Proposal for a Council Decision on the tests of the second generation Schengen Information System (SIS II)
Date: 2007-12-20
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Schengen Information System, data processing, exchange of information, public safety, technical standard, testing

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 20.12.2007 
COM(2007) 837 final 

Proposal for a 

COUNCIL DECISION 

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

(presented by the Commission) 

EN 

   EN 

 
 
 
  
EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

1) CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL 

110 

•  Grounds for and objectives of the proposal 

The  Council  entrusted  the  Commission  with  the  development  of  the  second  generation 
Schengen  Information  System  (SIS  II)  by  Regulation  (EC)  No  2424/2001  and  Decision 
2001/886/JHA.  

The objective of this proposal, and a proposal for a Council Regulation on the same subject, is 
to lay down provisions on the tests to demonstrate that SIS II can work in accordance with the 
technical  and  functional  requirements  set  out  in  the  SIS  II  legal  instruments  and  the  non-
functional requirements such as robustness, availability and performance. 

120 

•  General context 
On the basis of two SIS II legal instruments1 governing the development of the SIS II, draft 
measures  were  taken  following  the  regulatory  procedure  referred  to  in  Article  6  of  Council 
Decision 2001/886/JHA: 

"Article  4  The  measures  necessary  for  the  development  of  SIS  II  concerning  the  following 
matters shall be taken in accordance with the regulatory procedure: 

c) technical aspects which have serious financial implications for the budgets of the Member 
States  or  which  have  serious  technical  implications  for  the  national  systems  of  the  Member 
States". 

There  are  very  few  elements  of  an  information  technology  project  which  are  as  costly  and 
time-consuming as testing. The testing of SIS II is a major technical aspect with serious cost 
and technical implications for the Member States. The Commission was therefore obliged to 
propose comitology decisions in accordance with the regulatory procedure.  

Since  the  proposed  test  decisions  did  not  receive  a  favourable  opinion  in  the  SIS  II 
comitology  Committee,  the  Commission  has  to  submit  to  the  Council  without  delay,  a 
proposal relating to measures to be taken and to inform the European Parliament. 

130 

•  Existing provisions in the area of the proposal 

-  Council  Regulation  (EC)  No  2424/2001  of  6  December  2001  on  the  development  of  the 
second  generation  Schengen  Information  System  (SIS  II)  as  amended  by  1998/2006  of  21 
December 2006; 

-  Council  Decision  2001/886/JHA  of  6  December  2001  on  the  development  of  the  second 
generation  Schengen  Information  System  (SIS  II)  as  amended  by  Council  Decision 
2006/1007/JHA; 

1 

Council  Regulation  (EC)  No  2424/2001  of  6  December  2001  on  the  development  of  the  second 
generation  of  the  Schengen  Information  System  (SIS  II)  and  Council  Decision  2001/886/JHA  of  6 
December 2001 on the development of the second generation of the Schengen Information System (SIS 
II),  amended  respectively  by  Council  Regulation  (EC)  No  1988/2006  and  Council  Decision 
2006/1007/JHA. 

EN 

2 

   EN 

 
                                                 
-  Regulation  (EC)  No  1987/2006  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  20 
December  2006  on  the  establishment,  operation and  use  of  the  second  generation  Schengen 
Information System (SIS II); 

- Council Decision 2007/533/JHA of 12 June 2007 on the establishment, operation and use of 
the second generation Schengen Information System (SIS II); 

-  Regulation  (EC)  No  1986/2006  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  20 
December  2006  regarding  access  to  the  Second  Generation  Schengen  Information  System 
(SIS  II)  by  the  services  in  the  Member  States  responsible  for  issuing  vehicle  registration 
certificates; 

- Commission Decisions 2007/170/EC and 2007/171/EC of 16 March 2007 laying down the 
network requirements for the Schengen Information System.  

•  Consistency with the other policies and objectives of the Union 

Not applicable. 

2) CONSULTATION OF INTERESTED PARTIES AND IMPACT ASSESSMENT 

•  Consultation of interested parties 

Consultation methods, main sectors targeted and general profile of respondents 

Presidency  of  the  Council  and  Member  States  representatives  were  consulted  within  the 
framework of the SIS II Committee.  

Following the unfavourable opinion of the SIS II Committee, discussion with the current and 
incoming  Presidency  as  well  as  with  Member  States  invited  by  the  current  Presidency  has 
taken place.  

