/en/key-topics/treaties/search-the-treaty-database/2005/5/011066.html. Retrieved 2012-04-14. 
8. ^ "2807th Council Meeting: Justice and Home Affairs". Council of the European Union. 2007-06-13. http://www.consilium.europa.eu/ueDocs/cms_Data/docs/pressData/en/jha/94682.pdf. Retrieved 2012-04-14. 
9. ^ "Summary of Treaty". European Commission. 2010-09-13. http://ec.europa.eu/world/agreements/prepareCreateTreatiesWorkspace/treatiesGeneralData.do?step=0&redirect=true&treatyId=8402. Retrieved 2012-04-14. 
10. ^ "Agreement details". Council of the European Union. http://ue.eu.int/policies/agreements/search-the-agreements-database?command=details&id=&lang=en&aid=2009002&doclang=en%22. Retrieved 2012-04-14. 

See also

• Schengen Area
• Schengen Agreement
• Area of freedom, security and justice
• Enhanced co-operation

External links

• Text of the Prüm Convention
• The Prüm Process: Playing or abusing the system?
• The Prüm Regime: Situated Dis/Empowerment in Transnational DNA Profile Exchange, see: [1]