On Wednesday 21 December, the European Commission proposed strengthening the effectiveness of the Schengen Information System (SIS) in order to detect terrorist threats, and it proposed to the member states the introduction of a new category of alerts.
The member states will in future therefore be obliged to create a SIS alert in cases of crime linked to terrorism. The proposals also involve improving cooperation and the sharing of information between the member states, especially by introducing a new category of alerts on unknown people being sought, and by granting the Europol police cooperation agency full access rights to the database.
As well as people alerted at member state level or objects stolen, the SIS system will be required to contain data on people who are subject to inadmissibility. The SIS will furthermore enable the execution of deportation decisions to be accelerated, with the Commission proposing to member states the creation of a new alert category for deportation decisions.
The changes presented are also aimed at protecting children better by allowing authorities to publish warning alerts on children who run a high risk of being abducted. This is in addition to warning alerts for children who have disappeared.
The use of data, such as facial images and palm prints, will be facilitated to identify people entering the Schengen area of free movement. Support for preventing and carrying out investigations into theft and counterfeiting will also be strengthened through enlarging the list of stolen goods or falsified documents that are subject to an alert, the Commission suggests.
In general, the Commission wants to facilitate the use of the SIS and to improve its security by providing for uniform requirements for agents on the ground as to how to deal with the data contained. The Commission also proposes strengthening data protection by introducing additional guarantees to ensure that the collection and handling of data and access to it are limited to what is strictly necessary, fully respecting EU law and fundamental rights, including the right to effective appeal.
The SIS currently contains around 70 million entries. In 2015, it was consulted 2.9 billion times (a year particularly marked by terrorist attacks or attempted attacks) - in other words a billion times more than in 2014. It provides information on people who do not have the right to enter or stay in the Schengen area, on people who are being sought for criminal activities, and on people who have disappeared. In addition, it contains data on certain lost or stolen goods (for example, cars, firearms or identity documents). (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)