Date of release : 14-04-2005

Policy area : Justice and Home Affairs Justice and Home Affairs

Event : Justice and Home Affairs Council

During the "Justice and Home Affairs" Council of 14 April 2005 in Luxembourg, the European Ministers of Justice and the Interior also talked about trails to follow for the upcoming work on implementing the principle of availability in the European judicial area.

"This principle is a key concept for better judicial and police cooperation in Europe" Luc Frieden said, current President of the "Justice and Home Affairs" Council. The Hague programme stipulates that the exchange of information from law enforcement agencies should obey the principle of availability. This principle stipulates that the available information will have to be exchanged as quickly as possible between judicial and police authorities within the European Union with the appropriate guarantees in the area of data protection.

On this subject, the Presidency considers that the best trail to follow is to select a certain number of types of information considered important for conducting criminal investigations and to determine the details most appropriate for implementing the principle of availability. "The system for implementing this principle may be different according to the type of information" Luc Frieden stated.

The Council has identified and adopted 6 types of information such as DNA data, fingerprints, ballistic data, vehicle registration, telephone numbers and personal identification data.

At the close of the press conference, Luc Frieden said "All of us agree to a better exchange of information, but we must find the best means to exchange it."