REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL PROGRESS REPORT ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE SECOND GENERATION SCHENGEN INFORMATIONS SYSTEM (SIS II) July 2012 - December 2012
Date: 2013-05-27
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU Member State, Schengen Information System, border control, exchange of information

EUROPEAN 
COMMISSION 

Brussels, 27.5.2013  
COM(2013) 305 final 

REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND 
THE COUNCIL 

PROGRESS REPORT ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE SECOND GENERATION 
SCHENGEN INFORMATIONS SYSTEM (SIS II) 

July 2012 - December 2012 

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REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND 
THE COUNCIL 

PROGRESS REPORT ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE SECOND GENERATION 
SCHENGEN INFORMATIONS SYSTEM (SIS II) 

July 2012 - December 2012 

1. 

INTRODUCTION  

This  progress  report  describes  the  work  carried  out  in  the  second  semester  of  2012, 
concerning the development of the second generation Schengen Information System (SIS II) 
and preparations for migration from SIS 1+ to SIS II. It is presented to the Council and the 
European  Parliament  in  accordance  with  Article  18  of  Council  Regulation  (EC)  No 
1104/2008 of 24 October 20081 and of Council Decision 2008/839/JHA of 24 October 20082 
on migration from the Schengen Information System (SIS 1+) to the SIS II. 

2. 

PROJECT STATUS  

2.1. 

Overview of progress during the period under review 

As  was  demonstrated  by  the  test  campaigns  carried  out  in  the  second  half  of  2012, 
considerable progress has been made in the development of the central system and in that of 
the majority of national systems. As a result, almost all the technical preparatory steps leading 
up to the actual migration of data were finalised in this reporting period.  

However, to achieve such progress required overcoming some new difficulties:  

(1) 

(2) 

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With regard to the Comprehensive test, a few Member States failed to meet the test 
exit  criteria  within  the  given  timeframe,  including  the  contingency  period.  The 
outstanding issues had to be fixed and re-tested beyond the foreseen timeframe and 
therefore in parallel with other tasks on the critical path to SIS II entry into operation 
(the  SIRENE  functional  test3  and  the  migration  rehearsals  in  particular).  That 
represented  a  considerable  risk  to  the  overall  schedule.  Nevertheless,  thanks  to  the 
flexibility of all those involved, the Member States concerned could perform the test 
re-runs in the second week of January 2013. 

In October 2012, Finland announced delays in its national SIS II project, informing 
the Commission that its national system would not be ready  before February  2013. 
Following an assessment of the situation on-site in Finland, the Commission and the 
Global  Programme  Management  Board  (GPMB)  helped  Finland  defining  the  way 
forward with a view to keeping the SIS II entry into operation date as foreseen. The 

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)  (OJ  L 
299, 8.11.2008, p. 1). 
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) (OJ L 299, 8.11.2008, 
p. 43). 
Test  on  supplementary  information  between  the  SIRENE  (Supplementary  Information  Request  at 
National Entry) Bureaux - Common Article 9 (1) of Council Regulation (EC) No 1104/2008 (OJ L 299, 
8.11.2008) and of Council Decision 2008/839/JHA (OJ L 299, 8.11.2008). 

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jointly identified  mitigation solution  relies on the temporary installation  by Finland 
of an existing and proven technical solution, known under the acronym SIB4 that is 
being already implemented by several other Member States. Finland has prioritised 
this  solution  whilst  separately  continuing  their  national  project  in  parallel.  The 
progress  of  the  SIB  solution  in  Finland  is  being  further  supported  and  closely 
monitored by the Commission and the GPMB.  

(3) 

With  regard  to  the  SIRENE  functional  test  –  three  Member  States  (plus  Finland 
which did not take part in the test for the reason mentioned above) failed to meet the 
test  exit  criteria  and  were  given  the  opportunity  to  repeat  the  test  as  of  28  January 
2013.  

Overall,  the  issues  faced  by  the  Member  States  which  had  the  potential  to  jeopardise  the 
global  schedule  have  been  mitigated  thanks  to  the  goal-oriented  approach  of  the  main 
stakeholders. The swift and effective way in which the challenging situation in Finland was 
addressed proved again the added value of the GPMB. 