Summary of responses and how they have been taken into account 

When  submitting  this  proposal  the  Commission  has  taken  into  account  the  outcome  of  the 
discussions  with  the  Presidency  as  well  as  with  other  Member  States  invited  by  the 
Presidency.  

•  Collection and use of expertise 

229 

Member  States'  experts  were  consulted  extensively  and  three  rounds  of  written  comments 
were organised. Agreed changes have been incorporated in the documents. 

Following an unfavourable opinion of the SIS II Committee, the Commission has modified its 
proposal to better address the concerns of Member States. 

230 

•  Impact assessment 

An  impact  assessment  is  not  required  for  this  proposal  for  a  Council  Decision  which  is  not 
included in the 2007 Work Programme of the Commission. The submission of this proposal 
follows from the provisions laid down in Article 6(5) of Council Decision 2001/886/JHA of 6 
December 2001 on the development of the second generation Schengen Information System 
(SIS II). 

EN 

3 

   EN 

 
3) LEGAL ELEMENTS OF THE PROPOSAL 

305 

•  Summary of the proposed action 

The objective of the proposal is to lay down the way in which SIS II tests are conducted in 
order  to  assess  whether  SIS  II  can  work  in  accordance  with  the  technical  and  functional 
requirements  as  defined  in  the  SIS  II  legal  instruments  as  well  as  with  the  non-functional 
requirements such as robustness, availability and performance.  

310 

•  Legal basis 
The  draft  Decision  has  its  legal  basis  in  Council  Decision  2001/886/JHA2  of  6  December 
2001 on the development of the second generation Schengen Information System (SIS II), and 
in particular Article 4(c) and Article 6(6) thereof.  

•  Subsidiarity principle 

321 

The objective of the proposed action, namely to lay down provisions on SIS II tests, cannot be 
achieved by the Member States individually. 

The SIS II is necessary for the implementation of common policies of the European Union. 

The proposals, therefore, comply with the subsidiarity principle. 

•  Proportionality principle 

331 

The  proposal  complies  with  the  proportionality  principle  because  Member  States  are 
competent as regards the implementation of the SIS II national systems. 

•  Choice of instruments 

341 

Proposed  instruments:  a  Council  Regulation  and  a  Council  Decision  for  the  purposes  of 
matters  falling  within  the  Treaty  establishing  the  European  Community  and  the  Treaty  on 
European Union, respectively. 

The Council may adopt decisions for the purposes consistent with the objectives of Title VI of 
the Treaty on European  Union,  excluding any approximation of the laws and regulations of 
the Member States. Other legal instruments would not be adequate to achieve the objective.  

4) BUDGETARY IMPLICATION 

401 

Completion of the SIS II tests will not require additional financial resources other than those 
already foreseen in the PDB (Preliminary Draft Budget) 2008. 

2 

OJ L 328, 13.12.2001, p. 1. 

EN 

4 

   EN 

 
                                                 
Proposal for a 

COUNCIL DECISION 

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

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, 

Having regard to the Treaty on European Union, 
Having regard to Council Decision 2001/886/JHA3 of 6 December 2001 on the development 
of the second generation Schengen Information System (SIS II), and in particular Article 4(c) 
and Article 6(6) thereof, 
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission4, 

Whereas: 

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

(4) 

(5) 

The development of the second generation Schengen Information System (SIS II) has 
been  entrusted  to  the  Commission  pursuant  to  Council  Regulation  (EC)  No 
2424/20015  and  Council  Decision  2001/886/JHA6  of  6  December  2001  on  the 
development  of  the  second  generation  Schengen  Information  System  (SIS  II).  The 
network requirements for SIS II development are established by Commission Decision 
2007/170/EC7 and by Commission Decision 2007/171/EC8.  

The second generation Schengen Information System (SIS II) has been established by 
Regulation (EC) No 1987/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council9 and by 
Council  Decision  2007/533/JHA  of  12  June  200710  on  the  establishment,  operation 
and use of the second generation Schengen Information System. 

It  is  necessary  to  conduct  tests  in  order  to  assess  whether  SIS  II  can  work  in 
accordance  with  the  technical  and  functional  requirements  as  defined  in  the  SIS  II 
legal instruments.  

Tests  should  also  assess  non-functional  requirements  such  as  robustness,  availability 
and performance. 

