To collect the necessary data, in September 2020, the Commission sent questionnaires to competent authorities and lawyers in Member States, to Eurojust and to the EJN, requesting both qualitative and quantitative information pursuant to Article 37 of the EIO Directive, including the information about the systematic and reoccurring difficulties in practical application of the EIO Directive; about the execution of the provisions on the interception of telecommunications in light of technical developments, etc. The respondents were also asked to share the opinion regarding the improvement of the legal instrument. The Commission received replies from 19 Member State competent authorities, Eurojust and the EJN, and 9 from lawyers.
To reply to the questionnaire, the EJN Secretariat used the information registered in the Reporting Tool, as well as the feedback received from the Contact Points during the numerous meetings that have been dedicated to the application of the EIO since 2017. Some Contact Points also contributed by providing a good practice and suggesting both legislative and non-legislative proposals to tackle the practical difficulties in the application of the EIO Directive.
The Report provides the analytical assessment of the specific points, including the competent and central authorities; definition and scope of the EIO Directive; issuing, recognizing and executing of the EIO; legal remedies; transfer of evidence, etc. In the conclusions, the Commission recognizes the efforts made by the Member States, meanwhile indicating that there are still certain difficulties regarding some provisions (grounds for non-recognition or non-execution) and further measures should be taken to ensure the compliancy with the EIO Directive.
Notably, the Report points out that future rules on electronic evidence should complement the Directive, introducing swift procedures that reflect the specificities of electronic evidence and address the urgent and increasing needs of practitioners.
The Report can be found here.