Legal provisions of COM(2021)96 - Amending regulations on information systems on conviction information (ECRIS-TCN), police and judicial cooperation, asylum and migration, and on screening at external borders

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dossier COM(2021)96 - Amending regulations on information systems on conviction information (ECRIS-TCN), police and judicial cooperation, asylum ...
document COM(2021)96 EN
date May 14, 2024


Article 1

Amendments to Regulation (EU) 2019/816

Regulation (EU) 2019/816 is amended as follows:

(1)in Article 1, the following point is added:

‘(f)the conditions under which data in ECRIS-TCN may be used by the screening authorities as defined in Article 2, point (10), of Regulation (EU) 2024/1356 of the European Parliament and of the Council (*1) for the purpose of performing a security check in order to assess whether a third-country national might pose a threat to internal security as referred to in Article 15 of that Regulation (EU).

(*1)  Regulation (EU) 2024/1356 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 May 2024 introducing the screening of third-country nationals at the external borders and amending Regulations (EC) No 767/2008, (EU) 2017/2226, (EU) 2018/1240 and (EU) 2019/817 (OJ L, 2024/1356, 22.5.2024, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2024/1356/oj).’;"

(2)in Article 2, second subparagraph, the following point is added:

‘(d)enables access to ECRIS-TCN for the purpose of supporting the performance of a security check established by Regulation (EU) 2024/1356.’

;

(3)in Article 3, point (6) is replaced by the following:

‘(6)“competent authorities” means the central authorities, Eurojust, Europol, the EPPO, the VIS designated authorities as referred to in Article 9d and Article 22b(13) of Regulation (EC) No 767/2008, the ETIAS Central Unit and the screening authorities as defined in Article 2, point (10), of Regulation (EU) 2024/1356, which are competent to access or query ECRIS-TCN in accordance with this Regulation;’

;

(4)Article 5 is amended as follows:

(a)in paragraph 1, point (c) is replaced by the following:

‘(c)a flag indicating, for the purpose of Regulations (EC) No 767/2008 and (EU) 2018/1240 and of Articles 15 and 16 of Regulation (EU) 2024/1356, that the third-country national concerned has been convicted in the previous 25 years of a terrorist offence or in the previous 15 years of any other criminal offence listed in the Annex to Regulation (EU) 2018/1240 if it is punishable by a custodial sentence or a detention order for a maximum period of at least three years under national law, including the code of the convicting Member State.’

;

(b)in paragraph 7, first subparagraph, the following point is added:

‘(c)the screening authorities, as defined in Article 2, point (10), of Regulation (EU) 2024/1356, for the purpose of assessing whether a third-country national might pose a threat to internal security where hits are reported following the security check referred to in Articles 15 and 16 of that Regulation.’

;

(5)in Article 7(7), the following point is added:

‘(e)supporting the objective of assessing whether a third-country national subject to a security check might pose a threat to internal security, in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2024/1356.’

;

(6)the following Article is inserted:

‘Article 7c

Use of ECRIS-TCN for the purposes of the screening

The screening authorities, as defined in Article 2, point (10), of Regulation (EU) 2024/1356, shall have the right to access and search ECRIS-TCN data using the European Search Portal provided for in Article 6 of Regulation (EU) 2019/818, for the purpose of performing the tasks conferred upon them by Articles 15 and 16 of Regulation (EU) 2024/1356.

For the purpose of performing such tasks, the screening authorities, as defined in Article 2, point (10), of Regulation (EU) 2024/1356, shall have the right to access only those ECRIS-TCN data records in the CIR to which a flag has been added in accordance with Article 5(1), point (c), of this Regulation.

In the event of a hit, the consultation of national criminal records based on the flagged ECRIS-TCN data shall take place in accordance with national law and using national channels of communication. The relevant national authorities of the convicting Member State shall provide an opinion to the screening authorities, as defined in Article 2, point (10), of Regulation (EU) 2024/1356, on whether the presence of that person on the territory of the Member States might pose a threat to internal security, within two days where the screening takes place on the territory of the Member State or within three days where the screening takes place at external borders. Where the relevant national authorities of the convicting Member State do not provide such an opinion within those deadlines, it shall be understood that there are no security grounds to be taken into account. National criminal records shall be consulted by the relevant national authorities of the convicting Member State prior to providing an opinion to the screening authorities, as defined in Article 2, point (10), of Regulation (EU) 2024/1356. Where, following a hit, no opinion has been provided and there are no security grounds to be taken into account, that absence of opinion and security grounds shall be recorded in the screening form as referred to in Article 17(1), point (h), of Regulation (EU) 2024/1356.’

