Proposal for a REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL amending Council Decision 2009/917/JHA, as regards its alignment with Union rules on the protection of personal data
Date: 2023-05-11
Institutions: European Anti-Fraud Office, European Commission
Subjects: EU police cooperation, data protection, exchange of information, fight against crime, information system, judicial cooperation in criminal matters in the EU, personal data, protection of privacy

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   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 11.5.2023  COM(2023) 244 final 2023/0143 (COD)  Proposal for a REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL amending Council Decision 2009/917/JHA, as regards its alignment with Union rules on the protection of personal data  
 
EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

1. 

• 

CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL 

Reasons for and objectives of the proposal 

Directive  (EU)  2016/6801  (the  Data  Protection  Law  Enforcement  Directive  –  LED)  entered 
into  force  on  6  May  2016  and  Member  States  had  until  6  May  2018  to  transpose  it  into 
national law. It repealed and replaced Council Framework Decision 2008/977/JHA2, but is a 
much  more  comprehensive  personal  data  protection  instrument.  Notably,  it  applies  to  both 
domestic  and  cross-border  processing  of  personal  data  by  competent  authorities  for  the 
purposes  of  preventing,  investigating,  detecting  or  prosecuting  criminal  offences  and 
executing criminal penalties, including safeguarding against and preventing threats to public 
security (Article 1(1)). 

Article 62(6)  LED requires the Commission to  review, by 6 May 2019, other EU legal  acts 
that regulate competent authorities’ personal data processing for law enforcement purposes, in 
order  to  assess  the  need  to  align  them  with  the  LED  and,  where  appropriate,  to  make 
proposals for amending them to ensure consistency in the protection of personal data within 
the scope of the LED. 

The  Commission  set  out  the  results  of  its  review  in  a  Communication  on  Way  forward  on 
aligning  the  former  third  pillar  acquis  with  data  protection  rules  (24  June  2020)3,  which 
specifies  ten  legal  acts  that  should  be  aligned  with  the  LED.  The  list  includes  Council 
Decision 2009/917/JHA on the use of information technology for customs purposes4. 

The  proposal  aims  at  aligning  the  data  protection  rules  in  Council  Decision  2009/917/JHA 
with the principles and rules laid down in the LED, in order to provide a strong and coherent 
personal data protection framework in the Union. 

• 

Consistency with existing policy provisions in the policy area 

the  Council  Decision 
The  Customs  Information  System  (CIS)  established  under 
2009/917/JHA is an automated information system for customs purposes, which aims to assist 
in  preventing,  investigating  and  prosecuting  serious  contraventions  of  national  laws  by 
making  information  available  more  rapidly  and  increase  the  effectiveness  of  the  customs 
administrations.  The  proposal  aims  to  align  the  data  protection  rules  in  Council  Decision 
2009/917/JHA  with  the  principles  and  rules  laid  down  in  the  LED,  in  order  to  provide  a 
strong and coherent personal data protection framework in the Union. 

Consistency with other Union policies 

• 

n/a 

1  Directive (EU) 2016/680 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection 
of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data by competent authorities for the purposes 
of the prevention, investigation, detection or prosecution of criminal offences or the execution of criminal 
penalties,  and  on  the  free  movement  of  such  data,  and  repealing  Council  Framework  Decision 
2008/977/JHA (OJ L 119, 4.5.2016, p. 89).  

2  Council  Framework  Decision  2008/977/JHA  of  27  November  2008  on  the  protection  of  personal  data 
processed in the framework of police and judicial cooperation in criminal matters (OJ L 350, 30.12.2008, p. 
60). 

3  COM(2020) 262 final. 
4  OJ L 323, 10.12.2009, p. 20. 

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2. 

• 

LEGAL BASIS, SUBSIDIARITY AND PROPORTIONALITY 

Legal basis 

The  protection  of  natural  persons  in  relation  to  the  processing  of  their  personal  data  is  a 
fundamental  right  laid  down  in  Article  8(1)  of  the  Charter  of  Fundamental  Rights  of  the 
European Union (‘Charter’). 

