2001/886/JHA: Council Decision of 6 December 2001 on the development of the second generation Schengen Information System (SIS II)
Date: 2001-12-06
Institutions: Council of the European Union
Subjects: European Commission, Schengen Agreement, competence of the institution, information system

13.12.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

L 328/1

(Acts adopted pursuant to Title VI of the Treaty on European Union)

COUNCIL DECISION

of 6 December 2001

on the development of the second generation Schengen Information System (SIS II)

(2001/886/JHA)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty on European Union, and in partic-
ular Article 30(1)(a) and (b), Article 31(a) and (b) 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)

(2)

(3)

(4)

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 ‘the 1990 Schengen Conven-
tion’, constitutes an essential tool for the application of
the provisions of the Schengen acquis as integrated into
the framework of the European Union.

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

For this reason, and in order to benefit from the latest
developments in the field of information technology and
it is
to allow for the introduction of new functions,
necessary to develop a new, second generation Schengen
Information System (SIS II), as already acknowledged in
Decision SCH/Com-ex
the Executive
Committee of 7 October 1997 (3).

(97) 24 of

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 2424/2001 of 6 December

(1) OJ C 183, 29.6.2001, p. 14.
(2) Opinion delivered on 23 October 2001 (not yet published in the

Official Journal).

(3) OJ L 239, 22.9.2000, p. 442.

(5)

(6)

(7)

2001 on the development of
the second generation
Schengen Information System (SIS II) (4), 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.

The legislative basis consists of two parts: this Decision
based on Article 30(1)(a) and (b), Article 31(a) and (b)
and Article 34(2)(c) of the Treaty on European Union
and a Council Regulation based on Article 66 (…) of the
Treaty establishing the European Community. The
reason for this is that, as set out in Article 92 of the
1990 Schengen Convention, the Schengen Information
System is to enable the authorities designated by the
Member States, by means of an automated search proce-
dure, to have access to alerts on persons and property
for the purposes of border checks and other police and
customs checks carried out within the country in
accordance with national law, as well as for the purposes
of issuing visas, residence permits and the administration
of legislation on aliens in the context of the application
of the provisions of the Schengen acquis relating to the
movement of persons.

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 does not
the Schengen Information
affect
System constitutes, and should continue to constitute,
one single, integrated, information system and that SIS II
must be developed as such.

the principle that

This Decision is without prejudice to the adoption in
future of the necessary legislation describing in detail the
operation and use of SIS II, such as, but not limited to,
rules defining the categories of data to be entered into
the system,
the purposes for which they are to be
entered and the criteria for their entry, rules concerning
the content of SIS records, including responsibility for
their correctness, rules on the duration of alerts, inter-
linking of alerts and compatibility between alerts, rules
on access to SIS data and rules on the protection of
personal data and their control.

(4) See page 4 of this Official Journal.

L 328/2

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

13.12.2001

(8)

(9)

This Decision sets out procedures for the taking of
measures necessary for its implementation which mirror
the relevant provisions of Regulation (EC) No 2424/
2001, so as to ensure that there will be one single
implementing process for the development of SIS II as a
whole.

This Decision constitutes a development of provisions of
the Schengen acquis which fall within the area referred
to in Article 1 point G of Council Decision 1999/
437/EC of 17 May 1999 on certain arrangements for
the application of
the Agreement 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)
and Article 8(2) of Council Decision 2000/365/EC
concerning the request of the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Northern Ireland to take part in some of the
provisions of the Schengen acquis (2).

(10) An arrangement has to be made to allow representatives
of Iceland and Norway to be associated with the work of
committees assisting the Commission in the exercise of
its implementing powers. Such an arrangement has been
contemplated in the Exchange of Letters between the
Community and Iceland and Norway, annexed to the
abovementioned Association Agreement.

(11)

This Decision is without prejudice to the arrangements
for the United Kingdom's partial participation in the
Schengen acquis defined by the Council
in Decision
2000/365/EC,

HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:

Article 1

The Schengen Information System set up pursuant
to the
provisions of Title IV of the 1990 Schengen Convention, shall
be replaced by a new system, the Schengen Information System
II (SIS II), which shall allow for new Member States to be
integrated into the system.

