New data subjects related to illegal stay and corresponding hits in Eurodac

In May 2016, the Commission put forward a proposal for a recast Eurodac Regulation, as part of the reform of the Common European Asylum System. The proposal introduces the obligation to collect data on third-country nationals or stateless persons who have been apprehended crossing EU borders irregularly or staying illegally on EU territory. It expands the range of data collected (fingerprints and an additional biometric identifier – a facial image) and lowers the age of persons subject to fingerprints checks to six years old.
On 9 February 2017, the rapporteur for the European Parliament’s LIBE Committee, presented a draft report on the proposal. The rapporteur welcomed the expansion of the Eurodac’s scope and proposed to further extend the role of Eurodac in the area of law enforcement by simplifying Europol’s access to the database and by providing for better tracking of unaccompanied minors.