On 10 December 2016, the Council decision authorising the conclusion of the Agreement between the United States of America and the European Union on the protection of personal information relating to the prevention, investigation, detection, and prosecution of criminal offences (EU-US Umbrella Agreement) and the agreement itself were published in the Official Journal.

The agreement will enter into force on the first day of the month following the date on which the EU and the US have exchanged notifications indicating that they have completed their internal procedures for entry into force.

On 2 December 2016, the Council adopted the decision authorising the EU to conclude the agreement (see Legal update, Council adopts the EU-US Umbrella Agreement). On 5 December 2016, in a joint statement, both the EU and US confirmed the completion of their internal approval procedures and stated that the US Attorney General would now make the necessary designations under the Judicial Redress Act to allow the swift entry into force of the agreement.

Sources: Council Decision (EU) 2016/2220 (OJ L 336/1-2), 2 December 2016; Agreement between the United States of America and the European Union on the protection of personal information relating to the prevention, investigation, detection, and prosecution of criminal offences (OJ L 336/3–13) and Joint EU-US statement, 5 December 2016.