Interoperable Data Exchanges Within Different Data Protection Regimes: The Case of Europol and the European Border and Coast Guard Agency

Abstract

In recent years, the discourse surrounding migration, asylum and related security concerns have, in most EU Member States, become deeply contentious. Following the 2015 migration crisis, the shortcomings of the EU asylum system became strikingly evident. The subsequent terrorist attacks inaugurated the beginning of a series of revisions to databases used for border control, the registration of asylum seekers and visa applicants, or for alerts regarding criminals. As a final step, the Commission issued two proposals to render all EU databases interoperable in order to provide authorities with better information to tackle identity fraud, prevent irregular migration and mitigate security risks. In May 2019, the Interoperability Regulations were adopted by the co-legislators. Europol and Frontex, two EU Agencies that have been actively engaged in a wide range of operational activities at the external Schengen borders, will be authorized to consult and may subsequently request full access to the interoperable system. This contribution will address some of the concerns that emerge with the connection of originally disconnected databases and seeks to analyse the discrepancies that may arise in the context of interoperability where systematic data exchanges take place between actors that apply different data protection regimes. Interoperability, Europol, EBCGA, Eurosur, Data Protection, AFSJ, EU Databases, Border Control, Data Quality, Supervision