The joint efforts and close cooperation of Member States with the Commission have ensured 
that  the  central  project  remained  on  track,  in respect  of  both  time  and  budget.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  risk  mitigation  actions  have  significantly  exhausted  the  remaining  contingency 
margins. 

2.2. 

Testing activities 

The series of tests designed to ascertain the proper functioning, performance and interaction 
of  the  national  systems  and  the  central  system  culminated  in  the  Comprehensive  Test, 
executed in this reporting period with reruns to take place in the beginning of 2013.  

As  to  Finland,  the  necessary  testing  (Compliance  test,  Comprehensive  test,  SIRENE 
functional  test)  within  the  framework  of  the  "Plan  B"  will  be  aligned  as  closely  as  possible 
with the mainstream re-testing activities.  

(a) 

Compliance Test Extended (CTE) 

All  Member  States  in  the  end  passed  the  CTE  campaign,  which  is  designed  to  verify  the 
compliance  of  the  national  systems  with  the  SIS  II  specifications.  The  four  remaining 
Member  States  successfully  completed  their  testing  campaigns  by  the  end  of  August  2012. 
This was necessary for the smooth execution of the Comprehensive Test. However, Finland 
will perform the tests again as mentioned above. Eurojust and Europol plan to perform their 
CTE test in 2013.  

(b) 

Provisional System Acceptance Test (PSAT) 

The PSAT took place in March 2012 with positive results demonstrating the robustness and 
stable  performance  of  both  the  Central  and  Back-Up  Central  Units.  However,  certain  re-
testing was necessary at the back-up site in St. Johann im Pongau; this took place successfully 
in the second half of 2012. 

(c) 

The second Milestone test (M2) 

The  M2,  executed  in  May  2012,  proved  the  stability,  reliability  and  performance  of  the 
Central System under operational conditions.  

Building  on  the  positive  technical  assessment  and  validation  of  the  test  result,  the  General 
Affairs Council of 24 July 2012 took note of the successful outcome of the M2 test. Herewith, 

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Steria Interconnection Box 

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all the conditions set out for the M2 test in the June 2009 Council Conclusions were finally 
met.  

The Commission informed the European Parliament about the positive outcome of the test. 

(d) 

The Comprehensive test 

The  Comprehensive  test  represented  a  technical  and  legal  precondition  for  the  SIS  II  entry 
into operation5. The objectives of the Comprehensive Test were: 

1. 

2. 

to confirm that the Commission and the Member States participating in SIS 1+ have 
completed the necessary technical arrangements to process SIS II data and 

to  demonstrate  that  the  level  of  performance  of  SIS  II  is  at  least  equivalent  to  that 
achieved with SIS 1+ (as mentioned in the legal basis).  

In the Comprehensive Test, the SIS II system was assessed from an end-to-end point of view. 
This means that the National Systems, the network and the Central System were all under test. 

The  tests  were  jointly  managed  by  a  Member  States'  Test  Manager  and  a  Commission  Test 
Manager. The test cases were defined in the Comprehensive Test Plan, which was approved 
by the relevant Council working party on 24 May 2012. 

Following the Commission's declaration of readiness of the Central System (at the Coreper of 
30  May  2012),  the  Comprehensive  Test  campaign  was  executed  from  1  June  2012  to  22 
August 2012. Member States ran the tests in four groups of six to seven Member States, while 
the non-participating Member States were being simulated. Additional rounds of reruns were 
subsequently  organised  in  September  2012  to  allow  Member  States  to  re-execute  their 
previously failed test cases. 

The  SIS  II  Central  System  demonstrated  good  and  stable  performance  throughout  the 
Comprehensive  test.  One  error,  which  was  already  known  by  the  Main  Development 
Contractor, was encountered during the first rounds but was fixed in a later technical update 
of the Central System.  

