site.btaEC Calls on Bulgaria to Transpose Directive on Information Exchange between Law Enforcement Agencies

The European Commission (EC) decided to open infringement procedures by sending a letter of formal notice to 18 Member States (Belgium, Bulgaria, Czechia, Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Greece, Spain, France, Croatia, Cyprus, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, and Slovenia) for failing to fully transpose the Directive on Information exchange between law enforcement authorities of Member States (Directive 2023/977), the EC reported on Friday. Member States had to transpose the Directive into national law by December 12, 2024.

The Directive aims to strengthen the prevention, detection and investigation of criminal offences in the EU by ensuring that police officers in one Member State have equivalent access to the information available to those in another Member State. It sets out the organizational and procedural rules on the information sharing between the law enforcement authorities of EU Member States, including the establishment of a single point of contact, acting as a “one-stop shop” for information exchange with other EU Member States. The full implementation of the legislation will strengthen the fight against criminal activities with a cross-border dimension, such as organized crime, drug trafficking, terrorism, sexual exploitation, and trafficking of human beings across the European Union.

The Commission is sending letters of formal notice to the 18 Member States concerned. They now have two months to respond and to complete their transposition and report their measures to the Commission. In the absence of a satisfactory response, the Commission may decide to issue a reasoned opinion.