REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE VISA INFORMATION SYSTEM (VIS) IN 2010(submitted pursuant to Article 6 of Council Decision 2004/512/EC)
Date: 2011-06-14
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU visa policy, border control, data protection, disclosure of information, exchange of information, information system

EUROPEAN COMMISSION 

Brussels, 14.6.2011 
COM(2011) 346 final 

REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND 
THE COUNCIL 

ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE VISA INFORMATION SYSTEM (VIS) IN 2010
(submitted pursuant to Article 6 of Council Decision 2004/512/EC) 

 
 
 
 
  
 
REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND 
THE COUNCIL 

ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE VISA INFORMATION SYSTEM (VIS) IN 2010 
(submitted pursuant to Article 6 of Council Decision 2004/512/EC) 

1. 

2. 

3. 

3.1. 

3.2. 

3.3. 

3.4. 

3.5. 

3.6. 

4. 

5. 

5.1. 

5.2. 

6. 

7. 

8. 

8.1. 

8.2. 

8.3. 

8.4. 

Introduction .................................................................................................................. 2 

Legal framework for the VIS ....................................................................................... 2 

Progress during the period under review ..................................................................... 2 

Development of the Central System ............................................................................ 2 

Development of the Biometric Matching System (BMS)............................................ 3 

VIS Mail communication mechanism.......................................................................... 3 

Site Preparations and Network..................................................................................... 3 

Member States' National Planning............................................................................... 4 

Rescheduling the VIS................................................................................................... 4 

Information campaign .................................................................................................. 5 

Project management ..................................................................................................... 5 

Planning and budget..................................................................................................... 5 

Risk management ......................................................................................................... 6 

Friends of the VIS ........................................................................................................ 6 

Conclusion.................................................................................................................... 7 

Annex: VIS working groups ........................................................................................ 8 

SISVIS Committee....................................................................................................... 8 

VIS National Project Managers (NPM) meetings........................................................ 8 

Test Advisory Group (TAG)........................................................................................ 8 

VIS Mail Expert Group (VIS MEG)............................................................................ 8 

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1. 

INTRODUCTION 

The Commission, in accordance with Article 6  of  Council  Decision 2004/512/EC  of  8 June 
2004  establishing  the  Visa  Information  System1,  herewith  submits  to  the  Council  and  the 
European Parliament the seventh progress report on the development of the Visa Information 
System (VIS)2. The report covers the work carried out by the Commission between January 
and December 2010.  

2. 

LEGAL FRAMEWORK FOR THE VIS 

On  5  April  2010,  the  Visa  Code3  became  applicable.  The  Visa  Code  repealed  the  Common 
Consular  Instructions,  which  had  been  previously  amended  in  order  to  establish  a  legal 
framework for the collection of biometric identifiers. The Visa Code also includes provisions 
on the organisation of the reception and processing of visa applications. 

On  4  May  2010,  the  Commission  adopted  a  Security  Plan  for  the  operation  of  the  Visa 
Information System4. This Decision shall become applicable as of the date determined by the 
Commission in accordance with Article 48(1) of Regulation (EC) No 767/2008, i.e. the date 
that VIS will start operations, and shall expire when the Management Authority takes up its 
responsibilities. 

No other legal instruments concerning the VIS were adopted in 2010. 

3. 

PROGRESS DURING THE PERIOD UNDER REVIEW 

3.1. 

Development of the Central System  

Work towards the successful completion of the System Solutions Tests (SST) – the second of 
four major test campaigns of the central system – continued in the first half of the reporting 
period.  Extensive  discussions  took  place  with  Member  States  on  the  corrective  measures 
proposed  by  the  Main  Development  contractor  (MDC)  at  the  end  of  2009,  when  it  became 
clear  that  the  contractor  was  unable  to  meet  all  original  requirements  of  the  Service  Level 
Agreement  (SLA)  during  SST.  A  revised  SLA  was  agreed  in  June  2010  and  ensures  that 
operations  can  begin  as  planned  and  be  sustained  until  the  completion  of  the  regional 
deployment.  

