7.4.2009 Official Journal of the European Union L 93/33 COUNCIL DECISION 2009/316/JHA of 6 April 2009 on the establishment of the European Criminal Records Information System (ECRIS) in application of Article 11 of Framework Decision 2009/315/JHA THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, Having regard to the Treaty on European Union, and in particular Articles 31 and 34(2)(c) thereof, Having regard to the Council Framework Decision 2009/315/JHA of 26 February 2009 on the organisation and content of the exchange of information extracted from the criminal record between Member States ('), and in particular Article 11(4) thereof, Having regard to the proposal from the Commission, Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament (2, Whereas: (1) Article 29 of the Treaty on European Union states that the Union’s objective is to provide citizens with a high level of safety in the area of freedom, security and justice. This objective presupposes the systematic exchange between the competent authorities of the Member States of information extracted from criminal records in a way that would guarantee its common under- standing and the efficiency of such exchange. (2)  Information on convictions handed down against Member States’ nationals by other Member States does not circulate efficiently on the current basis of the European Convention on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters of 20 April 1959. Therefore, there is a need for more efficient and accessible procedures of exchange of such information at European Union level. (3)  The need to improve the exchange of information on convictions was prioritised in the European Council Declaration on Combating Terrorism of 25 and 26 March 2004 and was subsequently reiterated in the Hague Programme (°) and in the Action Plan (%) on its implementation. Furthermore, the computerised intercon- nection of criminal records at European Union level was recognised as a political priority by the European Council in its Conclusions of 21 and 22 June 2007. (1) See page 23 of this Official Journal. (%) Opinion delivered on 9 October 2008 (not yet published in the Official Journal). () OJ C 53, 3.3.2005, p. 1. (*) OJ C 198, 12.8.2005, p. 1. S (10) The computerised interconnection of criminal records is part of the E-Justice project, which was acknowledged as a priority by the European Council several times in 2007. A pilot project is currently being developed with a view to interconnecting criminal records. Its achievements constitute a valuable basis for further work on compu- terised exchange of information at the European Union level. This Decision aims to implement Framework Decision 2009/315/JHA in order to build and develop a compu- terised system of exchange of information on convictions between Member States. Such a system should be capable of communicating information on convictions in a form which is easily understandable. Therefore, a standardised format allowing information to be exchanged in a uniform, electronic and easily computer-translatable way as well as any other means of organising and facil- itating electronic exchanges of information on convictions between central authorities of Member States should be set up. This Decision is based on the principles established by Framework Decision 2009/315[JHA and applies and supplements those principles from a technical standpoint. The categories of data to be entered into the system, the purposes for which the data is to be entered, the criteria for its entry, the authorities permitted to access the data, and some specific rules on protection of personal data are defined in the Framework Decision 2009/315/JHA. Neither this Decision nor Framework Decision 2009/315/JHA establishes any obligation to exchange information about non-criminal rulings. Since the objective of this Decision is not to harmonise national systems of criminal records there is no obli- gation for a convicting Member State to change its internal system of criminal records as regards the use of information for domestic purposes.