Eurodac
Eurodac is a central database with fingerprints of asylum seekers and persons who have crossed the external borders of the Schengen area illegally. Eurodac enables the EU Member States and the Schengen countries to compare fingerprints.
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Purpose of Eurodac
Asylum seekers and persons who have crossed the border illegally are obliged to give their fingerprints when they are apprehended at the external borders of the Schengen area.
By comparing fingerprints, the EU Member States and Schengen countries are able to find out:
- whether someone has already applied for asylum in another EU Member State or another Schengen country;
- whether someone has entered the Schengen area illegally, without a residence permit or other leave to remain.
The EU Member States and Schengen countries can use this information to establish which Member State or which Schengen country has to process an asylum application based on the Dublin Regulation. Or which Member State or which country is responsible for the third country national who has entered the Schengen area illegally.
In specific cases, the law enforcement authorities within the Schengen area also have access to Eurodac.
Legislation for Eurodac
The formation and operation of Eurodac has been laid down in the Eurodac Regulation (603/2013/EU) (in Dutch). This regulation is currently under review by the European Commission.
This is done simultaneously with a number of other regulations, that - like the Eurodac Regulation - are part of the common European asylum system (CEAS). The aim is to strengthen the European asylum system by also using Eurodac for realising the return of third country nationals and preventing illegal migration.
Data in Eurodac
Eurodac contains data about third country nationals aged 14 or over. In the new Eurodac Regulation, this minimum age is expected to be lowered to 6.
In addition to fingerprints, Eurodac contains supplementary data about the person concerned, such as:
- nationality;
- gender;
- place and date of the asylum application or of the apprehension;
- date on which the fingerprints were taken.
The following changes are expected to apply after the entry into force of the new Eurodac Regulation:
- The first name, last name and facial images of the person will also be included in Eurodac.
- The system becomes interoperable. This means that it will be linked to other European information systems.
Retention period for data in Eurodac
The data in Eurodac are deleted after a certain period of time. This period depends on the category to which the person belongs. These periods are expected to change when the new Eurodac Regulation enters into force. In specific cases, the data are deleted immediately.
Supervision of Eurodac
The Eurodac Supervision Coordination Group (Eurodac SCG) independently monitors the use of Eurodac. The Eurodac SCG consists of the national data protection authorities of the EU Member States and the Schengen countries and the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS).
The Dutch Data Protection Authority (Dutch DPA) represents the Netherlands in the Eurodac SCG and is responsible for the supervision of the Dutch part of Eurodac. Among other things, the AP carries out inspections of the use of Eurodac in the Netherlands.
Information provision when taking fingerprints
Persons who have to give their fingerprints are entitled to information. To ensure that they know what happens with their data and why. And what they can do if, for example, data are incorrect.
They need to know:
- why their data are stored in Eurodac;
- which data are stored in Eurodac;
- how long these data are retained;
- who has access to the data in Eurodac;
- how they can exercise their privacy rights (access to, rectification and removal of their data in Eurodac).
The information must be given at the time the fingerprints are taken for registration in Eurodac. The information must be written in clear, simple language. In addition, the information must be provided orally if necessary. This must be done in a language that the person understands.