Brussels, 01/06/2005 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday, the European Commission tabled three proposals for establishing the second generation of the Schengen Information System (SIS II), which is needed to allow the cooperation that is essential for removing borders with the new Member States, Jean-Louis de Brouwer, Director for Immigration, Asylum and Borders at the Commission, explained. The Justice and Home Affairs Council had already endorsed the principle of replacing the current SIS by SIS II.
The Schengen Information System (SIS) in its current version allows information to be exchanged within the area without internal borders, this database being accessible to all police forces for identification of persons sought by the police or prohibited from entering the EU, and for stolen goods and papers. The creation of SIS II above all aims to increase the system's capacity to function with at least 25 Member States. The SIS would also allow new kinds of data to be stored, especially relating to European arrest warrants, the introduction of biometric data, and better data protection, the European Commission points out.
The European Commission trusts SIS II will be fully operational from the first half of 2007, to allow its opening to the new Member States in October that year, if they meet the conditions and are themselves ready to take part in SIS II. Mr de Brouwer stated there was “no alternative” as the current version of SIS ”is not able to absorb the ten new Member States” and the cost of the changes needed to the current SIS for provisional extension to these countries is considered out of proportion by the Commission and by a vast majority of Member States.
In practical terms, the proposals are on the table: a regulation establishing the basis for SIS II and the rules for refusing access to EU territory, a decision concerning warnings on persons sought by the police, and a regulation on stolen vehicles. The various legal bases for the current texts must come in three texts, Mr de Brouwer regretted. The two regulations will be adopted in co-decision with the European Parliament, but the decision will only be taken by the Council. The existence of three texts could complicate things, given that they contain common provisions, mainly on the architecture of the system, the Commission acknowledges.
The European Commission has already signed with a consortium formed of HP, Steria, Mummert and Primesphere the contract for developing the SIS II databases and the information system on visas (VIS). These two systems will share a common platform. Interconnection is not yet foreseen but the European Commission announces a proposal for next year on the links between the different European databases, including the above two.
The European Commission suggests it should now take on the management of the Schengen Information System in its new version, although SIS is for now operated by France, where it is located. The Council has not formally come to a decision about the final location for the system but has nonetheless chosen Strasbourg and Salzburg for the development phase, one of the two seats having to serve as a back-up in case the main system fails. The Commission evaluates the cost of creating SIS II at EUR 30 million and states that it does not at this stage know what costs will be borne by the Member States to adjust to the new system. SIS II will have a capacity that is three times as great as the SIS I, which currently holds 10 to 13 million data relating to persons banned entry to the EU or on objects sought, the Commission says. Ten percent of the data concern persons, the remainder being on objects (cars, identity documents), the Commission explains.