Initiative of the Kingdom of Belgium and of the Kingdom of Sweden with a view to the adoption of a Council Decision on the development of the second generation Schengen information system (SIS II)
Date: 2001-06-29
Institutions: Belgium, Sweden
Subjects: Schengen Agreement, access to information, foreign national, information system

C 183/14

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

29.6.2001

Article 7

It shall expire on 31 December 2006.

The Commission shall submit by the end of every six month
period, and for the first time by the end of the second six
month period of 2002, a progress report
to the Council
concerning the development of SIS II.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly
in accordance with the
applicable in the Member States
Treaty establishing the European Community.

Article 8

Done at . . .

This Regulation shall enter into force on the day following that
of
the European
Communities.

its publication in the Official

Journal of

For the Council

The President

. . .

Initiative of the Kingdom of Belgium and of the Kingdom of Sweden with a view to the adoption
of a Council Decision on the development of the second generation Schengen information system
(SIS II)

(2001/C 183/08)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty on European Union, and in
particular Article 30(1), Article 31 and Article 34(2)(c) thereof,

Having regard to the initiative of the Kingdom of Belgium and
the Kingdom of Sweden (1),

Having regard to the Opinion of the European Parliament (2),

Whereas:

(1) The Schengen information system, set up pursuant to the
provisions of Title IV of
the Convention of 1990
implementing the Schengen Agreement of 14 June 1985
on the gradual abolition of checks at common borders,
hereinafter referred to as (cid:145)the 1990 Schengen Convention(cid:146),
for the application of the
constitutes an essential tool
provisions of the Schengen acquis as integrated into the
framework of the European Union.

(2) The Schengen information system in its current form has
the capacity to service no more than 18 participating
States. It is at present operational for 13 Member States
and two other States (Iceland and Norway) and is intended
the United Kingdom and
to become operational
It has, however, not
Ireland in the foreseeable future.
been constructed so as to service the increased number
of Member States of
its
enlargement.

the European Union after

for

(3) For this reason, and in order to benefit from the latest
developments in the field of information technology and

to allow for the introduction of new functions,
is
necessary to develop a new, second generation Schengen
information system (SIS II).

it

(4) The expenditure involved in the development of SIS II is
to be charged to the budget of the European Union in
accordance with the Council conclusions to that effect of
29 May 2001. This Decision constitutes, together with
Council Regulation (EC) No . . ./2001 of . . . on the devel-
opment of the second generation Schengen information
system (SIS II) (3), the required legislative basis to allow for
the inclusion in the budget of the Union of the necessary
appropriations for the development of SIS II and the
execution of that part of the budget.

(5) The legislative basis consists of two parts: this Decision
the Treaty on
based on Articles 30(1), 31 and 34 of
European Union and a Council Regulation based on
the Treaty establishing the
Articles 66 and 67 of
European Community. The reason for this is that
the
Schengen information system serves several objectives,
one of which falls within the scope of Title IV of Part
Three of the Treaty establishing the European Community
and others which fall within the scope of Title VI of the
Treaty on European Union.

(6) The fact that the legislative basis required for allowing the
development of SIS II to be financed by the Union budget
consists of two separate instruments should not affect the
principle
system
Schengen
to constitute, one
constitutes,
single,
information system and that SIS II
should be developed as such.

and should continue

information

integrated,

that

the

(1) OJ C . . .
(2) OJ C . . .

(3) See also in this Official Journal.

29.6.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 183/15

by them to have access, by means of an automated search
procedure,
the
purposes of police and customs checks to be carried out at
external borders and elsewhere within their territory.

to alerts on persons

and property for

Article 2

The current information system serving, among other matters,
the purpose referred to in Article 1, the Schengen information
system set up pursuant to the provisions of Title IV of the
shall be replaced by a new
1990 Schengen Convention,
system,
(SIS II), which
shall allow for new Member States to be integrated into the
system and for certain new functions to be carried out and
which shall take account of developments in information tech-
nology.

the Schengen information system II

Article 3

The SIS II, which shall be a single integrated system, serving
both the objectives set out in Article 1 of this Decision and
those set out
in Article 1 of Council Regulation (EC) No
. . ./2001, shall be developed by the Commission, in accordance
with the procedures set out in Article 6(2) and (3) of that
Regulation.

Article 4

This Decision shall take effect on the day following that of its
publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities.

It shall expire on 31 December 2006.

Done at . . .

For the Council

The President

. . .

(7) This Decision is without prejudice to the adoption in
future of
the necessary legislation describing in detail
the operation and use of SIS II. It is necessary for such
legislation to be in place before the system becomes oper-
ational, but it can only be adequately prepared once the
technical development of SIS II has advanced sufficiently.

(8) The necessary rules describing the categories of data to be
entered in SIS II in order to serve the objectives set out in
this Decision and the specific purposes of each category
of entry, the nature of the data to be entered and the
entitlement to access to these data should be adopted in
accordance with the provisions of Article 34 of the Treaty
on European Union.

(9) As to the procedures for the taking of measures necessary
for the implementation of
the Decision
refers to the relevant provisions of Regulation (EC) No
. . ./2001, which is to apply to the development of SIS II
as a whole.

this Decision,

(10) This Decision constitutes a development of the Schengen
acquis and is covered by the terms of Article 1 of Council
Decision 1999/437/EC of 17 May 1999 on certain
arrangements
the Agreement
the application of
concluded by the Council of the European Union and
the Republic of
Iceland and the Kingdom of Norway
concerning the association of those two States with the
implementation, application and development of
the
Schengen acquis (1),

for

HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:

Article 1

to maintain public policy and public security,
In order
including national security,
in the territories of the Member
States, it is necessary for the Member States to have in place
a joint information system, enabling the authorities designated

(1) OJ L 176, 10.7.1999, p. 31.