The Prüm Convention (inaccurately known as Schengen III Agreement) is a law enforcement

treaty A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between actors in international law. It is usually made by and between sovereign states, but can include international organizations, individuals, business entities, and other legal pe ...

which was signed on 27 May 2005 by

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...

, the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

and

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

in the town of Prüm in

, and which is open to all members of the European Union, 14 of which are currently parties. The treaty was based on an initiative by the then German Minister

Otto Schily Otto Georg Schily (born 20 July 1932) is a former Federal Minister of the Interior of Germany, his tenure was from 1998 to 2005, in the cabinet of Chancellor Gerhard Schröder. He is a member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD). Earl ...

from mid-2003. Core elements of the convention were picked up by EU Council Decision 2008/615/JHA on 23 June 2008 on the stepping up of cross-border cooperation, particularly in combating terrorism and cross-border crime. The full name of the treaty is ''Convention between the Kingdom of Belgium, the Federal Republic of Germany, the Kingdom of Spain, the French Republic, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the Republic of Austria on the stepping up of cross-border cooperation, particularly in combating terrorism, cross-border crime and illegal migration''.

Contents of the Convention

The Convention was adopted so as to enable the signatories to exchange data regarding DNA,

fingerprint A fingerprint is an impression left by the friction ridges of a human finger. The recovery of partial fingerprints from a crime scene is an important method of forensic science. Moisture and grease on a finger result in fingerprints on surfac ...

s and

vehicle registration Motor vehicle registration is the registration of a motor vehicle with a government authority, either compulsory or otherwise. The purpose of motor vehicle registration is to establish a link between a vehicle and an owner or user of the vehicle. Th ...

of concerned persons and to cooperate against

terrorism Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...

. It also contains provisions for the deployment of armed

sky marshal A sky marshal is a covert law enforcement or counter-terrorist agent on board a commercial aircraft to counter aircraft hijackings. Such an agent is also known as an air marshal, a flight marshal, or an in-flight security officer (IFSO). Sky marsh ...

s on flights between signatory states, joint police patrols, entry of (armed) police forces into the territory of another state for the prevention of immediate danger (

hot pursuit Hot pursuit Hot pursuit is a legal term. Hot Pursuit may also refer to: Film and television * ''Hot Pursuit'' (1984 TV series), a 1984 NBC television series * ''Hot Pursuit'' (2006 TV series), a 2006 Court TV television series * ''Hot Pursuit ...

), and cooperation in case of mass events or disasters. Furthermore, a police officer responsible for an operation in a state may, in principle, decide to what degree the police forces of the other states that were taking part in the operation could use their weapons or exercise other powers.

Relation to the European Union

The Convention was adopted outside of the European Union framework (and its mechanism of

enhanced co-operation In the European Union (EU), enhanced cooperation (previously known as closer cooperation) is a procedure where a minimum of nine Member state of the European Union, EU member states are allowed to establish advanced European integration, integrat ...

), but asserts that it is open for accession by any member state of the European Union and that: Additionally the text of the Convention and its annexes were circulated on 7 July 2005 between the delegations to the

Council of the European Union The Council of the European Union, often referred to in the treaties and other official documents simply as the Council, and informally known as the Council of Ministers, is the third of the seven Institutions of the European Union (EU) as ...

Prüm Decision

Some of the Convention provisions, falling under the former third pillar of the EU, were later subsumed into the police and judicial cooperation provisions of European Union law by a 2008 Council Decision, commonly referred to as the Prüm Decision. It provides for Law Enforcement Cooperation in criminal matters primarily related to exchange of fingerprint, DNA (both on a hit no-hit basis) and Vehicle owner registration (direct access via the EUCARIS system) data. The data exchange provisions are to be implemented in 2012. The remaining provisions of the Convention falling under the former third pillar are not yet adopted into EU law. While the Decisions were originally applicable to all EU member states, the United Kingdom subsequently exercised their right to

opt-out The term opt-out refers to several methods by which individuals can avoid receiving unsolicited product or service information. This option is usually associated with direct marketing campaigns such as e-mail marketing or direct mail. A list of thos ...

from them effective 1 December 2014. However, the UK committed to assess their future participation and make a decision by 31 December 2015 on whether to rejoin the Decisions. On 22 January 2016 the UK notified the EU of its desire to resume participating in the Prum Decisions, which was approved by the Commission on 20 May 2016.

Prüm II

Announced in Spring 2021 Prüm II aims to expand the amount of information that can be shared, potentially including photos and information from driving licenses which raises concerns in regard to facial recognition in particular in regard to using existing photos such as police

mugshots A mug shot or mugshot (an informal term for police photograph or booking photograph) is a photographic portrait of a person from the shoulders up, typically taken after a person is arrested. The original purpose of the mug shot was to allow law ...

against newly captured images such as those from CCTV camera

Parties to the convention

The states which have ratified the convention are: The

Dutch Senate The Senate ( or simply ' , literally "First Chamber of the States General", or sometimes ' ) is the upper house of the States General, the legislature of the Netherlands. Its 75 members are elected on lists by the members of the twelve States-P ...

ratified the treaty without a vote.

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

and Sweden, have notified the

of their desire to accede to the Prüm Convention.

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...

and

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

signed a treaty with the EU in 2009 to apply certain provisions of the Decisions. Norway ratified the agreement and it entered into force for it as of 1 December 2020, while Iceland has not ratified as of October 2020. Denmark, Ireland and the United Kingdom have opt-outs from participating in the Council Decision approving the agreement with Norway and Iceland. While Ireland and the United Kingdom decided to opt-in, the agreement does not apply to

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

. The

authorized the launch of negotiations with Switzerland and

Liechtenstein Liechtenstein (), officially the Principality of Liechtenstein (german: link=no, Fürstentum Liechtenstein), is a German-speaking microstate located in the Alps between Austria and Switzerland. Liechtenstein is a semi-constitutional monarch ...

on their participation in the Prüm regime in June 2016. Proposals to conclude agreements with each state were put forward by the European Commission in January 2019. Ireland and the UK again opted to participate in the agreement. The agreements were signed on 27 June 2019. On the 23 June 2016 the United Kingdom voted to leave the EU. After withdrawal negotiations concluded, the United Kingdom left the EU on the 31 January 2020.

References

External links

Official depositary page
**https://www.auswaertiges-amt.de/blob/248566/d8ad2b24a9f99dd8aa3f7eb02008be43/statusliste-en-data.pdf
Text of the Prüm Convention

The Prüm Process: Playing or abusing the system?
* The Prüm Regime: Situated Dis/Empowerment in Transnational DNA Profile Exchange, see

{{DEFAULTSORT:Prum Convention Treaties of the European Union Treaties concluded in 2005 Treaties entered into force in 2006 Treaties of Austria Treaties of Belgium Treaties of Bulgaria Treaties of Estonia Treaties of Finland Treaties of France Treaties of Germany Treaties of Hungary Treaties of Luxembourg Treaties of the Netherlands Treaties of Romania Treaties of Slovenia Treaties of Slovakia Treaties of Spain Terrorism treaties Boundary treaties 2005 in Germany Crime in Europe Multi-speed Europe