Article 19

Personal data retrieved from any of Europol’s data processing files or communicated by any other appropriate means shall be transmitted or used only by the competent authorities of the Member States in order to prevent and combat crimes in respect of which Europol is competent, and to prevent and combat other serious forms of crime. Europol shall use the data only for the performance of its tasks. If, in the case of certain data, the communicating Member State or the communicating third State or third body stipulates particular restrictions on use to which such data is subject in that Member State, third State or third body, such restrictions shall also be complied with by the user of the data except in the specific case where national law lays down that the restrictions on use be waived for judicial authorities, legislative bodies or any other independent body set up under the law and made responsible for supervising the national competent authorities. In such cases, the data shall be used only after consultation of the communicating Member State the interests and views of which shall be taken into account as far as possible. Use of the data for other purposes or by authorities other than the national competent authorities shall be possible only after consultation of the Member State which transmitted the data in so far as the national law of that Member State permits.

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Source: EUR-Lex (Cellar) · retrieved 2026-11-01 · Text as adopted (Official Journal); later amendments are not incorporated in this text.