Focus on Eurodac: disentangled from the "package approach" but is it fit to fly? (ECRE)
The paper examines the amendments to the Eurodac proposal proposed by the Council and the European Parliament and the connections between Eurodac and other CEAS reform proposals.
Eurodac, which stands for European Asylum Dactyloscopy Database, is an EU-wide information system that primarily processes the fingerprints of asylum seekers and certain categories of irregular migrants, in particular those apprehended irregularly crossing the external borders of the EU or found irregularly staying on national territory. Eurodac has been operational since 2003 and constitutes the EU’s first experiment with biometric identifiers. It was designed to assist with implementing the Dublin system to determine the member state responsible for examining an application for international protection.
Eurodac forms an integral part of the Common European Asylum System (CEAS), but it is also one of the six interoperable large-scale IT systems for third-country nationals (the others being the Schengen Information System (SIS), the Visa Information System (VIS), the Entry/Exit System (EES), the European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS), and the European Criminal Record Information System for Third-country Nationals (ECRIS-TCN)).
This policy paper builds on a previous policy paper, published in January 2021, which analysed the transformation of Eurodac from the digital sidekick of the Dublin system to a multipurpose database supporting EU policies on asylum (including resettlement) and irregular migration.
The policy paper first provides concise overviews of the main amendments proposed by the Council (Section 2) and the European Parliament (Section 3). It then assesses their impact on fundamental rights, taking into account other factors such as the efficiency, effectiveness and fairness for member states. Section 4 then explains where the two co-legislators converge and where it could be more difficult to reconcile their positions, bearing in mind the other legislative instruments under negotiation. Finally, Section 5 provides recommendations for the trilogues and the last section considers an overall overhaul of the Eurodac rules to put forward recommendations for civil society and supervisory authorities regarding implementation of the revised rules.
For further information, please read the paper attached above.