Council Directive 2001/55/ECTemporary Protection Directive (¹¹) provides for a system of temporary protection which was activated for the first time by means of Council Implementing Decision (EU) 2022/382 (¹²) in response to the war in Ukraine. Pursuant to that system of temporary protection, Member States are to register persons enjoying temporary protection on their territory. Member States are also required, inter alia, to reunite family members and to cooperate with each other with regard to the transferral of the residence of persons enjoying temporary protection from one Member State to another. It is appropriate to supplement the data collection provisions in Directive 2001/55/ECTemporary Protection Directive by including persons enjoying temporary protection in Eurodac. In that regard, biometric data are an important element in establishing such persons’ identity or family relationships, and thus protecting a substantial public interest within the meaning of Regulation (EU) 2016/679General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) of the European Parliament and of the Council (¹³). Moreover, by including the biometric data of beneficiaries of temporary protection in Eurodac rather than in a peer-to-peer system between Member States, such persons will benefit from the safeguards and protections laid down in this Regulation, in particular with regard to data retention periods, which should be as short as possible.

11. Council Directive 2001/55/EC of 20 July 2001 on minimum standards for giving temporary protection in the event of a mass influx of displaced persons and on measures promoting a balance of efforts between Member States in receiving such persons and bearing the consequences thereof (OJ L 212, 7.8.2001, p. 12). ↩︎

12. Council Implementing Decision (EU) 2022/382 of 4 March 2022 establishing the existence of a mass influx of displaced persons from Ukraine within the meaning of Article 5 of Directive 2001/55/EC, and having the effect of introducing temporary protection (OJ L 71, 4.3.2022, p. 1). ↩︎

13. Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Directive 95/46/EC (General Data Protection Regulation) (OJ L 119, 4.5.2016, p. 1). ↩︎