The  proposal  is  based  on  Article  16(2)  of  the  Treaty  on  the  Functioning  of  the  European 
Union  (TFEU),  which  is  the  most  appropriate  legal  basis  since  both  the  objective  and  the 
substance of the proposed amendment is clearly limited to the protection of personal data. 

Article 16(2) TFEU allows for rules to be adopted on the protection of individuals with regard 
to  the  processing  of  personal  data  by  the  competent  authorities  in  Member  States  when 
carrying out activities to prevent, investigate, detect or prosecute criminal offences or execute 
criminal penalties that fall within the scope of EU law. It also allows for rules to be adopted 
on the free movement of personal data, including for personal data exchanges by competent 
authorities within the EU. 

According to Article 2a of Protocol No 22 on the position of Denmark, annexed to the TEU 
and to the TFEU, Denmark will not be bound by rules laid down on the basis of Article 16 
TFEU  which  relate  to  the  processing  of  personal  data  when  carrying  out  activities  falling 
within  the  scope  of  Chapter  4  and  5  of  Title  IV  of  Part  Three  of  the  TFEU.  Therefore, 
Denmark will not be bound by the Regulation now proposed and will continue to apply the 
Council Decision as it stands today, that is, without the amendments now proposed.  

That  implies, inter alia,  that the  Joint Supervisory  Authority  referred to in  Article 25 of the 
Council  Decision  will  formally  continue  to  exist,  only  in  respect  of  Denmark.  At  the  same 
time, due to the proposed deletion of that article and the proposed amendment to Article 26 
introducing  the  coordinated  supervision  model  laid  down  in  Article  62  of  Regulation  (EU) 
2018/1725, said existence has no effects in respect of the other Member States or the Customs 
Information  System  as  such.  As  the  present  proposal  is  limited  to  aligning  the  Council 
Decision to the LED, this outcome is an unavoidable consequence of the alignment exercise 
required under the LED and the constraints resulting from Protocol No 22. When in the future 
a broader assessment of the Council Decision is warranted, the Commission will review this 
issue. 

According to Article 6a of Protocol No 21 on the position of the United Kingdom and Ireland 
in respect of the area of freedom, security and justice, Ireland is not bound by rules laid down 
on the basis of Article 16 TFEU, where Ireland is not bound by the rules governing the forms 
of  judicial  cooperation  in  criminal  matters  or  police  cooperation  which  require  compliance 
with  the  provisions  laid down  on  the  basis  of  Article  16.  As  Ireland  participates  in  Council 
Decision 2009/917/JHA, it will thus also take part in the adoption of this proposal. 

• 

Subsidiarity (for non-exclusive competence)  

The subject matter of this Regulation falls within the domain of exclusive competence of the 
Union, since only the Union can adopt rules governing the processing of personal data by the 
competent authorities for law enforcement purposes. Only the Union can align EU acts to the 
rules laid down in the LED. Therefore, only the Union can adopt a legislative act amending 
Council Decision 2009/917/JHA. 

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• 

Proportionality 

The  proposal  is  limited  to  what  is  necessary  to  align  Council  Decision  2009/917/JHA  with 
Union  legislation  on  the  protection  of  personal  data  (LED)  without  changing  the  Council 
Decision’s scope in any way. The proposal does not go beyond what is necessary to achieve 
the objectives pursued, in accordance with Article 5(4) of the Treaty on European Union. 

• 

Choice of the instrument 

The proposal aims at amending a Council Decision, which was adopted before the entry into 
force  of  the  Treaty  of  Lisbon  in  2009.  The  relevant  provisions  of  Council  Decision 
2009/917/JHA which establish the Customs Information System and set out the rules for the 
operation and use of the system are directly applicable. 

Therefore,  the  most  appropriate  instrument  to  amend  this  Council  Decision  under  Article 
16(2) of the TFEU is through a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council. 

3. 

