Commission presents Roadmap for effective and lawful access to data for law enforcement

European Commission - Press release Commission presents Roadmap for effective and lawful access to data for law enforcement Brussels, 24 June 2025 The European Commission presented today a Roadmap setting out the way forward to ensure law enforcement authorities in the EU have effective and lawful access to data. The roadmap is an important deliverable under ProtectEU – the EU's Internal Security Strategy which the Commission presented in April this year. Terrorism, organised crime, online fraud, drug trafficking, child sexual abuse, sexual extortion, ransomware, and other offences all share a common feature: they leave digital traces. With 85% of criminal investigations now relying on electronic evidence, law enforcement authorities need better tools and a modernised legal framework to access digital data in a lawful manner while ensuring full respect of fundamental rights. The Roadmap focuses on six key areas: Data retention: In 2025, the Commission will carry out an impact assessment with a view to updating the EU's data retention rules. In addition, Europol and Eurojust will work on reinforcing cooperation between law enforcement and service providers when it comes to accessing electronic evidence. Lawful interception: To enable law enforcement to obtain evidence across systems and jurisdictions, the Commission will explore measures to improve cross-border cooperation for lawful interception of data by 2027, both among authorities, and between authorities...