At national level, about half of the Member States had to rerun the Comprehensive test either 
fully  or  partially  and  with  few  exceptions  they  managed  to  do  that  successfully  within  the 
foreseen  contingency  period.  Eventually,  25  Member  States  passed  the  Comprehensive  test, 
although six test rounds instead of the four rounds originally foreseen were needed to reach 
this result. Two Member States (Poland and Switzerland) remained to rerun one test case and 
another two (Denmark and Finland) needed to rerun the entire test phase. In order to lift the 
reservation  put  on 
the 
Comprehensive  Test  campaign  too.  As  it  was  not  possible  to  arrange  for  a  corresponding 
timeslot in this reporting semester; the additional reruns were scheduled for the second week 
of January 2013.  

test  verdict  Belgium  requested 

to  re-execute  partially 

its 

(e) 

SIRENE functional test 

In accordance with the migration legal instruments the Member States participating in SIS 1+ 
shall  conduct  a  test  on  supplementary  information  (SIRENE  functional  test).  This  test  lies 
within  the  responsibility  of  the  Member  States.  However,  as  well  as  providing  the  Central 

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Article  55  of  Regulation  (EC)  1987/2006  of  the  European  Parliament  and  the  Council  on  the 
establishment, operation and use of the second generation Schengen Information System (SIS II) (OJ L 
381/4,  28.12.2006)  and  Article  71  of  Council  Decision  2007/533/JHA  of  12  June  2007  on  the 
establishment, operation and use of the second generation Schengen Information System (SIS II) (OJ L 
205/63, 7.8.2007). 

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system  and  the  communication  infrastructure  for  the  execution  of  the  test,  the  Commission 
continued  to  support  Member  States  in  their  preparations  through  the  joint  review  of  the 
technical  specifications  of  data  exchange  between  the  SIRENE  Bureaux,  and  in  the 
elaboration  of  the  detailed  test  description.  Following  the  successful  SIRENE  connectivity 
test, the SIRENE functional test took place in the second half of 2012. Three Member States 
(plus Finland whenever ready and preferably with the rest of the Member States) had to carry 
out a rerun of the test scheduled for the week commencing on 28 January 2013. 

2.3. 

Preparations for the migration from SIS 1+ to SIS II 

2.3.1.  Technical preparations 

A converter, provided by the Commission, is at the core of the interim migration architecture 
designed  to  allow  the  transition  of  the  SIS  1  data  to  the  new  system  through  ensuring 
consistent communication between both Central SIS II and the technical support function of 
SIS 1+ (C.SIS)6. 

Testing responsibilities are shared between the the European Commission and France which 
operates  SIS  1+.  The  converter  was  successfully  tested  against  both  SIS1+  and  SIS  II.  The 
test  of  the  full  functional  integration  of  the  converter  was  succesfully  completed  within 
schedule on 21 August 2012, thereby confirming the convertor is able to properly convert the 
messages  (alerts)  in  both  directions  between  the  two  systems  in  accordance  with  the  jointly 
agreed specifications. Most of the relatively minor issues encountered were fixed and tested 
during this reporting period. The last test is planned for January 2013.  

The  interoperability  tests  were  completed  on  11  December  2012,  ahead  of  schedule.  The 
results  have  been  handed  over  to  C.SIS  for  validation  and  will  be  made  available  at  the 
beginning of January.  

Following  the  Converter  tests,  the  second  half  of  2012  was  dedicated  to  the  migration 
rehearsals – first with a limited number of Member States and later, with all of the migrating 
Member States. The Limited Migration Rehearsal provided valuable input and lessons learned 
for  the  Global  Migration  Rehearsal.  All  migration  procedures,  including  the  entry  into 
operation test, have now been rehearsed at least once by the Central SIS II project team and 
the migrating Member States. The next step will be the live data migration from SIS 1+ to SIS 
II starting early in 2013. 

The Commission continued working closely with the Member States in writing the Migration 
Manual,  a  document  setting  out  in  detail  the  steps  outlined  in  the  Migration  Plan.  It  also 
describes roles and responsibilities throughout the process and describes the detailed schedule 
for the migration. The Migration Manual is undergoing a last update based on the findings of 
the Limited and Global Migration Rehearsal. In order to ensure the smooth migration to the 
SIS  II,  the  COM  has  in  addition  supported  Member  States’  initiatives  to  step-up  the  data 
cleansing activitites, i.e. to clean up inconsistent, incomplete or obsolete alerts from the SIS 1 
database. 