• 

RESULTS 
CONSULTATIONS AND IMPACT ASSESSMENTS 

EX-POST 

EVALUATIONS, 

OF 

STAKEHOLDER 

Ex-post evaluations/fitness checks of existing legislation 

The proposal follows the results of the Commission’s review under Article 62(6) of the LED, 
as presented in the 2020 Communication on Way forward on aligning the former third pillar 
acquis  with  data  protection  rules.  This  Communication  lists  six  specific  points  on  which 
alignment of Council Decision 2009/917/JHA with the LED is required, namely: 

– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

In relation to the ‘serious contraventions’ to which the Council Decision applies; 

Clarify the conditions for collecting and recording the personal data and require that 
the personal data may be entered into the CIS only if there are reasonable grounds, in 
particular on the basis of prior illegal activities, to suggest that the person concerned 
has committed, is in the act of committing or will commit a criminal offence; 

Provide for additional requirements related to security of processing aligning the list 
of  required  security  measures  with  Article  29  of  the  LED,  i.e.  by  adding 
requirements on system recovery, reliability and integrity; 

Restrict  the  subsequent  processing  of  personal  data  recorded  in  CIS  for  purposes 
other than for which the personal data were collected, so that it can occur only under 
the conditions provided for in the LED; 

Make the processing of personal data under Council Decision 2009/917/JHA subject 
to  the  coordinated  supervision  model  laid  down  in  Article  62  of  Regulation  (EU) 
2018/17255.  The  Council  Decision  is  the  only  remaining  legal  act  whereby  the 
supervision  of  processing  of  personal  data  is  carried  out  by  the  Joint  Supervisory 
Authority which has now become obsolete; 

Update  the  general  reference  to  Council  Framework  Decision  2008/977/JHA  with 
the  reference  to  the  applicability  of  the  LED.  Any  provision  that  overlaps  with  the 

5  Regulation  (EU)  2018/1725  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  23  October  2018  on  the 
protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data by the Union institutions, bodies, 
offices and agencies and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 and 
Decision No 1247/2002/EC (Text with EEA relevance) (OJ L 295, 21.11.2018, p. 39-98). 

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LED  (such  as  definitions  or  the  provisions  on  the  rights  of  the  data  subjects  or 
availability  of  judicial  remedy  and  liability)  should  be  removed  as  outdated  and 
obsolete.  References  to  specific  provisions  of  Council  Framework  Decision 
2008/977/JHA should be updated with specific corresponding references to the LED. 

The proposal is limited to what is necessary to address the above points. 

• 

n/a 

• 

Stakeholder consultations 

Collection and use of expertise 

In its review under Article 62(6) of the LED, the Commission took account of a study carried 
out  as  part  of  the  pilot  project  on  a  ‘fundamental  rights  review  of  EU  data  collection 
instruments and programmes’6. The study mapped Union acts covered by Article 62(6) of the 
LED and identified provisions potentially requiring alignment on data protection issues. 

• 

Impact assessment 

The impact of this proposal is limited to competent authorities’ processing of personal data in 
the specific instances  regulated by  Council Decision 2009/917/JHA. The impact  of the new 
obligations arising from the LED was assessed in the context of the preparatory work for the 
LED. This renders a specific impact assessment for this proposal unnecessary. 

• 

Regulatory fitness and simplification 

The proposal is not part of the regulatory fitness programme (REFIT). 

• 

Fundamental rights 

The right to the protection of personal data is laid down in Article 8 of the Charter and Article 
16 of the TFEU. As underlined by the Court of Justice of the European Union7, the right to 
the  protection  of  personal  data  is  not  absolute,  but  must  be  considered  in  relation  to  its 
function in society8. Personal data protection is also closely linked to respect for private and 
family life, as protected by Article 7 of the Charter. 

This  proposal  ensures  that  any  processing  of  personal  data  under  Council  Decision 
2009/917/JHA  is  subject  to  the  ‘horizontal’  principles  and  rules  of  EU  personal  data 
protection  legislation,  thus  further  implementing  Article  8  of  the  Charter.  That  legislation 
aims to ensure a high level of protection of personal data. Clarifying that the rules of the LED 

6  The pilot project was requested by the European Parliament,  managed by the Commission and carried out 
by  a  contractor  (group  of  independent  experts).  The  Commission  selected  the  contractor  on  the  basis  of 
criteria  determined  by  the  Parliament.  The  project  deliverables  reflect  the  views  and  opinions  only  of  the 
contractor and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use that may be made of the information 
contained  therein.  The  results  are  published  at  http://www.fondazionebrodolini.it/en/projects/pilot-project-
fundamental-rights-review-eu-data-collectioninstruments-and-programmes   

7  CJEU,  9  November  2010,  Volker  und  Markus  Schecke  and  Eifert,  Joined  Cases  C-92/09  and  C-93/09 

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(ECLI:EU:C:2009:284, par. 48). 
In line with Article 52(1) of the Charter, the exercise of the right to data protection may be made subject to 
limitations that are provided for by law, respect the essence of the right and freedoms, and (subject to the 
principle of proportionality) are necessary and genuinely meet objectives of general interest recognised by 
the Union or the need to protect the rights and freedoms of others. 

