The Council has adopted a decision authorising Member States to ratify, in the interest of the EU, the Second Additional Protocol to the Convention on Cybercrime (Budapest Convention).

The Council says that the Protocol will improve cross-border access to electronic evidence to be used in criminal proceedings. It will contribute to the fight against cybercrime and other forms of crime at global level by simplifying cooperation between Member States and third countries, while ensuring a high level of protection for individuals and compliance with EU data protection standards.

The Protocol covers procedures to improve international cooperation between authorities as well as to enhance direct cooperation with service providers and entities located in other countries. It also sets out procedures for emergency mutual legal assistance.

The Protocol could potentially be applied across the globe, with 34 countries already having signed it, including 18 EU member states. It will complement the proposed E-Evidence Regulation, recently agreed between the Council of the EU and the European Parliament, and which is pending formal adoption. To read the Council’s press release in full and for a link to the Protocol, click here.