Prüm Convention


The Prüm Convention is a law enforcement treaty which was signed on 27 May 2005 by Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Spain in the town of Prüm in Germany, 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 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, fingerprints and vehicle registration of concerned persons and to cooperate against terrorism. It also contains provisions for the deployment of armed sky marshals on flights between signatory states, joint police patrols, entry of police forces into the territory of another state for the prevention of immediate danger, 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, 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.
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 and Vehicle owner registration 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.

Parties to the convention

The states which have ratified the convention are:
Contracting partyDate of signatureDate of deposit of
instrument of ratification or accession		Entry into force
Austria27 May 200521 June 20061 November 2006
Belgium27 May 20055 February 20076 May 2007
Bulgaria-25 May 200923 August 2009
Estonia-23 September 200822 December 2008
Finland-19 March 200717 June 2007
France27 May 20052 October 200731 December 2007
Germany27 May 200525 August 200623 November 2006
Hungary-16 October 200714 January 2008
Luxembourg27 May 20058 February 20079 May 2007
Netherlands27 May 200520 February 200820 May 2008
Romania-3 December 20083 March 2009
Slovakia-27 February 200928 May 2009
Slovenia-10 May 20078 August 2007
Spain27 May 20053 August 20061 November 2006

The Dutch Senate ratified the treaty without a vote.
Greece, Italy, Portugal and Sweden, have notified the Council of the European Union of their desire to accede to the Prüm Convention.
While the Decisions were originally applicable to all EU member states, the United Kingdom subsequently exercised their right to opt-out 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.
Norway and Iceland signed a treaty with the EU in 2009 to apply certain provisions of the Decisions. Neither state has ratified the agreement as of 2015. Denmark, Ireland and the United Kingdom have opt-outs from participating in the Council Decision approving the agreement. While Ireland and the United Kingdom decided to opt-in, the agreement does not apply to Denmark. The Council of the European Union authorized the launch of negotiations with Switzerland and Liechtenstein 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.