The “Prüm Process:” The Way Forward for EU Police Cooperation and Data Exchange?

The Convention of Prüm, agreed between seven member states on May 2005, aims at “stepping up their cooperation, in order to combat terrorism, cross-border crime and illegal migration more effectively.”1 This cooperation is enhanced by a system of exchange of information (DNA, !ngerprints and vehicle registration data), new forms of police cooperation and measures to combat “illegal migration.” This international treaty has been offered to the European Union as a European wide tool to further police cooperation and data exchange. Furthermore, it has often been described by its supporters as a concrete step forward to improve European integration. The aim of this chapter is to analyse the process of transposition of the Prüm Treaty into the EU framework as a national and European !eld of struggle. What are the main instruments at disposal of the main actors, national governments and parliaments, as well as of European institutions? What are the main issues at stake and what are the positions held by the main actors