The Prüm Convention established cross-border law enforcement cooperation among seven EU states, later incorporated into EU law in 2008.
Key Facts
- Signing date
- 27 May 2005
- Original signatories
- 7 (Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Spain)
- Current EU parties
- 14
- Initiating minister
- Otto Schily, Germany (mid-2003)
- Related EU Council Decision
- 2008/615/JHA, adopted 23 June 2008
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
In mid-2003, German Interior Minister Otto Schily proposed strengthening cross-border law enforcement cooperation within Europe, driven by growing concerns over terrorism, cross-border crime, and illegal migration that existing frameworks were insufficient to address.
On 27 May 2005, seven EU member states — Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and Spain — signed the Prüm Convention in the German town of Prüm, establishing a treaty framework for sharing data and cooperating on security matters across national borders.
The convention's core elements were incorporated into EU law via Council Decision 2008/615/JHA on 23 June 2008, extending the framework's reach across the broader European Union and standardising cross-border cooperation in combating terrorism and serious crime for all member states.
Political Outcome
Treaty signed and later absorbed into EU law; 14 EU member states are currently parties to the convention.