The Entry/Exit System (EES), launching in 2025, will register non-EU nationals crossing the EU’s external borders. This FRA guidance supports managers overseeing the operation of the new system. It helps them to ensure compliance with EU fundamental rights. It outlines operational considerations: clear communication, dignified biometric data collection and data protection. It also addresses staff training needs. Based on fieldwork at 10 border crossing points in 6 Member States, the guidance will ensure rights are respected under the new system. A separate guidance publication for border guards accompanies this publication.
Mithilfe von Gesichtserkennungstechnologie können digitale Gesichtsbilder verglichen werden, um festzustellen, ob sie dieselbe Person zeigen. Der Vergleich von Aufnahmen von Videokameras mit Bildern in Datenbanken wird als Live-Gesichtserkennungstechnologie bezeichnet. Nur wenige nationale Strafverfolgungsbehörden in der EU nutzen derzeit eine solche Technologie – doch mehrere erproben ihr Potenzial. Im vorliegenden Fokuspapier werden daher die Auswirkungen der Live-Gesichtserkennungstechnologie im Hinblick auf die Grundrechte untersucht, wobei der Schwerpunkt auf der Nutzung für die Zwecke der Strafverfolgung und des Grenzmanagements liegt.
Facial recognition technology (FRT) makes it possible to compare digital facial images to determine whether they are of the same person. Comparing footage obtained from video cameras (CCTV) with images in databases is referred to as ‘live facial recognition technology’. Examples of national law enforcement authorities in the EU using such technology are sparse – but several are testing its potential. This paper therefore looks at the fundamental rights implications of relying on live FRT, focusing on its use for law enforcement and border-management purposes.
La technologie de reconnaissance faciale permet de comparer des images faciales numériques afin de déterminer s’il s’agit d’une seule et même personne. La comparaison d’images obtenues à partir
de caméras vidéo avec des images stockées dans des bases de données est appelée «technologie de reconnaissance faciale en temps réel». Les exemples d’autorités répressives nationales de l’Union européenne (UE) utilisant cette technologie sont rares, mais plusieurs d’entre elles testent actuellement son potentiel. Le présent document examine donc les implications en matière de droits fondamentaux de l’utilisation de la technologie de reconnaissance faciale en temps réel, en mettant l’accent sur son utilisation à des fins répressives et de gestion des frontières.
This Opinion by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) aims to inform the European Parliament’s position concerning the legislative proposal for a Regulation on strengthening the security of identity cards of European Union (EU) citizens and of residence documents issued to EU citizens and their family members exercising their right of free movement. It focuses on the processing of biometric data and complements the opinion published by the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS).
In November 2017, the European Commission requested FRA’s support in evaluating the impact on fundamental rights of the European Border Surveillance System (Eurosur) Regulation. Further to this request, FRA reviewed the work of the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex) and analysed cooperation agreements concluded by EU Member States with third countries which are relevant for the exchange of information for the purposes of Eurosur. This report presents the main findings of such review.
This Opinion aims to
inform the European Parliament’s position on the legislative proposal amending the
Visa Information System, the Visa Code and other related provisions of EU law. The
European Commission presented the proposal on 16 May 2018 and EU legislators are
currently discussing it.
This Opinion by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) aims to inform the European Parliament position concerning legislative proposals on interoperability between EU information technology systems (IT systems) presented on 12 December 2017 and currently discussed by the EU legislators.
This report outlines the fundamental rights implications of collecting, storing and using
biometric and other data in EU IT systems in the area of asylum and migration.
The European Parliament requested this FRA Opinion on the fundamental rights and personal data protection implications of the proposed Regulation for the creation of a European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS), including an assessment of the fundamental rights aspects of the access
by law enforcement authorities and Europol.
Various proposals on EU-level information systems in the areas of borders and security mention interoperability, aiming to provide fast and easy access to information about third-country nationals.
The European Parliament asked the Agency to provide its Opinion on the fundamental rights impact of the proposed revision of the Eurodac Regulation on children.
EU Member States are increasingly involved in border management activities on the high seas, within – or i cooperation with – third countries, and at the EU’s borders. Such activities entail risks of violating the principle of non-refoulement, the cornerstone of the international legal regime for the protection of refugees, which prohibits returning individuals to a risk of persecution. This report aims to encourage fundamental-rights compliant approaches to border management, including by highlighting potential grey areas.
Die EU-Mitgliedstaaten beteiligen sich immer häufiger an Maßnahmen des Grenzmanagements auf hoher See, die in oder in Zusammenarbeit mit Drittländern und an den EU Grenzen stattfinden. Derartige Maßnahmen bergen die Gefahr, gegen den Grundsatz der Nichtzurückweisung zu verstoßen. Dieser Eckpfeiler des internationalen Rechtsrahmens für den Schutz von Flüchtlingen verbietet die Rückführung von Personen in ein Land, in dem ihnen Verfolgung droht. Die vorliegenden Leitlinien enthalten konkrete Vorschläge, wie das Risiko der Zurückweisung in solchen Situationen verringert werden kann – ein praktisches Instrument, das unter Mitwirkung von ExpertInnen anlässlich eines Treffens in Wien im März 2016 entwickelt wurde.
EU Member States are increasingly involved in border management activities on the high seas, within – or in cooperation with – third countries, and at the EU’s borders. Such activities entail risks of violating the principle of non-refoulement, the cornerstone of the international legal regime for the protection of refugees, which prohibits returning individuals to a risk of persecution. This guidance outlines specific suggestions on how to reduce the risk of refoulement in these situations – a practical tool developed with the input of experts during a meeting held in Vienna in March of 2016.
Les États membres de l’UE participent de plus en plus à des activités de gestion des frontières en haute mer, sur le territoire de pays tiers, ou en coopération avec ces derniers, ainsi qu’aux frontières de l’UE. Ces activités peuvent comporter des risques de violation du principe de non-refoulement, la pierre angulaire du régime international juridique assurant la protection des réfugiés, qui interdit le retour d’individus vers une situation de risque de persécution. Ces orientations présentent des suggestions spécifiques sur les moyens de réduire les risques de refoulement dans ces situations. Elles constituent un outil pratique élaboré à l’aide de contributions d’experts réunis à Vienne en mars 2016.
The proposal to establish a possible legislative instrument supplementing the existing European Criminal Records Information System with information on third-country nationals convicted in the EU raises a number of fundamental rights issues.
Processing biometric data for immigration, asylum and border management purposes has become common. This focus paper looks at measures authorities can take to enforce the obligation of newly arrived asylum seekers and migrants in an irregular situation to provide fingerprints for inclusion in Eurodac.
FRA was requested by the European Commission (EC) in January 2014 to provide practical guidance on the processing of Passenger Name Record (PNR) data for law enforcement purposes, in light of efforts by Member States to establish national PNR systems. As a result, in informal consultation with EC services and the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) and building on opinions FRA, the EDPS and the Article 29 Working Party on PNR, FRA presented twelve fundamental rights considerations to EU Member States experts at technical level.
Upon request of the European Parliament, the FRA presented an expert opinion on the fundamental rights compliance of a proposal for a Directive on the use of Passenger Name Record (PNR) data for the prevention, detection, investigation and prosecution of terrorist offences and serious crime (COM(2011) 32 final). This was a follow-up request to the opinion of the FRA related to PNR from October 2008.