The specifications defining the communication between Member States and VIS were adapted 
on  some  individual  aspects  following  the  tests  carried  out  so  far.  The  Interface  Control 
Document (ICD) 1.85 was released in March 2010, implementing agreements with Member 
States  on  search  services.  After  minor  updates  the  final  version  1.87  was  delivered  to  the 
Member  States  in  September  2010.  These  are  the  technical  specifications  used  by  Member 

1 
2 

3 

4 

OJ L 213 of 15.6.2004, p. 5. 
For the sixth report, see the Report from the Commission to the Council and European Parliament on 
the development of the Visa Information System (VIS) in 2009, COM(2010) 588 final of 22.10.2010. 
Regulation  (EC)  No  810/2009  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  13  July  2009 
establishing a Community Code on Visas (Visa Code) (OJ L 243 of 15 September 2008, p. 1.) 
Commission Decision 2010/260/EU of 4 May 2010 on the Security Plan for the operation of the Visa 
Information System (OJ L 112 of 5 May 2010, p.25) 

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States to develop their own national systems in  order to be  able to connect to the VIS. The 
Detailed Technical Specifications (DTS) version 1.46 was delivered in March 2010. The final 
version 1.48 was made available to the Member States in September 2010. 

Following the successful completion of the SST, testing of the system with the involvement of 
Member  States  began  in  August  2010  and  was  still  ongoing  as  of  the  end  of  the  reporting 
period. Due to this shift in the planning of tests, the December 2010 target date for the start of 
operations  of  the  VIS  could  no  longer  hold.  A  revised  schedule  leading  to  the  start  of 
operations in June 2011 was communicated to the JHA Council on 7 October 2010 and to the 
European Parliament5 (see section 3.6). 

3.2. 

Development of the Biometric Matching System (BMS)  

The development  of  the  BMS, which  will provide fingerprint matching services to the VIS, 
was completed in 2010 with the close of the Provisional System Acceptance Tests (PSAT). 
Throughout the reporting period the system has been supporting the VIS SST and Operational 
System  Tests  (OST)  without  encountering  any  issues.  Member  States  continued  to  use  the 
software  kits  provided  by  the  BMS  contractor  in  their  fingerprint  capturing  devices.  Some 
Member  States  significantly  improved  fingerprint  quality  as  a  result  of  pilot  projects  in 
consulates. After the final tests with the operations team, scheduled for May 2011, have been 
completed, the system will be ready to be operated and to go-live.  

3.3. 

VIS Mail communication mechanism  

Significant  progress  was  achieved  throughout  2010  with  the  testing  and  connection  of 
Member  States  to  the  VIS  Mail  communications  mechanism  and  only  a  few  Schengen 
countries  still  need  to  be  tested.  Additional  features  to  the  Central  Mail  Relay  were 
implemented  during  this  reporting  period  (statistics  and  reporting,  advanced  anti-virus 
capability). For the most part, VIS Mail Expert Group participants agreed that the mechanism 
had  been  sufficiently  tested  and  proved  to  be  operational  in  accordance  with  the  basic 
requirements.  

During this reporting period, a significant amount of time and effort in this group was spent 
on the drafting of the specifications for VIS Mail Phase 2. In this phase, which will start two 
years  after  the  start  of  VIS  operations,  VIS  Mail  will  incorporate  the  functionality  of  the 
Schengen  Consultation  Network  and  as  such,  the  drafting  of  the  related  specifications  is 
complex  and  time-consuming.  However,  good  progress  has  been  made  and  the  drafting  is 
expected to finish according to schedule.  

3.4. 