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apply,  as  well  as  specifying  how  they  apply,  to  personal  data  processing  under  the  Council 
Decision will have a positive impact as regards the fundamental rights to privacy and personal 
data protection. 

4. 

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5. 

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BUDGETARY IMPLICATIONS 

OTHER ELEMENTS 

Implementation plans and monitoring, evaluation and reporting arrangements 

Detailed explanation of the specific provisions of the proposal 

Article 1 identifies the relevant provisions of Council Decision 2009/917/JHA that need to be 
amended based on the review made by the Commission under Article 62(6) of the LED and 
presented in its 2020 Communication. These provisions are the following: 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Article 1 – Paragraph 2 is amended to replace the concept of ‘serious contraventions 
of national laws’ by the reference to ‘criminal offences under national laws’, so as to 
increase clarity whilst aligning with the LED. 

Article 2 – Point 2 on the definition of ‘personal data’ is deleted since the definition 
of personal data as defined in point (1) of Article 3 of the LED applies. 

Article 3 – Paragraph 2 is amended to clarify the respective roles of the Commission 
and  of  the  Member  States  with  regard  to  the  personal  data.  A  recital  is  also 
introduced for this purpose. 

Article  4  –  Paragraph  5  is  updated  to  replace  the  reference  to  the  list  of  certain 
categories of personal data that cannot be entered into the system under Framework 
Decision 2008/977/JHA by a reference to the corresponding list under the LED. 

Article  5  –  Paragraph  2  is  updated  to  clarify  the  conditions  for  collecting  and 
recording the personal data and require that the personal data may be entered into the 
CIS  only  if  there  are  reasonable  grounds,  in  particular  on  the  basis  of  prior  illegal 
activities,  to  suggest  that  the  person  concerned  has  committed,  is  in  the  act  of 
committing or will commit one of the criminal offences under national laws covered. 

Article  7  –  Paragraph  3  is  updated  to  clarify  the  conditions  in  which  access  to  the 
CIS by international or regional organisations may be permitted under the LED.  

Article 8 – Paragraph 1 is updated to restrict the subsequent processing of personal 
data recorded in the CIS, in line with the principle of purpose limitation as regulated 
under the LED. It further clarifies the conditions in which non-personal data can be 
processed  for  other  purposes.  Paragraph  4  is  redrafted  to  clarify  the  conditions  in 
which the transmissions and international transfers of personal data and non-personal 
data can take place. 

Article  14  on  the  retention  of  personal  data  is  updated  in  order  to  introduce  a 
maximum  retention  period  in  accordance  with  Article  4(1)(e)  of  the  LED  and 
simplify  the  previous  procedure.  A  recital  is  also  introduced  to  further  explain  the 
rationale of this update. 

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 

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 

 

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 

 

 

 

Article 15 – Paragraph 3 is replaced to align the concept of ‘serious contraventions of 
national  laws’  with  the  reference  to  ‘criminal  offences  under  national  laws’,  as 
introduced in the new Paragraph 2 of Article 1. 

Article  20  –  This  article  is  replaced  to  update  the  general  reference  to  Framework 
Decision 2008/977/JHA with the reference to the LED. 

Article 22 on the rights  of access,  to  rectification, erasure or blocking is deleted as 
outdated and obsolete. 

Article 23  on the rights  of the data subjects  at national  level is deleted as outdated 
and obsolete. 

Article  24  on  the  designation  of  a  national  supervisory  authority  or  authorities  is 
deleted as outdated and obsolete. 

Article 25 on the set up of a Joint Supervisory Authority is deleted as outdated and 
obsolete. 

