The digitalisation of communications and of criminal activity has made electronic evidence an increasingly important element for criminal investigations. Text messages, emails, app conversations, account data, or information related to digital services can be decisive in reconstructing facts, identifying individuals, or establishing connections between different investigations. However, obtaining this data, especially when it is linked to several countries, remains one of the main challenges for law enforcement and European judicial authorities.
The SIRIUS Electronic Evidence Situation Report, published by Europol and Eurojust in August 2026, analyses precisely this situation. The report highlights that more than half of current criminal investigations include some request for cross-border access to electronic evidence. At the same time, it warns of the legal, technical, and operational difficulties that still condition the ability of the authorities to obtain this information quickly and effectively.
One of the factors that explains this complexity is the very nature of the digital environment. The data required for an investigation may be stored in an unknown location, on servers located in different countries, or under the responsibility of a provider operating in multiple jurisdictions. This often makes it necessary for the authorities to navigate different legal systems and international cooperation mechanisms.
Added to this difficulty is the lack of harmonisation in matters such as data retention periods or the response times of providers to requests from the authorities. In an investigation, the time factor can be decisive: if a piece of data is not preserved or obtained before it disappears, a potentially relevant source of information may be lost.
For law enforcement, another challenge is the knowledge of the future European e-Evidence framework. According to the report, there continues to be an insufficient level of knowledge regarding this new legislation, which highlights the need to increase the training of professionals and provide tools that allow them to work properly in a transforming legal and technological environment.
From a judicial perspective, current cross-border cooperation mechanisms are often perceived as slow and procedurally complex. This situation can create a gap between the speed at which a digital investigation evolves and the time required to legally obtain the information.
The problem is especially relevant when there is a risk that the data may no longer be available. The report points out that the lack of a common European
framework on data retention may contribute to the loss of information that could be necessary for a criminal investigation.
In this context, the future European legislative package on electronic evidence seeks to establish more harmonised, robust, and agile mechanisms to facilitate cross-border access to digital evidence. The approach aims to reduce current complexity and provide more predictability for both the authorities and service providers.
The objective, however, is not solely to accelerate access to information. The new framework must also guarantee the protection of fundamental rights, an aspect that is especially relevant when investigations involve personal data and private communications.
Digital service providers play a central role in this ecosystem. They are responsible for managing a significant part of the data that may be useful in an investigation and, at the same time, must respond to a growing volume of legal requirements. The increase in requests, especially emergency ones, is putting significant pressure on the teams responsible for responding to security forces. Furthermore, adaptation to the future European e-Evidence package will require significant changes to the internal processes and information systems of many providers.
The landscape described by the SIRIUS Electronic Evidence Situation Report shows that access to digital evidence is no longer exclusively a technological issue. It is an operational, legal and international cooperation challenge that affects all stages of an investigation.
For law enforcement, this implies having professionals trained and qualified to identify, request, and manage digital evidence across different jurisdictions. For judicial authorities, it means moving towards procedures that allow for faster action without reducing legal guarantees. And for providers, it means adapting their processes and systems to an ever-increasing volume of requirements and to a new European regulatory framework.
The SIRIUS project continues to act as a support and knowledge hub to facilitate this cross-border access to electronic evidence. The upcoming implementation of the European e-Evidence framework must determine to what extent it is possible to combine speed, investigative effectiveness, international cooperation, and the protection of fundamental rights.
In an increasingly digitised security environment, the ability to obtain electronic evidence in a legal, secure and timely manner is becoming an essential factor for the criminal investigations of the future.
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