The Council has agreed on a general approach on the proposal for the establishment of a European Criminal Records Information System (ECRIS).
This proposal is a follow-up to the draft Framework Decision on the exchange of information extracted from criminal records between Member States of the European Union which was adopted by the Council in June 2007 (see CNS/2005/0267). The purpose of the Framework Decision is to ensure that a Member State is able to provide the judicial authorities of another Member State of the EU with information on the criminal records of its nationals.
A pilot project is currently being conducted by 14 Member States with a view to interconnecting their criminal records. The results achieved in this context will provide a valuable basis for further work on computerised exchange of information at European level.