Article 26 – This article is updated to make the processing of personal data subject to 
the  coordinated  supervision  model  laid  down  in  Article  62  of  Regulation  (EU) 
2018/1725. 

Article 28 – Paragraph 2 is amended to provide for additional requirements related to 
security of processing aligning the list of required security measures with Article 29 
of the LED, i.e. by adding requirements on system recovery, reliability and integrity. 

Article 30 – Paragraph 1 is deleted as outdated and obsolete. 

Article 2 sets the date of entry into force of this Regulation. 

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2023/0143 (COD) 

Proposal for a 

REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL 

amending Council Decision 2009/917/JHA, as regards its alignment with Union rules on 
the protection of personal data 

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, 

Having  regard  to  the  Treaty  on  the  Functioning  of  the  European  Union,  and  in  particular 
Article 16(2) thereof, 

Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission, 

After transmission of the draft legislative act to the national parliaments, 

Acting in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure, 

Whereas: 

(1) 

(2) 

Directive (EU) 2016/680 of the European Parliament and of the Council9 provides for 
harmonised rules for the protection and the free movement of personal data processed 
for the purposes of the prevention, investigation, detection or prosecution of criminal 
offences or execution of criminal penalties, including the safeguarding against, and the 
prevention  of  threats  to,  public  security.  That  Directive  requires  the  Commission  to 
review relevant other acts of Union law in order to assess the need to align them with 
that  Directive  and  to  make,  where  necessary,  the  proposals  to  amend  those  acts  to 
ensure a consistent approach to the protection of personal data falling within the scope 
of that Directive. 
Council  Decision  2009/917/JHA10  on  the  use  of  information  technology  for  customs 
purposes  establishes  the  Customs  Information  System  (CIS)  to  assist  in  preventing, 
investigating  and  prosecuting  serious  contraventions  of  national  laws  by  making 
information  available  more  rapidly  and  increase  the  effectiveness  of  the  customs 
administrations. In order to ensure a consistent approach to the protection of personal 
data  in  the  Union,  that  Decision  should  be  amended  to  align  it  with  Directive  (EU) 
2016/680. In particular, the personal data protection rules should respect the principle 
of  purpose  specification,  be  limited  to  specified  categories  of  data  subjects  and 
categories  of  personal  data,  respect  data  security  requirements,  include  additional 
protection  for  special  categories  of  personal  data  and  respect  the  conditions  for 

9  Directive (EU) 2016/680 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection 
of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data by competent authorities for the purposes of 
the  prevention,  investigation,  detection  or  prosecution  of  criminal  offences  or  the  execution  of  criminal 
penalties,  and  on  the  free  movement  of  such  data,  and  repealing  Council  Framework  Decision 
2008/977/JHA (OJ L 119, 4.5.2016, p. 89). 

10  Council  Decision  2009/917/JHA  on  the  use  of  information  technology  for  customs  purposes  (OJ  L  323, 

10.12.2009, p. 20). 

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(3) 

(4) 

(5) 

(6) 

(7) 

subsequent  processing.  Moreover,  provision  should  be  made  for  the  coordinated 
supervision model as introduced by Article 62 of Regulation (EU) 2018/172511. 

In  particular,  in  order  to  ensure  a  clear  and  consistent  approach  ensuring  adequate 
protection  of  personal  data,  the  term  ‘serious  contraventions’  should  be  replaced  by 
‘criminal  offences’,  bearing  in  mind  that  the  fact  that  a  given  conduct  is  prohibited 
under  the  criminal  law  of  a  Member  State  in  itself  implies  a  certain  degree  of 
seriousness  of  the  contravention.  Moreover,  the  objective  of  the  CIS  should  remain 
limited  to  assisting  in  connection  to  the  prevention,  investigation,  detection  or 
prosecution  of  the  criminal  offences  under  national  laws  as  defined  in  Council 
Decision  2009/917/JHA,  that  is,  national  laws  in  respect  of  which  national  customs 
administrations are competent and that are therefore particularly relevant in the context 
of  customs.  Therefore,  whereas  qualification  as  a  criminal  offence  is  a  necessary 
requirement, not all criminal offences should be considered to be covered. By way of 
example, the covered criminal offences include illicit drugs trafficking, illicit weapons 
trafficking and money laundering. Furthermore, other than the introduction of the term 
‘criminal offences’, this amendment should not be understood as affecting the specific 
requirements set out in that Council Decision regarding the establishment and sending 
of  a  list  of  criminal  offences  under  national  laws  that  meet  certain  conditions,  those 
requirements relating only to the particular purpose of the customs files identification 
database. 

