EU & the World

France Tops EU Police List For DNA Collection

Published

2 years ago

May 12, 2023

france-tops-eu-police-list-for-dna-collection

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France has more DNA profiles than any other EU member state. By the end of 2018, it had almost 6.5m DNA profiles, up from 6m at the beginning of 2022.

This figure was cited in a document from the EU dated 4th May, which this website has viewed. France is followed by Germany, with 1.2m people, Spain (477.834), and the Netherlands (417.834).

The profiles are part of the ‘Prum Framework’, which is designed to make it easier for police to automate exchanges of DNA, fingerprints and vehicle registration information.

France was also at the top of the EU-27 list in the past year. It had proposed, during its EU presidency, that mass DNA searches be allowed through the creation a central router.

As part of the European Commission’s overhaul of Prum, the central router would manage the interconnections between the different national databases.

After a proposal by the European Commission to revamp the rules at the end of 2021, EU is now working to expand it to include police facial recognition database.

The proposal also grants access to Europol, the EU’s police agency.

Critics claim that the reforms will lead the EU to a mass surveillance system based on biometrics.

Ella Jakubowska is a policy adviser at the Brussels-based European Digital Rights NGO. She has in the past said that the reforms are “pouring gasoline on the fire” of the current state of data collection and processing, as well as the cross-border exchange between law enforcement agencies in Europe.

Other people also have doubts, including the European Data Protection Supervisor who warned against the automatic search of DNA profiles and face images.

The reforms are still being discussed with the council of member states who adopted their position last summer.

Author

Yuki Dobber

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EU & the World

Joe Biden’s Health: Does the Former President Have Cancer?

Published

23 hours ago

May 18, 2025

Vivian

Joe Biden has revealed he’s battling an aggressive form of prostate cancer that has spread to his bones. Find out more about his condition and treatment plan here.