Building on six years of successful support to national law enforcement agencies (LEAs) and judicial authorities (JAs) in the field of electronic evidence, Europol and Eurojust launched the third phase of the SIRIUS project in January 2025.
Phase 3 of the SIRIUS project will continue to assist LEAs, JAs, and service providers in navigating the increasingly complex legal framework. The project will continue to foster close cooperation between the public and private sectors, ensuring that criminal investigations are more effective and efficient in the digital age. The adoption of new EU-wide legislation, alongside key international agreements such as the Second Additional Protocol to the Budapest Convention, and the agreed draft text for a UN Convention on Cybercrime, are reshaping the legal and operational landscape surrounding electronic evidence. In this challenging environment, SIRIUS has established itself as a centre of excellence in the field of cross-border access to electronic evidence in the EU. It offers a variety of services, such as guidelines, trainings and tools, to help with accessing data held by service providers.
To this day, SIRIUS serves a community of competent authorities from over 50 countries, representing all EU Member States and a growing number of third countries. It supports over 8 500 competent authorities and fosters collaboration with 220 service providers. With the upcoming implementation of new legal frameworks at EU and international level, Europol and Eurojust foresee to reinforce the success of the SIRIUS project with the expanded mission and diversified portfolio of activities, which will ensure seamless support to national LEAs and JAs during this critical transition.
The project’s activities will include the development of investigative tools, the organisation of high-impact events, and expanded capacity building to address urgent needs from LEAs and JAs. Additionally, the project will prepare LEAs and JAs to effectively use new instruments under the forthcoming EU Electronic Evidence legislative package, as well as other legislative changes concerning the cross-border acquisition of electronic evidence.
With its third phase, the SIRIUS project will also expand its geographical focus, strengthening cooperation with non-EU countries of particular importance for the implementation of the new legislation. This broadened approach will significantly contribute to the fight against all types of crime, with particular emphasis on organized crime and terrorism.
By leveraging the expertise and established frameworks of Europol and Eurojust, SIRIUS project will smoothly transition into its next phase, ensuring that European LEAs and JAs stay at the forefront of innovation in criminal investigations involving electronic evidence.