Article 2

The SIS II, which shall be a single integrated system, shall be
developed by the Commission, in accordance with the proced-
ures set out in this Decision.

Article 3

The measures necessary for the development of SIS II shall be
adopted in accordance with the management procedure
referred to in Article 5 where they concern matters other than
those listed in Article 4.

(1) OJ L 176, 10.7.1999, p. 31.
(2) OJ L 131, 1.6.2000, p. 43.

Article 4

The measures necessary for
the development of SIS II
concerning the following matters shall be taken in accordance
with the regulatory procedure referred to in Article 6:

(a) the design of

the physical architecture of

the system,

including its communication network;

(b) technical aspects which have a bearing on the protection of

personal data;

(c) technical aspects which have serious financial implications
for the budgets of the Member States or which have serious
technical
the
Member States;

implications for the national systems of

(d) the development of security requirements.

Article 5

1. Where reference is made to this Article, the Commission
shall be assisted by a management committee composed of the
representatives of the Member States and chaired by the repres-
entative of the Commission.

2.
The committee shall adopt its rules of procedure on a
proposal by the chair on the basis of standard rules of proce-
dure which have been published in the Official Journal of the
European Communities.

3.
The representative of the Commission shall submit to the
committee a draft of the measures to be taken. The committee
shall deliver its opinion on the draft, within a time-limit which
the chairman may lay down according to the urgency of the
matter. The opinion shall be delivered by the majority laid
down in Article 205(2) of the Treaty establishing the European
Community,
is
required to adopt on a proposal from the Commission. The
votes of the representatives of the Member States within the
committee shall be weighted in the manner set out in that
Article. The chairman shall not vote.

in the case of decisions which the Council

4.
The Commission shall adopt measures which shall apply
immediately. However, if these measures are not in accordance
with the opinion of the committee, they shall be communi-
cated by the Commission to the Council forthwith. In that
event, the Commission may defer application of the measures
which it has decided on for a period of two months from the
date of such communication.

5.
The Council, acting by qualified majority, may take a
different decision within the period provided for by paragraph
4.

Article 6

1. Where reference is made to this Article, the Commission
shall be assisted by a regulatory committee composed of the
representatives of the Member States and chaired by the repres-
entative of the Commission.

2.
The committee shall adopt its rules of procedure on a
proposal by the chair on the basis of standard rules of proce-
dure which have been published in the Official Journal of the
European Communities.

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Official Journal of the European Communities

L 328/3

The representative of the Commission shall submit to the
3.
committee a draft of the measures to be taken. The committee
shall deliver its opinion on the draft within a time-limit which
the chairman may lay down according to the urgency of the
matter. The opinion shall be delivered by the majority laid
down in Article 205(2) of the Treaty establishing the European
Community,
is
required to adopt on a proposal from the Commission. The
votes of the representatives of the Member States within the
committee shall be weighted in the manner set out in that
Article. The chairman shall not vote.

in the case of decisions which the Council

4.
The Commission shall adopt the measures envisaged if
they are in accordance with the opinion of the committee.

5.
If the measures envisaged are not in accordance with the
opinion of the committee, or if no opinion is delivered, the
Commission shall, without delay, submit to the Council a
proposal relating to the measures to be taken and shall inform
the European Parliament.

6.
The Council may act by qualified majority on the
proposal, within two months from the date of referral to the
Council.

If within that period the Council has indicated by qualified
majority that it opposes the proposal, the Commission shall
It may submit an amended proposal to the
re-examine it.
Council,
its proposal or present a legislative
proposal.

re-submit

If on the expiry of that period the Council has neither adopted
the proposed implementing act nor indicated its opposition to
the proposal for implementing measures, the proposed imple-
menting act shall be adopted by the Commission.

Article 7

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

It shall expire on 31 December 2006.

Done at Brussels, 6 December 2001.

For the Council

The President

M. VERWILGHEN