Site Preparations and Network 

Throughout 2010, staff members at the Central Unit and Backup Central Unit in Strasbourg 
and  Salzburg  respectively,  were  trained  on  the  use  and  maintenance  of  VIS.  Bulgaria  was 
connected to the sTESTA network during 2010, while work in Romania progressed. The main 
activities related to the network during the reporting period were (a) to secure the operations 
of the optional "failover mechanism" from the primary site to the backup site and (b) to test 
the VIS Mail Relay (see section 3.3). The “failover mechanism” allows Member States with a 
backup national system to ensure the continuity of operations in case the national system fails. 

5 

Letter from Commissioner Malmström to Mr Lopez Aguilar, Chairman of the LIBE Committee (EP), 
12 October 2010. 

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The "failover exercise" was successfully completed in three Member States in 2010, bringing 
the  total  number  to  eight.  The  exercise  will  continue  for  those  Member  States  that  are 
interested in implementing this solution.  

3.5.  Member States' National Planning 

Apart from the availability of the central VIS, the key dependency for the system becoming 
operational  is  the  progress  of  national  projects.  The  state  of  progress  varies  between  the 
Member States, due to different circumstances at national level.  

Through the monthly reporting mechanism developed in the framework of the Friends of the 
VIS (see section 6), all Member States consistently reported their progress as being on time to 
achieve the targeted milestones.  

As  regards  compliance  testing  with  Member  States  and  development  of  most  national 
systems, the VIS project made further progress during the reporting period. By the end of the 
reporting period, 23 out of 25 current Member States and Schengen countries had completed 
their compliance tests as initially planned.6 Compliance tests remain to be executed only by a 
few participating countries which have been allocated slots for this purpose in the first part of 
2011. 

While  the  information  communicated  by  Member  States  indicated  that  all  national  systems 
would  be  fully  developed  by  the  time  the  central  system  is  delivered,  a  number  of 
uncertainties  regularly  appeared  during  the  various  reporting  exercises  (see  section  5.2) 
concerning preparations both at consular and border levels. 

It  should  be  noted  that  one  Member  State  which  had  encountered  serious  contractual 
difficulties  in  2009  was  finally  able  to  start  developing  its  national  system  in  2010. 
Compliance testing for this Member State was foreseen in January 2011. 

In order to assess the consular preparations in the first region of deployment (North Africa), a 
mission was organised to Cairo in December 2010. The purpose of the mission was to obtain 
"on-site" information about the level of preparedness in Member State consulates, especially 
as regards their capacity to collect and transmit biometric data of visa applicants to the VIS. 
During  the  visit  the  Presidency  and  the  Commission  met  with  Member  States  in  a  Local 
Schengen Cooperation meeting and took the opportunity to visit local consular installations. It 
appeared  that  technical  training  sessions  and  communication  efforts  need  to  be  intensified. 
For  this  reason,  missions  of  this  type  will  be  further  organised  in  2011  in  other  cities 
throughout North Africa. 

3.6. 

Rescheduling the VIS 

The  late  yet  successful  completion  of  the  System  Solutions  Test  inevitably  led  the 
Commission  and  Member  States  to  reassess  the  global  project  schedule.  This  exercise  was 
carried  out  on  the  basis  of  a  realistic  assessment  of  both  the  ability  of  the  Commission's 
contractor to  deliver the central system and the readiness of Member States to prepare their 
national deployment at consulates and external borders. It also includes some margin in case 
new, unforeseen issues arise. 

6 

Liechtenstein had also technically completed its compliance tests, but does not yet apply the Schengen 
acquis. 

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After a presentation to the National Project Managers (24 June 2010), the Friends of the VIS 
(7 July 2010) and during a meeting of the Strategic Committee on Immigration, Frontiers and 
Asylum  (22  July  2010),  the  following  new  global  schedule  was  communicated  to  the  JHA 
Council on 7 October 2010 and to the European Parliament7: 

•  Operational System Tests (OST): 23 August 2010 – 14 February 2011 

•  Provisional System Acceptance Tests (PSAT): 23 March 2011 – 15 June 2011  

•  Central system readiness for operations: 24 June 2011. 