It  is  necessary  to  clarify  the  respective  roles  of  the  Commission  and  of  the  Member 
States with  regard to  the personal  data. The Commission  is considered the processor 
acting on behalf of the  national  authorities designated by each Member State, which 
are considered the controllers of the personal data. 

To  ensure  the  optimal  preservation  of  the  data  while  reducing  the  administrative 
burden for the competent authorities, the procedure governing the retention of personal 
data  in  the  CIS  should  be  simplified  by  removing  the  obligation  to  review  data 
annually  and  by  setting  a  maximum  retention  period  of  five  years  which  can  be 
increased, subject to justification, by an additional period of two years. That retention 
period  is  necessary  and  proportionate  in  view  of  the  typical  length  of  criminal 
proceedings and the need for the data for the conduct of joint customs operations and 
of investigations. 

In  accordance  with  Article 6a  of  Protocol  No 21  on  the  position  of  the  United 
Kingdom and Ireland in respect of the area of freedom, security and justice, annexed 
to the Treaty on European Union (TEU) and to the TFEU, Ireland is bound by Council 
Decision 2009/917/JHA and is therefore taking part in the adoption of this Regulation. 

In accordance with Articles 1, 2 and 2a of Protocol No 22 on the Position of Denmark 
annexed  to  the  Treaty  on  European  Union  and  the  Treaty  on  the  Functioning  of  the 
European Union, Denmark is not taking part in the adoption of this Regulation and is 
not bound by it or subject to its application. 

(8) 

The European Data Protection Supervisor was consulted in accordance with Article 42 
of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 and delivered an opinion on XX/XX/202X. 

(9) 

Council Decision 2009/917/JHA should therefore be amended accordingly, 

11  Regulation  (EU)  2018/1725  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  23  October  2018  on  the 
protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data by the Union institutions, bodies, 
offices and agencies and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 and 
Decision No 1247/2002/EC (OJ L 295, 21.11.2018, p. 39). 

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HAVE ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: 

Council Decision 2009/917/JHA is amended as follows: 

(1) 

Paragraph 2 of Article 1 is replaced by the following: 

Article 1 

(2) 

(3) 

‘2.  The  objective  of  the  Customs  Information  System  is  to  assist  the  competent 
authorities  in  the  Member  States  with  the  prevention,  investigation,  detection  or 
prosecution of criminal offences under national laws, by making information available 
more  rapidly,  thereby  increasing  the  effectiveness  of  the  cooperation  and  control 
procedures of the customs administrations of the Member States.’ 

Point 2 of Article 2 is hereby deleted. 

After the first sentence of paragraph 2 of Article 3, a new sentence is added as follows: 

‘In relation to the processing of personal data in the Customs Information System, the 
Commission  shall  be  considered  the  processor,  within  the  meaning  of  point  (12)  of 
Article  3  of  Regulation  (EU)  2018/1725,  acting  on  behalf  of  the  national  authorities 
designated  by  each  Member  State,  which  shall  be  considered  the  controllers  of  the 
personal data.’ 

(4) 

Paragraph 5 of Article 4 is replaced by the following: 

‘5. In no case shall personal data referred to in Article 10 of Directive (EU) 2016/680 
be entered into the Customs Information System.’ 

(5) 

Paragraph 2 of Article 5 is replaced by the following: 

‘2. For the purpose of the actions referred to in paragraph 1, personal data in any of the 
categories  referred  to  in  Article  3(1)  may  be  entered  into  the  Customs  Information 
System only if there are reasonable grounds, in particular on the basis of prior illegal 
activities,  to  suggest  that  the  person  concerned  has  committed,  is  in  the  act  of 
committing or will commit criminal offences under national laws.’ 

