German government: controversial Europol data hub to be expanded
Europol is being criticized as a "data laundering system" for the EU member states. Even more data will soon be flowing to and from Germany.
(Image: Oleksiy Mark/Shutterstock.com)
The German government wants German authorities to be allowed to send more data to Europol. At the same time, German authorities are to obtain more data from Europol. The government draft for an amendment to the Europol Act provides for both. This would adapt the national provisions to the controversial new Europol Regulation of the EU Commission. It allows Europol investigators to process extensive and complex data sets and use big data analyses to support member states in their fight against serious crime and terrorism.
According to the government's draft amendment to the Europol Act, the group of authorities authorized to exchange data with Europol is to be expanded. In addition to the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA), the Federal Police and the Customs Investigation Service, this should also be possible in future for other customs investigation authorities, such as the Financial Control of Illegal Employment and the Federal Finance Administration, which are responsible for preventing and combating crimes within Europol's area of responsibility. The Central Office for the Enforcement of Sanctions and "investigative authorities to be established in the future" such as the Money Laundering Investigation Center are also included. According to the draft, they may "transmit information to Europol for analysis in an ongoing specific criminal investigation and for storage for the duration of related judicial proceedings".
The revised Europol Regulation provides for selected member states to be granted "full access to certain information" for joint operational analyses. Accordingly, when supplying data to Europol, German authorities are to specify which of this data is to be directly accessible to other EU countries for corresponding purposes. For data processed at Europol for the purpose of operational analysis, the current legal situation only allows limited access according to the "hit/no hit" procedure.
Data protectionists against mass surveillance by Europol
Personal data should also flow for public search requests. In general, the "legal provisions applicable to the respective authority" should apply to data transfers. "The restrictions on the use of data under national law remain unaffected for the national use of data transferred to Europol," the draft continues. By way of example, the government refers in the explanatory memorandum to the tax secrecy in the German Fiscal Code for customs and financial data as well as comparable provisions in the German Social Security Codes [I and X], which must also be observed by the BKA as a national body in this respect.
Supervisory authorities have repeatedly criticized the Europol computer system as a kind of "data laundering system". This means that, in case of doubt, law enforcement authorities can "park" more extensive personal dossiers in The Hague than they are permitted to do nationally. In 2020, EU Data Protection Commissioner Wojciech Wiewiórowski criticized the fact that Europol investigators had exceeded their powers and acted unlawfully by collecting and analyzing unmanageable amounts of data. Unsuspects such as victims, witnesses or contact persons were therefore at risk of being "unlawfully linked to criminal activity throughout the EU".
However, Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser (SPD) emphasized: "We are further strengthening our cooperation with Europol. It is crucial for effective investigations, searches and seizures that data is exchanged quickly between investigators." Europol is an indispensable partner in the fight against organized crime.
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