At the end of the reporting period, the project is in line with the new global schedule. 

4. 

INFORMATION CAMPAIGN 

A  contract  between  the  Commission  and  a  contractor  specialising  in  information  and 
communication  was  signed  on  20  December  2010  to  carry  out  the  design  and  printing  of 
information  material  for  the  VIS.  The  external  contractor,  in  cooperation  with  the 
Commission, will design, print and translate leaflets, posters and other information material to 
be  used  by  Member  States  and  the  Commission  for  relevant  purposes  prior  to  the  start  of 
operations of the VIS and thereafter. Member States will be consulted on the text and design 
of the materials at critical stages. This is planned for the first half of 2011. 

5. 

PROJECT MANAGEMENT 

5.1. 

Planning and budget 

The  total  available  commitment  appropriations  for  the  VIS  in  2010  amounted  to 
€ 30,3 million.  Due  to  the  delays  encountered  duri ng  the  SST,  parts  of  the  project  activities 
originally  planned  for  2010  were  postponed  to  2011,  resulting  in  a  corresponding  shift  of 
commitments:  63,06%  of  the  total  VIS  appropriations  were  committed  and  85,10%  of 
payment appropriations had been paid by the end of the reporting period. The budget line for 
the VIS is 18.02.05. 

VIS Commitment and Payment appropriations 2010 

Available 
commitment 
appropriations 

Consumed 

Total 
% 

Available 
payment 
appropriations 

Consumed 

Total % 

€ 30.327.909,00 

€ 19.124.611,00

63,06% 

€ 27.619.392,52  

€ 23.503.936,08  

85,10% 

A recovery order for the contractual penalties of € 7.6 million for the delays incurred by the 
SST in 2009 was issued in March 2010. 

7 

Letter from Commissioner Malmström to Mr Lopez Aguilar, Chairman of the LIBE Committee (EP), 
12 October 2010. 

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5.2. 

Risk management 

The methodology for risk management remained unchanged during the reporting period. Each 
month  the  Commission  identifies  the  most  important  risks  in  the  project  (at  central  and 
national  level)  and  presents  them  to  Member  States  at  the  monthly  VIS  National  Project 
Managers'  meetings.  In  this  task,  the  Commission  is  assisted  by  its  Quality  Assurance 
contractor. 

As in the previous year, risks were also discussed in the context of the Friends of the VIS. The 
Commission worked together with the Presidency to assess the main risks and to categorise 
them according to their impact on the project. Actions are identified for each risk in order to 
mitigate  them.  The  Commission  also  maintains  a  high-level  register  and  follows  up  the 
implementation of actions.  

At  the  end  of  2010,  the  most  critical  risks  identified  were  the  following:  (i)  delay  in 
completing  the  Operational  System  Tests  according  to  the  revised  schedule,  (ii)  Member 
States'  preparations  for  their  participation  in  the  Provisional  System  Acceptance  Tests,  (iii) 
Delays  in  some  Member  States  with  consular  and  border  preparations  for  the  start  of 
operations and (iv) delays in Operational Management preparations. For all risks, mitigation 
actions  are  identified  and  the  Commission,  Member  States,  and  the  Main  Development 
Contractor work closely together to limit the impact of these risks on the overall project.  

6. 

FRIENDS OF THE VIS  

The Friends of the VIS met seven times during the reporting period – three times under the 
Spanish Presidency (2010/I) and four times under the Belgian Presidency (2010/II). The high-
level informal meetings provided a forum in which discussions could be held transparently on 
all  VIS-related  matters.  The  agenda  was  set  by  the  Presidency  in  coordination  with  the 
Commission  and  the  General  Secretariat  of  the  Council.  The  topics  generally  included  an 
update by the Commission on the VIS state of play, results from the reporting mechanism on 
national progress and a report on risks. 

