Schengen Information System
The Schengen Information System (SIS) is a governmental database maintained by the European Commission. The SIS is used by 31 European countries to find information about individuals and entities for the purposes of national security, border control and law enforcement since 2001. A second technical version of this system, SIS II, went live on 9 April 2013.[1] An upgraded Schengen Information System entered into operation on 7 March 2023.[2]
Participating nations
[edit]Information in SIS is shared among the institutions of countries participating in the Schengen Agreement Application Convention (SAAC). The five original participating countries were France, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg. Twenty-two additional countries joined the system since its creation: Spain, Portugal, Italy, Austria, Greece, Finland, Sweden, Switzerland, Denmark, Iceland, Norway, Estonia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Liechtenstein, Croatia, Bulgaria and Romania. Among the current participants, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland are members of the European Free Trade Association but not of the European Union.
Although Ireland and the United Kingdom operate a Common Travel Area and had not signed the Schengen Agreement Application Convention (when the United Kingdom was still an EU member), they had the right to take part in Schengen co-operation under the terms of the Treaty of Amsterdam. Ireland joined the law enforcement aspect on 1 January 2021 and has "full operational capacity" since March 2021.[3][4] As a consequence of Brexit, the UK lost access to the system on 31 December 2020. (UK law enforcement did 571 million searches in the database in 2019 alone[5]) and does not expect to regain any access before 2027 at the earliest.[6]
Introduction
[edit]SIS information is stored according to the legislation of each participating country. There are more than 46 million entries (called "alerts") in SIS, most about lost identity documents.[7] Person alerts make up around 1.9 percent of the database (about 885,000 records). Each alert contains information such as: name, date of birth, gender, nationality, aliases, arms or history of violence, the reason for the alert and the action to be taken if the person is encountered. SIS does not record travellers' entries and exits from the Schengen Area.[8][9][10][11]
History
[edit]On 25 March 1957, the Treaty of Rome was completed. On 3 February 1958, the economic union of the Benelux countries was formed. Both agreements aimed to enable the free movement of people and goods across national borders. The Benelux countries, as a smaller group, were able to quickly implement the agreement. The European Communities' focus was on economic integration. It was not until the agreement of Saarbrücken was completed on 13 July 1984, that border controls between France and Germany were eased.
On 14 June 1985, France, Germany and three of the Benelux nations completed the Schengen Agreement. Border controls on people and goods between these nations were gradually relaxed. On 19 June 1990, the initial five nations were joined by Spain, Portugal, Italy, Greece, Austria and five Nordic Passport Union countries: Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden.
On 21 December 2007, the Schengen border-free zone was enlarged to include Estonia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia.
On 1 January 2023, the Schengen border-free zone was enlarged to include Croatia.
Legal aspects and technical characteristics
[edit]SIS was created to maintain European security after 25 March 2001 when border security between fifteen nations was relaxed. The SIS requires Schengen nations to respect the legal force of the information it contains. It also requires the nations to respect the privacy and personal freedom of the people whose data is held according to national data laws. SIS's information processing system must be permanently connected to member nations' databases and must be updated in real-time.
These commitments are supplemented by consultation procedures between the member nations. Discussions may take place about issues such as confirmation of information, variation of actions directed by SIS, questions of residency, and international warrants for arrest.
SIS is controlled by an authority composed of representatives of the member nations. Personal data protection is a key responsibility. At a technical level, the participating countries adopted a data-processing star architecture made up of a central site containing the reference database, known as C-SIS, for which the responsibility is entrusted to the French Republic by the CAAS, and a site by country, known as N-SIS, containing a copy of the database.
Data
[edit]The type of data about people kept in SIS includes: requests for extradition; undesirability of presence in particular territory; minor age; mental illnesses; missing person status; a need for protection; requests by a judicial authority; and suspected of crime. The SIS also keeps data referring to lost, stolen and misappropriated firearms, identity documents, motor vehicles and banknotes.
France is responsible for management of SIS and uses an automated system of data updates which occur every five minutes. The SIS automatically directs data to queries arriving via large national databases. Each member nation has an office responsible for SIS communications. SIS also has a function called "Supplementary Information Request at the National Entry" (SIRENE). The SIRENE office records a "hit" on a SIS data record and forwards further information to assist investigations.
Police co-operation and legal mutual assistance
[edit]In addition to SIS and SIRENE, the Schengen convention ensured police co-operation and legal mutual assistance. Police of member nations can cooperate to prevent and identify crime (article 39); to continue surveillance across borders (article 40); to pursue across borders in certain circumstances (article 41); and to share information that is significant for the repression or the prevention of in flagrante delicto or threats to order and public safety (article 46). This allows execution of criminal judgements and extraditions where a national attempts to take refuge in another territory.
System evolution
[edit]In November 2011, SIS1 was renewed for a second time. The main reason for renewal was to connect more nations.
In 2007, while developments were in progress, Portugal had offered the use of a version called "SISone4ALL" developed by SEF (Portugal's Border and Foreigners Service) and Critical Software.[12]
On 15 October 2010, Bulgaria and Romania joined SIS II for law enforcement cooperation.[13]
On 9 April 2013, SIS II went live.[1][14]
On 27 June 2017, Croatia joined SIS II for law enforcement cooperation.[15]
On 1 August 2018, Bulgaria and Romania gained full access to SIS.[16]
On 1 January 2021, Ireland joined the law enforcement aspect,[3] with full access to SIS for law enforcement purposes from 15 March 2021.[17]
On 3 May 2022, the European Parliament approved a proposal to give Cyprus full access to SIS. The proposal then needed to be endorsed by the Council of the European Union.[18]
On 1 January 2023, Croatia gained full access to SIS with joining the Schengen border-free zone.
