Brussels, 09/04/2013 (Agence Europe) - The 22 member states of the Schengen area, and the associate countries (Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein), have made the transition to the second generation Schengen Information System (SIS II), the European Commission stated in a press release on Tuesday 9 April (see EUROPE 10821).
After a seven-year delay and a budget that ran to more than €167 million, as compared to the originally estimated €23 million, the new SIS - which is finally operational - will strengthen security in the European area of free movement for people by developing exchange of information among national authorities responsible for border control, customs authorities and the police. Information will be exchanged more quickly about, for example, people likely to have taken part in serious criminal activity. SIS II also contains descriptions of people reported as missing, and descriptions of property - such as bank notes, cars, vans, firearms, identity documents or any object that might have been stolen, misappropriated, or lost.
In concrete terms, a national authority will be able to issue the system with an alert and to ask its counterparts if a particular individual or object has been identified. SIS II should register information on people who do not have the right to enter the Schengen area or who are suspected of criminal activity, including photos and digital fingerprints. These alerts can be issued for a series of reasons - for example, to find a person under an arrest warrant.
Six countries are already operational. On Tuesday, six countries had already made the transition to SIS II, two experts stated - Switzerland, Estonia, Luxembourg, Portugal, Slovenia and Liechtenstein. The other countries are due to migrate to the new system by 9 May. The whole system will be monitored by the European EU-LISA agency for the operational management of the wide-scale information systems in the area of freedom, security and justice. This operational management will be split between two headquarters - one in Strasbourg and the other in Vienna.
With regard to data protection, guarantees have been strengthened, the Commission states. Access to SIS II will be limited to police and customs authorities, to judicial authorities, and to authorities responsible for border controls, for examination of visa requests and for vehicle registration in the member states. Access by other European agencies will be limited - with Europol, for example, being able to access SIS II under certain conditions if this is crucial for an investigation, the experts state. Any transfer of information to a third country will be forbidden. (SP/transl.fl)