Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2021/1427

Contents

THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,Having regard to Regulation (EU) No 1024/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2012 on administrative cooperation through the Internal Market Information System and repealing Commission Decision 2008/49/EC (‘the IMI Regulation’)^note, and in particular Article 4(1) thereof,Whereas:

(1)The Internal Market Information System (‘IMI’) established by Regulation (EU) No 1024/2012 is a software application that is accessible via the internet and was developed by the Commission, in cooperation with the Member States, to help Member States comply with information exchange requirements in Union acts by providing a centralised communication mechanism to facilitate the cross-border exchange of information and mutual assistance.

(2)Article 4(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1024/2012 allows the Commission to carry out pilot projects to assess the effectiveness of IMI in the implementation of administrative cooperation provisions in Union acts not listed in the Annex to that Regulation.

(3)Directive (EU) 2021/555 of the European Parliament and of the Council^note provides for administrative cooperation between Member States in relation to controls on the acquisition and possession of firearms. Article 18 of that Directive requires the Commission to lay down detailed arrangements for the systematic exchange, by electronic means, of information mentioned in that Article. The Commission has adopted Delegated Regulation (EU) 2021/1423^note laying down detailed arrangements for the systematic exchange of the information mentioned in paragraph 4 of that Article relating to refusals to grant authorisations. IMI could be an effective tool in the implementation of the administrative cooperation provision falling within the scope of that Delegated Regulation. That administrative cooperation provision should therefore be the subject of a pilot project under Article 4 of Regulation (EU) No 1024/2012.

(4)IMI should provide the technical functionality, including the establishment of a repository, to allow the competent authorities of the Member States to meet their obligations set out in Delegated Regulation (EU) 2021/1423.

(5)IMI should facilitate administrative cooperation between Member States’ authorities by allowing them to search the IMI repository in order to check whether a particular individual has been precluded from acquiring or possessing a firearm. In order to respect the data protection rights of the individuals in relation to whom data is recorded in the repository, national authorities should only be able to consult information relating to a particular individual. They should not be able to search by other criteria, for example all refusals for a given period or for a given Member State.

(6)To ensure that personal data exchanged as part of the pilot project is blocked as soon as it is no longer needed in accordance with Article 14 of Regulation (EU) No 1024/2012, the date when such data is to be considered for the purposes of that Article as no longer needed should be made clear. That date should correspond to the date determined in accordance with Article 5 of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2021/1423 as the date when information relating to the refusal decision is to cease to remain accessible in IMI. It is also appropriate to clarify that, once the data is blocked, it is to be automatically deleted in IMI three years later without the need for formal closure.

(7)Pursuant to Article 4(2) of Regulation (EU) No 1024/2012, the Commission is to submit an evaluation of the outcome of the pilot project to the European Parliament and the Council. It is appropriate to specify the date by which the evaluation should be submitted.

(8)The measures provided for in this Decision are in accordance with the opinion of the Committee established by Article 24 of Regulation (EU) No 1024/2012,

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