Brussels, 21/03/2013 (Agence Europe) - The Portuguese rapporteur on Schengen governance, Carlos Coelho (EPP), called on the European Commission, on Thursday 21 March, during a hearing at the EP, to first of all assess the tools available to Schengen Area member states before going on to propose new initiatives. Here, the MEP was alluding to the major cost of the SIS2 system, finally up and running in April after seven years lagging behind schedule, which will have cost an additional €22 million. Coelho also cited as an example the Smart Borders project presented by Cecilia Malmström on 28 February, which provides for new investment in high-tech initiatives at the borders of the EU. The rapporteur would like the Commission to first of all address the cost of those initiatives. On 28 February, the commissioner had said that the Smart Borders package would account for a little over €1billion from the European budget for the period 2015-2020. (SP/transl.jl)