Interdependence of the Various Initiatives and Legislative Proposals in the Fields of Counter-Terrorism and Police Cooperation at the European Level

The note reviews the development and the interdependence of the various initiatives and legislative proposals in the fields of counter-terrorism and police cooperation at the European level. It will be demonstrated that a vast majority of these measures involve the collection and exchange of personal data. The challenges of this approach to the protection of fundamental rights, in particular privacy and data protection, will be highlighted. The note covers a wide range of issues such as money laundering and terrorist financing, Europol, databases and their interoperability, the principle of availability of information, the rules to improve police cooperation (Schengen and Title VI), the Prüm Decision and data protection.