Council Decision (EU) 2016/2220 of 2 December 2016 on the conclusion, on behalf of the European Union, of the Agreement between the United States of America and the European Union on the protection of personal information relating to the prevention, investigation, detection, and prosecution of criminal offences

• Published date: 10 December 2016
• Official Gazette Publication: Gazzetta ufficiale dell'Unione europea, L 336, 10 dicembre 2016,Journal officiel de l'Union européenne, L 336, 10 décembre 2016,Diario Oficial de la Unión Europea, L 336, 10 de diciembre de 2016

10.12.2016 EN Official Journal of the European Union L 336/1

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COUNCIL DECISION (EU) 2016/2220

of 2 December 2016

on the conclusion, on behalf of the European Union, of the Agreement between the United States of America and the European Union on the protection of personal information relating to the prevention, investigation, detection, and prosecution of criminal offences

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Article 16 in conjunction with Article 218(6)(a) thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission,

Having regard to the consent of the European Parliament (1),

Whereas:

(1) In accordance with Council Decision (EU) 2016/920 (2) the Agreement between the United States of America and the European Union on the protection of personal information relating to the prevention, investigation, detection, and prosecution of criminal offences (the ‘Agreement’) was signed on 2 June 2016, subject to its conclusion at a later date.

(2) The Agreement aims at establishing a comprehensive framework of data protection principles and safeguards when personal information is transferred for criminal law enforcement purposes between the United States of America (United States), on the one hand, and the European Union or its Member States on the other. The objective is to ensure a high level of data protection and, thereby, enhance cooperation between the parties. Whilst not being itself the legal basis for any transfer of personal information to the United States, the Agreement supplements, where necessary, data protection safeguards in existing and future data transfer agreements or national provisions authorising such transfers.

(3) The Union has competence covering all the provisions of the Agreement. In particular, the Union has adopted Directive (EU) 2016/680 of the European Parliament and of the Council (3) 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. Transfers by Member States subject to appropriate safeguards are foreseen by point (a) of Article 37(1) of that Directive.

(4) In accordance with Article 6a of

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