In  the  first  half  of  2010,  Member  States  were  requested  to  send  updated  replies  to  a 
questionnaire prior to each meeting of the Friends of the VIS. The questions covered general 
technical  preparation  concerning  the  development  of  their  national  system,  consular 
preparations  for  rollout  in  the  first  regions  and  border  preparations  in  relation  to  checks 
against the VIS with and without biometric verification. More specific questions on training 
and  other  milestones  were  also  included  in  the  questionnaire.  However,  several  Member 
States did not provide clear dates for achieving the specific milestones, which did not allow 
the  Presidency  and  the  Commission  to  have  a  complete  picture  of  progress  in  all  Member 
States. 

Therefore,  an  updated  questionnaire  was  introduced  in  the  second  half  of  2010,  focusing 
exclusively  on  the  first  region  of  deployment  and  external  border  crossing  points.  Again, 
replies  received  were  sometimes  unclear,  especially  as  regards  border  preparations. 
Consequently, at the end of the reporting period, the Presidency requested Member States to 
submit national border deployment plans, allowing for thorough monitoring of the situation at 
each  Member  State's  external  border  crossing  points.  This  time,  results  were  more 
satisfactory.  The  incoming  Presidency  has  decided  to  continue  using  this  reporting 
mechanism in 2011.  

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7. 

CONCLUSION 

The year was characterised by the successful completion of the second major testing phase of 
the  central  system  (the  SST)  and  the  start  of  the  third  phase  (the  OST)  involving  seven 
Member States. 

At national level, most Member States have made significant progress with the development 
of their national systems throughout the year. At the end of the reporting period, all countries 
report that they will be ready to connect to the VIS by June 2011. Intensive monitoring will 
therefore  continue  in  2011  as  well  as  "on-site"  visits  to  consular  posts  in  the  first  region  of 
deployment to monitor the administrative preparations by Member States. 

A new global schedule was presented to the JHA Council in October 2010, which foresees the 
technical  readiness  of  the  VIS  for  starting  operations  in  June  2011.  All  stakeholders  in  the 
project  have  reiterated  their  commitment  to  working  closely  together  towards  the  entry  into 
operation of the VIS and to addressing the risks outlined in section 5.2. 

In parallel, the Commission has informed the LIBE Committee of the European Parliament on 
a  regular  basis  regarding  the  development  and  state  of  play  of  the  VIS  project  and  will 
continue to do so in the future. 

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8. 

ANNEX: VIS WORKING GROUPS 

8.1. 

SISVIS Committee 

There  were  no  meetings  of  the  SISVIS  Committee  in  the  VIS  formation8  in  2010.  The 
Committee will remain responsible for VIS-related comitology work in 2011.  

8.2. 

VIS National Project Managers (NPM) meetings 

During  the  reporting  period,  ten  expert  group  meetings  for  the  Member  States’  National 
Project  Managers  (NPM)  were  organised  by  Commission  services  in  order  to  discuss  the 
status  of  the  VIS  project,  detailed  technical  issues,  planning  issues,  risks  and  activities  at 
central and national project levels.  

8.3. 

Test Advisory Group (TAG) 

The  TAG,  an  advisory  working  group  of  the  SISVIS  Committee  (VIS  formation)  met  quite 
frequently  or  held  conference  calls  during  the  reporting  period  due  to  the  intensive  testing 
activities. The TAG ensures that a structured process is used to address and resolve testing-
related  issues  and  advises  on  the  completion  of  VIS  testing  campaigns.  The  group's 
participants  make  recommendations  on  the  testing  of  VIS  during  all  test  phases,  especially 
those in which Member States participate directly.  

8.4. 

VIS Mail Expert Group (VIS MEG) 

The group met on a monthly basis throughout the reporting period with the aim to support the 
implementation of the VIS Mail communication mechanism.  

The  work  of  the  Commission  and  the  Member  States  on  VIS  Mail  is  carried  out  in 
cooperation  with  the  Network  Contractor  and  is  supported  by  the  Support  and  Quality 
Assistance Contractor.  

8 

Set  up  by  Article 51(1)  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). 

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