On 25 July 2023, Cyprus gained full access to SIS.[19][20]
In 2023, the UK was negotiating to rejoin SIS II, with access unlikely before the 2027/2028 fiscal year.[21]
Brexit
[edit]Use of the Schengen Information System is limited to members of the European Union and signatories of the Schengen Agreement Application Convention. While still a member of the EU but not of the Schengen Agreement, the United Kingdom had limited access to the SIS. This access ceased from 1 January 2021.[22] In June 2020, the Security and Intelligence subcommittee of the House of Lords, on hearing evidence by Home Office Minister James Brokenshire, expressed concerns that failure of the (post-Brexit) trade negotiation between the United Kingdom and the EU could lead to worrying delays in access to counter-terrorism intelligence.[23]
In 2023 the United Kingdom gaining access to EU datasets was stated to be at "a very early stage", and was not expected to be completed before the 2027/2028 financial year.[21]
See also
[edit]- eu-LISA
- European Criminal Records Information System (ECRIS)
- Prüm Convention
- Schengen Agreement
- Visa Information System
References
[edit]- ^ a b "Schengen Information System (SIS II) goes live". Europa.eu (Press release). European Commission. 9 April 2013. Archived from the original on 6 August 2020. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
- ^ "Security Union: The renewed Schengen Information Systems enters into operation". European Commission - European Commission. Retrieved 17 December 2023.
- ^ a b Sean Whelan (18 December 2020). "Ireland to join EU police database from 1 January as UK leaves". RTE News. Archived from the original on 25 December 2020. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
- ^ "COUNCIL IMPLEMENTING DECISION (EU) 2020/1745 of 18 November 2020 on the putting into effect of the provisions of the Schengen acquis on data protection and on the provisional putting into effect of certain provisions of the Schengen acquis in Ireland". EUR-Lex. Archived from the original on 3 October 2021. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
- ^ "UK and EU clash over crime-fighting database in Brexit talks". the Guardian. 22 May 2020. Archived from the original on 4 January 2021. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
- ^ Syal, Rajeev (1 March 2023). "UK police and Border Force to remain locked out of EU database of criminals". The Guardian.
- ^ SIS Archived 9 November 2013 at the Wayback Machine Statewatch 2013
- ^ Commission staff working document: impact assessment report on the establishment of an EU entry exit system Archived 20 April 2017 at the Wayback Machine Eulex 6 April 2016 p 11 Accessed 19 April 2017
- ^ Proposal for a regulation of the European parliament and of the council establishing an entry/exit system (EES) to register entry and exit data of third country nationals crossing the external borders of the member states of the European Union Archived 11 May 2013 at the Wayback Machine Europa p 2. Accessed 12 October 2013.
- ^ Council of the European Union: questionnaire on the possible creation of a system of electronic recording of entries and exits of third country nationals in the Schengen area (reply from Greece) Archived 12 April 2012 at the Wayback Machine Statewatch 2013.
- ^ Smart borders for an open and secure Europe Archived 4 March 2013 at the Wayback Machine Europa.
- ^ SISone4all Archived 27 February 2011 at the Wayback Machine Critical software.
- ^ council decision 29 June 2010 on the application of the provisions of the Schengen acquis relating to the Schengen Information System in the Republic of Bulgaria and Romania (2010/365/EU) Archived 10 September 2018 at the Wayback Machine Europa
- ^ Proposition de résolution Le système d'information Schengen Archived 13 February 2006 at the Wayback Machine Senat.fr
- ^ Council decision (EU) 2017/733 of 25 April 2017 on the application of the provisions of the Schengen acquis relating to the Schengen Information System in the Republic of Croatia Archived 4 April 2019 at the Wayback Machine Europa.
- ^ "COUNCIL DECISION (EU) 2018/934 of 25 June 2018 on the putting into effect of the remaining provisions of the Schengen acquis relating to the Schengen Information System in the Republic of Bulgaria and Romania". European Commission. Archived from the original on 1 August 2018. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
- ^ Januzi, Shkurta (16 March 2021). "Ireland Officially Joins the Schengen Information System – SIS II". SchengenVisaInfo.com. Archived from the original on 16 March 2021. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
- ^ Hazou, Elias (3 May 2022). "Cyprus approved access to Schengen information on people entering the country". Cyprus Mail. Archived from the original on 1 December 2023.
- ^ "COUNCIL DECISION (EU) 2023/870 of 25 April 2023 on the application of the provisions of the Schengen acquis relating to the Schengen Information System in the Republic of Cyprus". Official Journal of the European Union. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
- ^ Desku, Arta (24 July 2023). "Cyprus to Join Schengen Information System From July 25". SchengenVisaInfo.com. Archived from the original on 24 July 2023. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
- ^ a b Syal, Rajeev (1 March 2023). "UK police and Border Force to remain locked out of EU database of criminals". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 6 May 2023.
- ^ Bunkall, Alistair (24 December 2020). "Brexit: Britain will be less secure without access to shared data". Sky News. Archived from the original on 28 December 2020. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
- ^ Lisa O'Carroll (16 June 2020). "Failure of Brexit talks could lead to terrorism intelligence delays, say Lords. Real-time access to EU police databases has not yet been agreed in the negotiations". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 16 June 2020. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
Lord Ricketts, a former diplomat and the chair of the committee, questioned the "coherence" of the United Kingdom's Brexit approach. It was looking for a Canada-style agreement in trade but a specially close arrangement in security and justice, "an equivalent position to that which perhaps Schengen countries have, or EEA countries have like Norway, Iceland but no other country", he said.