Eurodac – access for law enforcement authorities

Illuminated fingerprint on a dark-coloured glass plate. — Fingerprinting, or dactyloscopy (the technique of examining fingerprints in order to identify individuals). © George Prentzas

The Eurodac database contains the fingerprints of persons applying for asylum in a Dublin state or caught entering the country irregularly. The Swiss law enforcement authorities do not yet have access to this data. In order to improve Switzerland's internal security, the Federal Council intends to give the law enforcement authorities access to the Eurodac database, subject to certain conditions.

Switzerland and the EU concluded negotiations on Eurodac access for the Swiss law enforcement authorities at the end of 2017. The relevant protocol was signed on 27 June 2019. The Federal Council submitted a dispatch to Parliament on 5 March 2021 on the adoption of the protocol. The Federal Council ratified the Eurodac Protocol on 28 April 2022, after which it entered into force on 1 May 2022.

Access for law enforcement authorities investigating serious offences

The Eurodac database, established in 2003, contains the fingerprints of persons claiming asylum in a Dublin State or caught entering the country irregularly. The system allows Dublin states to check whether asylum seekers have submitted an asylum application in another Dublin state or if they have entered via a safe third country. Access was previously restricted to parties requiring data on asylum seekers. The information was not made available to national law enforcement authorities. This situation changed in 2015, when the EU Eurodac Regulation, as amended, came into force. The regulation specifically gives law enforcement authorities the right to access Eurodac, subject to strict conditions. For example, the law enforcement authorities may only access Eurodac if the following databases have previously returned a negative result:

National fingerprint and DNA databases
Databases under the Prüm police cooperation scheme
Visa Information System (VIS) for Schengen states

In addition, accessing Eurodac is only permitted for the purposes of investigating suspected terrorism or other serious criminal offences, but not lesser crimes (misdemeanours). Fingerprints may also only be compared for specific cases. Systematic comparisons may not be carried out.

The new provisions of the Eurodac Regulation granting access to the law enforcement authorities do not constitute a further development of the Dublin acquis. As a result, they do not automatically apply to Switzerland. In order to participate, Switzerland was therefore required to sign the protocol on 27 June 2019.

Effectively tackling cross-border crime

Database access is essential in enabling the Swiss law enforcement authorities to fight organised crime and terrorism. Access to European databases is particularly important in order to combat cross-border crime effectively, as evidenced by the Visa Information System (VIS), which the law enforcement authorities have been able to access since 2008. This is why the Federal Council wanted to agree a protocol with the EU that allows the Swiss law enforcement authorities to access Eurodac data. In return, the law enforcement authorities in European partner countries will also be able to access Swiss data stored on Eurodac.

Countries seeking Eurodac access must participate in the Prüm police cooperation scheme, which requires EU member states, Norway and Iceland to maintain various police DNA and fingerprint databases. The agreement on Switzerland's participation in the Prüm police cooperation scheme was also signed on 27 June 2019 and ratified on 28 April 2022. The Prüm Agreement entered into force on 1 March 2023, having also been ratified by the EU.