The legal instruments governing migration from SIS 1+ to SIS II lay down the tasks and responsibilities of the European Commission and the Member States for preparing this migration, including further development and testing of SIS II.
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The second generation Schengen Information System (SIS II) will be a large-scale information system containing alerts on persons and objects. It will be used by border guards, customs officers, visa and law-enforcement authorities throughout the Schengen area, with a view to ensuring a high level of security. This new system is currently undergoing extensive testing in close cooperation with the Member States and will replace the current system, providing enhanced functionalities.
ACTS
Council Regulation (EC) No 1104/2008 of 24 October 2008 on migration from the Schengen Information System (SIS 1+) to the second generation Schengen Information System (SIS II).
Council Decision 2008/839/JHA of 24 October 2008 on migration from the Schengen Information System (SIS 1+) to the second generation Schengen Information System (SIS II).
SUMMARY
The Schengen Information System (SIS 1+) will be replaced by the second generation Schengen Information System (SIS II). Council Regulation (EC) No 1104/2008 and Council Decision 2008/839/JHA of 24 October 2008, referred to below as the migration instruments, set out the responsibilities of both the Commission and the Member States that are participating in SIS 1+ during the preparations up until entry into operation of the new system (including further development, testing and transfer of data from SIS 1+ to SIS II). It is due to the cross-pillar structure in the field of justice, freedom and security, where community policies and police and judicial cooperation coexist, that two migration instruments are provided for: a regulation (Community law, 1st pillar) and a decision (Union law, 3rd pillar).
The SIS 1+ and SIS II are composed of a central system, C.SIS and Central SIS II respectively, of national systems (N.SIS and N.SIS II respectively) and of a communication infrastructure that links the central and national systems.
The tasks laid down in the migration instruments relate in particular to the:
- further development and maintenance of SIS II;
- comprehensive test of SIS II;
- test between the SIRENE Bureaux for the exchange of supplementary information;
- development and testing of the converter that will allow for communication between the central systems of SIS 1+ and SIS II;
- creation and testing of a provisional architecture for the migration;
- migration in the strict sense from SIS 1+ to SIS II, i.e. transferring operations from SIS 1+ to SIS II.
The Commission is responsible for developing the Central SIS II, its communication infrastructure and the converter. Meanwhile, as stipulated in the Schengen Convention, France remains responsible for the C.SIS. In addition, the relevant Member States are responsible for the N.SIS and the communication infrastructure for SIS 1+, as well as for the development of the N.SIS II.
The Commission and the relevant Member States are to implement the comprehensive test of SIS II, following the tests referred to in Regulation (EC) No 189/2008 and Decision 2008/173/JHA. The Member States that are participating in SIS 1+ are also responsible for implementing the SIRENE test on the exchange of supplementary information. Those Member States that are not participating in SIS 1+ may also take part in these tests; however, their results will not be taken into consideration in the general validations. The analyses of the tests are carried out by the relevant Member States and the Commission.
The creation and testing of the provisional architecture for the SIS migration are to be carried out by the Commission, along with France and the other relevant Member States. The Central SIS II and C.SIS will be connected with the converter for a transitional period within the interim architecture. The Central SIS II, its communication infrastructure and the converter are the responsibility of the Commission, while the communication test between the converter and the C.SIS is the responsibility of France. Both the Commission and France are to carry out the communication test and connect the Central SIS II and the C.SIS with the converter.
The migration from SIS 1+ to SIS II is to be implemented by the Commission and the Member States that are participating in SIS 1+, based on a mutually established schedule. The switchover will be executed once the comprehensive test of SIS II has been validated.
In order to verify that searches and data processing in SIS II are lawful and that the Central SIS II and the national systems function properly, as well as to guarantee data integrity and security, there will be an obligation to record all access to and exchanges of personal data within the Central SIS II. The data will have to be kept for a minimum of one year and a maximum of three years after having been recorded.
The costs relating to migration, the comprehensive test, the test on supplementary information, maintenance and development measures at Central SIS II level or concerning the communication infrastructure are to be covered by the general budget of the European Union. Each Member State concerned will be in charge of costs relating to the migration, testing, maintenance and development of its national system. The costs related to activities at SIS 1+ level (including the supplementary activities of France on behalf of the Member States participating in SIS 1+) shall be borne in accordance with the provision of Article 119 of the Schengen Convention.
REFERENCES
Acts:
Regulation (EC) No 1104/2008
Entry into force: 11.11.2008
Deadline for transposition in the Member States: –
Official Journal: OJ L 299 of 8.11.2008
Decision 2008/839/JHA
Entry into force: 11.11.2008
Deadline for transposition in the Member States: –
Official Journal: OJ L 299 of 8.11.2008
RELATED ACTS
EXTENSION OF THE DATE FOR COMPLETION OF MIGRATION FROM SIS 1+ TO SIS II
Commission Decision 2009/720/EC of 17 September 2009 laying down the date for the completion of migration from the Schengen Information System (SIS 1+) to the second generation Schengen Information System (SIS II) (1st pillar) [Official Journal L 257 of 30.9.2009].
Commission Decision 2009/724/JHA of 17 September 2009 laying down the date for the completion of migration from the Schengen Information System (SIS 1+) to the second generation Schengen Information System (SIS II) (3rd pillar) [Official Journal L 257 of 30.9.2009].
The migration instruments referred to above set as an initial deadline the end of September 2009 for completing the migration process, with the possibility of extending this deadline via Commission decisions adopted under comitology procedures. In September 2009, Commission decisions were adopted to extend the deadline for Member States participating in SIS 1+ to complete migration from N.SIS to N.SIS II by using the interim migration architecture and with the support of France and the Commission. This migration must now be completed by the expiry date of the migration instruments (currently 30 June 2010).
PROPOSALS TO AMEND THE MIGRATION INSTRUMENTS
Proposal for a Council Regulation amending Regulation (EC) No 1104/2008 on migration from the Schengen Information System (SIS 1+) to the second generation Schengen Information System (SIS II) (1st pillar) [COM(2009) 508 final Not published in the Official Journal].
Proposal for a Council Decision amending Decision 2008/839/JHA on migration from the Schengen Information System (SIS 1+) to the second generation Schengen Information System (SIS II) (3rd pillar) [COM(2009) 509 final Not published in the Official Journal].
The SIS II is currently undergoing extensive testing, in close cooperation with the Member States, with a view to solving any technical problems before the system is put into operation.
These proposals aim to prevent the existing migration instruments from expiring before the migration is technically feasible. They provide for the expiry of the migration instruments on the date when the SIS II Regulation (EC) No 1987/2006 and the SIS II Decision 2007/533/JHA become applicable in Member States. This date will be fixed by the Council (acting by unanimity of its members representing the governments of the Member States participating in the first generation Schengen Information System), once all necessary technical preparations for SIS II have been completed at central and Member State level and once all implementing measures have been adopted.
These proposals also address two other major points raised in the conclusions of the JHA Council of 4 June 2009, namely by ensuring legal flexibility for the development of SIS II via an alternative technical scenario and by formally setting up a coordinating body of technical experts at overall programme level for further assisting the overall development of SIS II.