It is necessary for the Commission to test that the Central SIS II can be connected to 
the national systems of the Member States whereas Member States participating in SIS 
1+  should  make  the  necessary  technical  arrangements  to  process  SIS  II  data  and 
exchange supplementary information.  

(6) 

It  is  necessary  to  clarify  further  the  tasks  to  be  performed  with  regard  to  the 
completion of the SIS II tests by the Commission and the Member States. 

3 
4 
5 
6 
7 
8 
9 
10 

OJ L 328, 13.12.2001, p. 1. 
OJ C […], […], p. […]. 
OJ L 328, 13.12.2001, p.4. 
OJ L 328, 13.12.2001, p. 1. 
OJ L 79, 20.03.2007, p.20.  
OJ L 79, 20.03.2007, p. 29. 
OJ L 381, 28.12.2006, p. 4. 
OJ L 205, 7.08.2007, p. 63. 

EN 

5 

   EN 

 
                                                 
(7) 

(8) 

(9) 

It  is  necessary  to  set  out  the  requirements  for  the  definition,  development  and 
application of the test specifications and how the tests shall be validated.  

The  Committee  assisting  the  Commission  during  the  development,  referred  to  in 
Article 6 of Council Decision 2001/886/JHA, has not delivered a favourable opinion 
on the draft measures of the Commission. The Commission therefore submitted to the 
Council  a  proposal  relating  to  the  measures  to  be  taken  and  informed  the  European 
Parliament in accordance with Article 6(5) of Council Decision 2001/886/JHA. 

The United Kingdom is taking part in this Decision, in accordance with Article 5 of 
the  Protocol  integrating  the  Schengen  acquis  into  the  framework  of  the  European 
Union annexed  to  the  EU Treaty and to the EC Treaty, and Article 8 (2) of Council 
Decision  2000/365/EC  of  29  May  2000,  concerning  the  request  of  the  United 
Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to take part in some of the provisions 
of the Schengen acquis11. 

(10) 

Ireland  is  taking  part  in  this  Decision  in  accordance  with  Article  5  of  the  Protocol 
integrating the Schengen acquis into the framework of the European Union annexed to 
the EU Treaty and to the EC Treaty, and Article 5 (1) and 6 (2) of Council Decision 
2002/192/EC of 28 February 2002 concerning Ireland's request to take part in some of 
the provisions of the Schengen acquis12. 

(11)  This Decision constitutes an act building on the Schengen acquis or otherwise related 

to it within the meaning of Article 4 (2) of the 2005 Act of Accession. 

(12)  As regards Iceland and Norway, this Decision constitutes a development of provisions 
of  the  Schengen  acquis  within  the  meaning  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  acquis13,  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 that Agreement. 

(13)  As regards Switzerland, this Decision constitutes a development of the provisions of 
the  Schengen  acquis  within  the  meaning  of  the  Agreement  signed  between  the 
European  Union,  the  European  Community  and  the  Swiss  Confederation  concerning 
the  association  of  the  Swiss  Confederation  with  the  implementation,  application  and 
development of the Schengen acquis, which falls within the area referred to in Article 
1, point G of Council Decision 1999/437/EC read in conjunction with Article 4 (1) of 
Council Decision 2004/849/EC on the signing, on behalf of the European Union and 
on the provisional application of certain provisions of that Agreement14. 

HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:  

The  specifications  relevant  to  the  SIS  II  tests,  in  particular  their  scope  and  objectives,  their 
requirements and their process shall be as set out in the Annex. 

Article 1 

11 
12 
13 
14 

OJ L 131, 1.6.2000, p. 43.  
OJ L 64, 7.3.2002, p. 20.  
OJ L 176, 10.7.1999, p.31. 
OJ L 370, 17.12.2004, p.78. 

EN 

6 

   EN 

 
                                                 
Article 2 

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

Done at Brussels, […] 

For the Council 
The President 
[…] 

EN 

7 

   EN 

 
 
 
 
ANNEX  

1. 

SCOPE OF SIS II TESTS 

The  SIS  II  tests  shall  demonstrate  that  SIS  II  Central  System  (CS-SIS),  the  SIS  II 
Communication Infrastructure and the interface towards the SIS II National Systems (N.SIS 
II) can work in accordance with the technical and functional requirements set out in the SIS II 
legal instruments. 

The  SIS  II  tests  shall  also  demonstrate  that  SIS  II  can  work  in  accordance  with  the  non-
functional requirements such as robustness, availability and performance. 

2. 

