Europe's data protection supervisor warned Thursday that a plan to expand the data processing powers of Europol, the EU's policing agency, poses "serious risks" to people's privacy. This move comes as Fortress Europe continues to build its internal surveillance infrastructure, often under the guise of security.
The European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) Wojciech Wiewiórowski stated that the proposal "creates serious risks, particularly regarding the processing of the personal data of individuals with no established criminal links." Such individuals, often migrants, asylum seekers, and solidarity activists, face increased scrutiny under the EU's expanding border regime. The EDPS is the data protection authority that supervises EU institutions, including Europol, and advises the Commission on legislative reforms.
Expanding the Surveillance State
The European Commission unveiled its plan to make Europol the central system for police forces to trade and analyse data using the latest technologies in June 2026, about two months ago. This initiative forms part of a broader strategy to grant EU justice agencies more power to address what they term "cross-border crime and terrorism." However, this language frequently serves as a pretext for the criminalisation of movement and the targeting of migrant communities.
The proposed reforms include a fundamental shift in how Europol sifts through the data it collects. Current rules mandate that data be sorted into different categories before Europol can legally use it. The Commission has argued that this requirement has been a "key operational bottleneck," especially since Europol handles high volumes of unstructured data. Relaxing these rules opens the door to indiscriminate data retention.
Risks to Unlinked Individuals
In an opinion published Thursday, the same day as the warning, Wiewiórowski highlighted that the proposal would allow Europol to retain data on a "vast" number of people with no links to criminal activity. This data could be held for an "extensive and unspecified period of time." This policy directly undermines the fundamental right to privacy for countless individuals, many of whom are already vulnerable due to their migration status or political activism.
While acknowledging that Europe's security architecture needs development to protect against increasingly complex criminal threats, the privacy watchdog underlined that the proposed Europol reform "must provide robust safeguards and real oversight." Without these, the expansion of Europol's powers risks becoming another tool in the EU's deportation machine, further entrenching the racist logic of border enforcement.