;

(7)in Article 24(1), first subparagraph, the following point is added:

‘(d)supporting the objective of assessing whether a third-country national subject to a security check might pose a threat to internal security, in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2024/1356.’.

Article 2

Amendments to Regulation (EU) 2019/818

Regulation (EU) 2019/818 is amended as follows:

(1)in Article 7, paragraph 2 is replaced by the following:

‘2.   The Member State authorities and Union agencies referred to in paragraph 1 shall use the ESP to search data related to persons or their travel documents in the central systems of Eurodac and ECRIS-TCN in accordance with their access rights as referred to in the legal instruments governing those EU information systems and in national law. They shall also use the ESP to query the CIR in accordance with their access rights under this Regulation for the purposes referred to in Articles 20, 20a, 21 and 22.’

;

(2)Article 17 is amended as follows:

(a)paragraph 1 is replaced by the following:

‘1.   A CIR, creating an individual file for each person that is registered in the EES, VIS, ETIAS, Eurodac or ECRIS-TCN containing the data referred to in Article 18, is established for the purposes of facilitating and assisting in the correct identification or verification of identity of persons registered in the EES, VIS, ETIAS, Eurodac and ECRIS-TCN in accordance with Articles 20 and 20a, of supporting the functioning of the MID in accordance with Article 21 and of facilitating and streamlining access by designated authorities and Europol to the EES, VIS, ETIAS and Eurodac, where necessary for the prevention, detection or investigation of terrorist offences or other serious criminal offences in accordance with Article 22.’

;

(b)paragraph 4 is replaced by the following:

‘4.   Where it is technically impossible because of a failure of the CIR to query the CIR for the purposes of identifying a person pursuant to Article 20 or of identifying or verifying the identity of a person pursuant to Article 20a, for the detection of multiple identities pursuant to Article 21 or for the purposes of preventing, detecting or investigating terrorist offences or other serious criminal offences pursuant to Article 22, the CIR users shall be notified by eu-LISA in an automated manner.’

;

(3)in Article 18, paragraph 3 is replaced by the following:

‘3.   The authorities accessing the CIR shall do so in accordance with their access rights under the legal instruments governing the EU information systems and under national law and in accordance with their access rights under this Regulation for the purposes referred to in Articles 20, 20a, 21 and 22.’

;

(4)the following Article is inserted:

‘Article 20a

Access to the common identity repository for the identification or verification of identity in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2024/1356

1. Queries of the CIR shall be carried out by the screening authorities, as defined in Article 2, point (10), of Regulation (EU) 2024/1356 of the European Parliament and of the Council (*2), solely for the purpose of identifying or verifying the identity of a person in accordance with Article 14 of that Regulation, provided that the process was initiated in the presence of that person.

2. Where the query indicates that data on that person are stored in the CIR, the screening authorities, as defined in Article 2, point (10), of Regulation (EU) 2024/1356, shall have access to consult the data referred to in Article 18(1) of this Regulation as well as the data referred to in Article 18(1) of Regulation (EU) 2019/817 of the European Parliament and the Council.

(*2)  Regulation (EU) 2024/1356 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 May 2024 introducing the screening of third-country nationals at the external borders and amending Regulations (EC) No 767/2008, (EU) 2017/2226, (EU) 2018/1240 and (EU) 2019/817 (OJ L, 2024/1356, 22.5.2024, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2024/1356/oj).’;"

(5)Article 24 is amended as follows:

(a)paragraph 1 is replaced by the following:

‘1.   Without prejudice to Article 29 of Regulation (EU) 2019/816, eu-LISA shall keep logs of all data processing operations in the CIR in accordance with paragraphs 2, 2a, 3 and 4 of this Article.’

;

(b)the following paragraph is inserted:

‘2a.   eu-LISA shall keep logs of all data processing operations pursuant to Article 20a in the CIR. Those logs shall include the following:

(a)the Member State launching the query;

(b)the purpose of access of the user querying via the CIR;

(c)the date and time of the query;

(d)the type of data used to launch the query;

(e)the results of the query.’

;

(c)in paragraph 5, the first subparagraph is replaced by the following:

‘Each Member State shall keep logs of queries that its authorities and the staff of those authorities duly authorised to use the CIR make pursuant to Articles 20, 20a, 21 and 22. Each Union agency shall keep logs of queries that its duly authorised staff make pursuant to Articles 21 and 22.’.

Article 3

Entry into force and application

This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

It shall apply from 12 June 2026.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in the Member States in accordance with the Treaties.