PROCESS, SCOPE AND ORGANISATION OF SIS II TESTS  

The sequence of tests, their objective, scope and organisation shall be articulated as follows. 

The  first  phase  of  tests shall  address  testing  of  the  connectivity  and  resilience  of  the  SIS  II 
Communication Infrastructure.  

The second phase of tests shall address testing of the Central SIS II without N.SIS II. 

The  third  phase  of  tests  shall  address  testing  of  the  Central  SIS  II  with  some  N.SIS  II  and 
testing  of  the  compliance  of  each  national  system  with  the  specifications  described  in  the 
reference version of the Interface Control Document (ICD).  
The Test Advisory Group15 established by the SIS II Committee is competent to report on the 
results  of  the  tests  to  the  SIS  II  Committee.  The  Test  Advisory  Group  shall  identify, 
categorise  and  describe  any  issue  it  detects  and  propose  options  for  solutions.  The 
Commission services and the Member States' experts shall provide all necessary information 
for the Test Advisory Group to perform its task. 

2.1. 

Test documentation 

The  Commission  shall  define  the  detailed  specifications  of  the  tests.  The  Commission  shall 
make available to the Member States involved the draft and finalised test specifications and 
the provisions for the management and coordination of the tests within a schedule agreed with 
the Member States' experts.  

2.2. 

Coordination of the tests 

All tests set out in the test documentation shall be coordinated by the Commission. For doing 
so the Commission shall work in close cooperation with the Test Advisory Group composed 
of  representatives  of  the  Commission  and  Member  States'  experts.  Ad-hoc  experts  may  be 
consulted by the Test Advisory Group. 

The Test Advisory Group shall meet regularly and shall, in particular address issues relating 
to the schedule and the timing of the tests, and shall propose solutions to any difficulties that 
emerge during the running of the tests. 

15 

The Test Advisory Group created on 27 April 2007 according to Article 7 of the rules of procedure of 
the SIS II Committee, reports to the SIS II Committee after the completion of each test exercise to help 
preparing a decision related to the successful completion of SIS II tests. 

EN 

8 

   EN 

 
                                                 
2.3. 

Running the tests 

The  Commission  shall  execute  the  tests,  together  with  the  Member  States  involved  on  the 
basis of the test specifications and in accordance with the schedule agreed by the Commission 
together with Member States' experts, and demonstrate that the test results are as foreseen in 
the test specifications.  

For the N.SIS II compliance tests, each Member State, with the support of the Commission, 
shall be responsible for running and ensuring the smooth performance of the tests within the 
agreed schedule. 

2.4. 

Validation of the tests 

The Test Advisory Group shall report on the results of the tests to the SIS II Committee. The 
Test Advisory Group shall identify, categorise and describe any issue it detects and propose 
options for solutions. The Commission services and the Member States experts shall provide 
all necessary information for the Test Advisory Group to perform its task. 

The  results  of  the  SIS  II  tests  shall  be  validated  by  the  Commission.  Where  the  test 
documentation  divides  the  tests  into  separate  phases  the  Commission  shall  inform  the 
Member States of the results of each phase before the start of the following phase. 

The validation of the N.SIS II compliance tests shall take into account a report, prepared by 
an  expert  appointed  by  the  Member  States,  containing  a  detailed  analysis  of  the  test  results 
and conclusions as to the validation of the Member States' national systems. 

2.5. 

Tests of the communication infrastructure  

The  objective  of  this  test  exercise  shall  be  to  demonstrate  that  the  communication 
infrastructure of SIS II up to the uniform national interface (NI-SIS) can work in accordance 
with the requirements laid down in the Commission Decision 2007/170/EC and Commission 
Decision  2007/171/EC.  The  scope  of  this  test  includes  testing  the  connectivity  and  the 
resilience  of  the  SIS  II  communication  infrastructure  between  CS-SIS  and  each  NI-SIS, 
between the Central Unit and the back-up Central Unit, as well as the resilience of the Local 
National  Interfaces  (LNI)  and,  where  applicable,  the  Back-up  Local  National  Interfaces 
(BLNI). 

2.6. 

Central SIS II and national compliance tests  

The objective of the whole set of Central SIS II tests shall be to test that the Central SIS II 
meets the functional and non-functional specifications defined in the reference version of the 
ICD (Interface Control Document) and the DTS (Detailed Technical Specifications).  