(6) 

Paragraph 3 of Article 7 is replaced by the following: 

‘3.  Notwithstanding  paragraphs  1  and  2,  the  Council  may  exceptionally,  by  a 
unanimous  decision  and  after  consultation  of  the  European  Data  Protection  Board, 
permit  access  to  the  Customs  Information  System  by  international  or  regional 
organisations, provided that both of the following conditions are met: 

(a) 

(b) 

the access complies with the general principles for transfers of personal data set 
out in Article 35 or, where applicable, Article 39 of Directive (EU) 2016/680; 

the access is based either on an adequacy decision adopted under Article 36 of 
that Directive or is subject to appropriate safeguards under Article 37 thereof.’ 

(7) 

Paragraph 1 of Article 8 is replaced by the following: 

‘1. Member States, Europol and Eurojust may process personal data obtained from the 
Customs Information System only in order to achieve the aim stated in Article 1(2), in 
accordance with the applicable rules of Union law on the processing of personal data.  

Member  States,  Europol  and  Eurojust  may  process  non-personal  data  obtained  from 
the Customs Information System in order to achieve the aim stated in Article 1(2) or 
for other purposes, including administrative ones, in  compliance with  any  conditions 
imposed by the Member State which entered the non-personal data in that system.’ 

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(8) 

Paragraph 4 of Article 8 is replaced by the following: 

‘4. Personal data obtained from the Customs Information System may, with the prior 
authorisation  of,  and  subject  to  compliance  with  any  conditions  imposed  by,  the 
Member State which entered that data into that system, be: 

(a) 

(b) 

transmitted  to,  and  further  processed  by,  national  authorities  other  than  those 
designated under paragraph 2, in accordance with the applicable rules of Union 
law on the processing of personal data; or 

transferred  to,  and  further  processed  by,  the  competent  authorities  of  third 
countries  and  international  or  regional  organisations,  in  accordance  with 
Chapter V of Directive (EU) 2016/680 and, where relevant, with Chapter V of 
Regulation (EU) 2018/1725. 

Non-personal data obtained from the Customs Information System may be transferred 
to,  and  further  processed  by  national  authorities  other  than  those  designated  under 
paragraph 2, third countries, and international or regional organisations, in compliance 
with  any  conditions  imposed  by  the  Member  State  which  entered  the  non-personal 
data in that system.’ 

(9) 

Article 14 is replaced by the following: 

‘Personal data entered into the Customs Information System shall be kept only for the 
time necessary to  achieve the  aim stated in Article 1(2) and may not  be retained for 
more than five years. However, exceptionally, that data may be kept for an additional 
period  of  at  most  two  years,  where  and  insofar  as  a  strict  need  to  do  so  in  order  to 
achieve that aim is established in an individual case. 

(10)  Paragraph 3 of Article 15 is replaced by the following: 

‘3.  For  the  purposes  of  the  customs  files  identification  database,  each  Member  State 
shall send the other Member States, Europol, Eurojust and the Committee  referred to 
in Article 27 a list of criminal offences under its national laws. 

This list shall comprise only criminal offences that are punishable: 

(a) 

by deprivation of liberty or a detention order for a maximum period of not less 
than 12 months; or 

(b)  by a fine of at least EUR 15 000.’ 

(11)  Article 20 is replaced by the following: 

‘Directive  (EU)  2016/680  shall  apply  to  the  processing  of  personal  data  under  this 
Decision.’ 

(12)  Articles 22, 23, 24 and 25 are hereby deleted. 

(13)  Article 26 is replaced by the following: 

'Coordinated  supervision  among  national  supervisory  authorities  and  the  European 
Data  Protection  Supervisor  shall  be  ensured  in  accordance  with  Article  62  of 
Regulation (EU) 2018/1725.’ 

(14) 

In paragraph 2 of Article 28, the following points are added: 

‘(i) 

to ensure that installed systems may, in the case of interruption, be restored; 

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(j) 
to ensure that the functions of the system perform, that the appearance of faults 
in  the  functions  is  reported  and  that  stored  personal  data  cannot  be  corrupted  by 
means of a malfunctioning of the system.’ 

(15)  Paragraph 1 of Article 30 is hereby deleted. 

Article 2 

This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in 
the Official Journal of the European Union. 

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in the Member States in 
accordance with the Treaties. 

Done at Brussels, 

For the European Parliament 
The President 

For the Council 
The President 

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