The Council of Europe Convention on Cybercrime
The Council of Europe Convention on Cybercrime, also known as Budapest Convention, is a global standard for facilitating the fight against cybercrime and other offences entailing electronic evidence.
The Convention provides for the criminalisation of different cybercrime offences, defines procedural powers at domestic level, and offers a mechanism for international cooperation.
In 2022, the Commission successfully concluded negotiations on behalf of the EU for a Second Additional Protocol to the Budapest Convention on Cybercrime, creating a solid basis for international cooperation. The Council of the European Union adopted decisions to authorise Member States to sign and ratify the Second Additional Protocol, with the consent of the European Parliament.
The United Nations Convention against Cybercrime
Between 2019 and 2024, the European Commission negotiated a UN Convention against Cybercrime on behalf of the European Union and its Member States. On 24 December 2024, the UN General Assembly adopted the final text of the treaty. The Convention will be open for signature and ratification in October 2025. It will enter into force once it reaches 40 parties.
On 16 July 2025, as announced in the ProtectEU -European Internal Security Strategy, the Commission made two proposals for Council decisions to enable the EU to sign and conclude the UN Convention against Cybercrime. The consent of the European Parliament is also needed to enable the EU to conclude the Convention.
The Convention complements and supplements existing instruments on international cooperation in criminal matters by including provisions that criminalise certain offenses, such as the solicitation or grooming for the purpose of committing a sexual offense against a child, and the non-consensual dissemination of intimate images.
The Convention also subjects the procedural and international cooperation measures it contains to human rights conditions and safeguards. These include judicial or other independent review, the right to an effective remedy, grounds justifying application, and limitations on the scope and duration of such powers or procedures.
The Convention allows its parties to refuse international cooperation requests if these requests are contrary to human rights or fundamental freedoms and are made for the purpose of prosecuting or punishing a person based on their sex, race, language, religion, nationality, ethnic origin, or political opinions.
Negotiation of an EU-U.S. e-evidence agreement
Following up on the European Council Conclusions from October 2018, the Commission presented a set of directives to negotiate the EU-U.S. agreement to facilitate access to electronic evidence in criminal investigations. Negotiations had started in September 2019, but were paused while the European Union finalised the EU e-evidence legislation. Negotiations resumed in March 2023 and are ongoing.