The  objective  of  the  N.SIS  II  Compliance  test  shall  be  to  ensure  the  compatibility  of  each 
N.SIS  II  with  the  CS-SIS  and  to  verify  the  compliance  of  the  National  Systems  with  the 
reference version of the Interface Control Document and the Detailed Technical Specification. 
The compliance tests for the N.SIS II may run in parallel with the tests of the Central SIS II.  

After  the  successful  completion  of  the  SIS  II  tests,  the  Commission  shall  inform  Member 
States'  experts  within  the  framework  of  the  SIS  II  Committee  that  the  test  results  of  the 
communication  infrastructure  and  of  the  Central  SIS  II  tests  are  as  foreseen  in  the  test 
specifications.  

After the successful completion of the SIS II tests, the Commission shall set up a migration 
environment for the Central SIS II. This environment shall be stable and suitable to be used 
for migration. 

EN 

9 

   EN 

 
3. 

REFERENCE  VERSION  OF  THE  INTERFACE  CONTROL  DOCUMENT  (ICD)  AND 
DETAILED TECHNICAL SPECIFICATION (DTS) VERSIONS FOR TESTING 

The Central SIS II and the national systems (N.SIS II) in each of the Member States shall be 
tested against the same specifications.  

The  DTS  prepared  by  the  Commission  shall  define  the  functional  and  non-functional 
specifications of the Central SIS II. 

The  ICD  prepared  by  the  Commission  shall  define  the  interface  between  the  Central  SIS  II 
and the national systems. It shall contain the technical specifications of the system-to-system 
interactions in terms of data items and messages passed, protocols used as well as timing and 
sequencing of events. 

Specifications,  as  provided  in  the  ICD  and  DTS,  shall  be  stable  for  a  given  period  and  the 
timing  of  update  of  both  systems  shall  be  laid  down  in  a  release  plan  that  shall  define  the 
reference  version  for  a  given  test  phase.  Issues  found  during  the  test  campaigns  shall  be 
reported,  analysed  and  solved  in  accordance  with  a  release  management  and  associated 
change management plan. The release plan and associated change management plan shall be 
made  available  by  the  Commission,  taking  into  account  the  opinion  of  Member  States' 
experts.  

4. 

DECLARATION OF SUCCESS OF SIS II TESTS RESULTS  

The successful completion of all test phases described above shall qualify SIS II in respect of 
technical and functional requirements that are based on the SIS II legal instruments. The set of 
test use cases and test scenarios defined for all the tests shall ensure a sufficient coverage of 
scenarios. 

The  SIS  II  tests  shall  ensure  that  the  Commission  has  made  the  necessary  technical 
arrangements for allowing Central SIS II to be connected to the N.SIS II of the Member States 
concerned. 
At the end of the whole series of tests, in accordance with the mandate conferred upon it16, the 
Commission shall declare the successful completion of SIS II tests.  

The declaration of success of the SIS II test results by the Commission referred to above shall 
be  without  prejudice  to  the  subsequent  validation  of  the  proposed  test  result  of  a 
comprehensive test of SIS II by the preparatory bodies of the Council17.  

In order to facilitate this process, the Commission shall provide regular updates on the status 
of the project to the preparatory bodies of the Council, and shall provide specific information 
on  the  results  of  the  tests  including  the  related  discussions  with  the  Member  States'  experts 
taking place within the framework of the SIS II Committee.  

16 

17 

Council Regulation (EC) No 2424/2001 and Council Decision 2001/886/JHA of 6 December 2001 on 
the development of the second generation Schengen Information System (SIS II), as amended. 
As described in Article 55(3) c) of Regulation (EC) No 1987/2006 of the European Parliament and of 
the  Council  of  20 December 2006  on  the  establishment,  operation  and  use  of  the  second  generation 
Schengen Information System (SIS II), and Article 71 (3) c) of Decision 2007/533/JHA of 12 June 2007 
on the establishment, operation and use of the second generation Schengen Information System (SIS II). 

EN 

10 

   EN 

 
                                                 
The  Commission  and  the  Member  States  shall,  within  the  framework  of  their  respective 
competences, and in particular the  mandate conferred upon the Commission18,  organise  any 
additional tests or actions necessary to ensure that the validation process to be performed by 
the preparatory bodies of the Council can be complete. 

18 

Council Regulation (EC) No 2424/2001 and Council Decision 2001/886/JHA of 6 December 2001 on 
the development of the second generation Schengen Information System (SIS II), as amended. 

EN 

11 

   EN