1. For law enforcement purposes, the Europol designated authority may submit a reasoned electronic request for the comparison of biometric or alphanumeric data with the data stored in Eurodac within the limits of Europol’s mandate and where necessary for the performance of Europol’s tasks only where all of the following conditions have been met:
(a) comparisons with biometric or alphanumeric data stored in any information processing systems that are technically and legally accessible by Europol did not lead to the establishment of the identity of the data subject;
(b) the comparison is necessary to support and strengthen action by Member States in preventing, detecting or investigating terrorist offences or other serious criminal offences falling under Europol’s mandate, which means that there is an overriding public security concern which makes the searching of the database proportionate to the objective pursued;
(c) the comparison is necessary in a specific case including specific persons; and
(d) there are reasonable grounds to consider that the comparison will substantially contribute to the prevention, detection or investigation of any of the terrorist offences or other serious criminal offences in question; such reasonable grounds exist in particular where there is a substantiated suspicion that the suspect, perpetrator or victim of a terrorist offence or other serious criminal offence falls within a category covered by this Regulation.
2. Where Europol has consulted the in accordance with Article 22(1) of and the , in accordance with paragraph 2 of that Article, has indicated that the data relating to the person concerned are stored in Eurodac, Europol may access Eurodac for consultation under the conditions provided for in this Article.
3. Requests for comparison with Eurodac data for law enforcement purposes, shall be carried out with biometric or alphanumeric data.
4. Processing of information obtained by Europol from comparison with Eurodac data shall be subject to the authorisation of the Member State of origin. Such authorisation shall be obtained via the Europol national unit of that Member State.
Correlation table
| Regulation (EU) No 603/2013 | This Regulation |
| Article 21(1), introductory wording | Article 34(1), introductory wording and point (a) |
| Article 21(1), points (a), (b) and (c) | Article 34(1), points (b), (c) and (d) |
| — | Article 34(2) |
| Article 21(2) | Article 34(3) |
| Article 21(3) | Article 34(4) |