Brussels, 27/02/2009 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday 26 February, the EU decided to take a final decision in early June concerning the plan to create a second generation Schengen Information System (SIS II). The new system might quite simply be dropped in favour of database modernisation. “We shall know in June whether we can keep SIS II. If not, there will be the possibility of a variant of SIS I+”, said Jacques Barrot, European Commissioner responsible for justice, freedom and security, speaking after a meeting of home ministers attending the joint committee (EU, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Switzerland). “There are no insurmountable difficulties and we hope to be able to finalise the SIS II”, the commissioner said. “It is a complex system and the states have wanted to add extra services that have made it even more complex”, he explained. Created in 1990, the SIS is an information base common to the 25 countries belonging to the Schengen Area. Its aim is to centralise and facilitate the exchange of information held by police authorities. It contains over 28 million elements of information, of which over 22 million concern stolen goods, as well as records of around 1.2 million individuals - either considered undesirable or sought by justice. The system can process 17 elements of data per second. The SIS II, which is a highly complex project, mainly aims to strengthen the identification of people through biometric data storage (photographs and fingerprints).
Progress report in May and final decision in June. As earlier envisaged in January during their informal meeting in Prague, the ministers decided on Thursday to attempt to bring SIS II into operation by May despite the difficulties to date. In parallel, they plan to study a “Plan B” should SIS II not give satisfaction. The idea consists of examining the replacement of SIS II with an improved version of the current information system, called “SIS I+” (EUROPE 9847). “By the end of April and mid-May, we shall have two clear possibilities on the modus operandi in order to take a decision”, said Czech Home Minister Ivan Langer during a press conference. For these two scenarios, the Commission is tasked with drawing up a report as soon as possible and by May 2009 at the latest in collaboration with experts involved in developing SIS II. Germany, Austria and Malta are adamant that the member states should take part in preparing the document. The Council, for its part, has set itself until its next meeting foreseen for 4-5 June this year to choose one of the two solutions (EUROPE 9819). Once again, Germany and Austria had called for a decision to be taken more speedily but finally rallied to the Presidency compromise. The Council also admitted that the new SIS II will not be ready in September 2009. With a view to taking the final decision, the Council will use certain criteria as a base, such as: timetables for putting SIS II into service and the integration into SIS of countries outside the Schengen Area (Ireland, United Kingdom, Cyprus, Bulgaria, Romania and Liechtenstein), budgetary impact and the technical merits of the project. Concerning future entrants to the Schengen Area (Cyprus, Bulgaria, Romania and Liechtenstein), Mr Langer sought to be reassuring, saying: “Solutions envisaged will not question their accession to the Schengen Area”. Mr Barrot added: “This will not have an effect on Switzerland”, which will be joining the Schengen Area in March.
VIS to take effect end 2009. Commissioner Jacques Barrot said he had every hope that the Visa Information System (VIS) would be up and running from the end of 2009. VIS is a database for the exchange of information between member states on visas granted for short stays and requests for visas from third country nationals wishing to enter the Schengen Area. The system, which should make up the largest biometric database in the world, including nearly 70 million individuals, is currently going through a trial phase. Minister Ivan Langer finally announced that the Council expected the result of an assessment mission in mid March concerning border control security in Swiss airports. “On 29 March, we shall therefore be able to take in a new state to join the Schengen Area and that will be Switzerland”, Mr Langer said. Land border controls between Switzerland and its EU member state neighbours were lifted on 12 December 2008. European experts recently verified whether the airports of Geneva, Zurich and Basel complied with the Schengen provisions. This assessment was necessary as, during the previous inspection visit last August, Switzerland had not yet completed setting up the new infrastructure necessary for separating the flow of passengers. (B.C./transl.jl)