2.3.2.  Legal framework 

The Commission proposed in May 2012 an amendment to the legal framework governing the 
actual  data  migration  (the  so-called  migration  instruments).  Within  the  framework  of  the 
consultation  procedure,  the  European  Parliament  issued  its  legislative  resolution,  at  the 
plenary  session  on  20-22  November  2102.  Following  its  adoption  by  the  Council  on  20 

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Common Article 10 (3) of Council Regulation (EC) No 1104/2008 of 24.10.2008 (OJ L 299, 8.11.2008) 
and of Council Decision 2008/839/JHA of 24.10.2008 (OJ L 299, 8.11.2008). 

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December,  the  recast  entered  into  force  on  30  December  20127  thus  securing  the  legal 
framework for  a technically optimised  migration  process and a  possibility of  extra financial 
support to the national projects in relation to migration activities.  
During the course of 2012 the SIS-VIS Committee8 (SIRENE formation), meeting four times, 
reviewed, updated and agreed the text of the revision of the SIS II SIRENE Manual and other 
implementing measures for the purpose of SIS II. The respective adoption of the Commission 
Implementing Decision is foreseen before the entry into operation of the SIS II.  

2.4. 

SIS II network  

For  operational  purposes,  Member  States  have  both  main  and  back-up  interfaces  with  the 
wide  area  communication  network,  enabling  the  secure  communication  of  the  central  and 
national systems. 

During  the  reporting  period,  the  process  of  reactivating  Member  States'  back-up  interfaces 
continued. A number of tests involving switching between main and back-up sites took place 
in this reporting period. All these test were executed successfully.  

The  SIS  II  legal  instruments  describe  the  communication  infrastructure  dedicated  to  SIS  II 
data  and  the  exchange  of  data  between  SIRENE  Bureaux9.  Following  the  Member  States 
confirmation of the technical specifications of the SIS II SIRENE mail relay, the Commission 
finalised  the  procurement  procedures.  The  mail  relay  was  installed  in  the  first  half  of  2012 
and was first tested by means of the so-called SIRENE Basic Connectivity Tests, for which 
the  Commission  organised  four  timeslots  for  Member  States  to  perform  the  aforementioned 
tests.  The  final  wave  took  place  on  4  and  5  September  2012.  All  of  the  11  participating 
Member States passed the tests. 

2.5. 

Security  

The  technical  solution  for  a  second  encryption  layer,  to  further  strengthen  the  network 
security  for  SIS  II,  was  thoroughly  and  successfully  tested  with  Germany  and  Austria  in 
September  2012.  The  SIS-VIS  Committee  endorsed  the  roll-out  of  the  technical  solution, 
which has already started and will be completed in February 2013.  

3. 

MANAGEMENT  

3.1. 

Financial aspects  

3.1.1. 

SIS II budget 

By the end of the reporting period, the total budgetary commitments made by the Commission 
on the SIS II project since 2002, amounted to EUR 167 632 518. The corresponding contracts 
include  feasibility  studies,  the  development  of  the  Central  SIS  II  itself,  support  and  quality 
assurance,  the  SIS  II  network,  preparation  for  operational  management  in  Strasbourg, 
security, biometrics preparations, communication and experts' mission expenses. 

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Council  Regulation  (EU)  No  1272/2012  of  20  December  on  migration  of  the  Schengen  Information 
System (SIS 1+) to the second generation Schengen Information System (SIS II) (OJ L 359, 29.12.12, 
p.  21)  and  Council  Regulation  (EU)  No  1273/2012  of  20  December  on  migration  of  the  Schengen 
Information  System  (SIS  1+)  to  the  second  generation  Schengen  Information  System  (SIS  II)  (OJ  L 
359, 29.12.12, p. 32)  
SIS-VIS regulatory committee established on the basis of Article 51 of Regulation (EC) No 1987/2006 
(OJ L 381, 28.12.2006) and Article 67 of Council Decision 2007/533/JHA (OJ L 205, 7.8.2007) 
Common Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 1987/2006 (OJ L 381, 28.12.2006) and of Council Decision 
2007/533/JHA of 12 June 2007 (OJ L 205, 7.8.2007)  

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Of  this  amount,  EUR 128  372  295  had  actually  been  paid  between  2002  and  the  end  of 
December  2012.  The  main  expenditure  items  were  development  (EUR 70  792  838),  the 
network (EUR 30 375 617), support and quality assurance (EUR 12 612 386) and preparation 
for operational management in Strasbourg and Sankt Johann im Pongau (EUR 9 309 334). 

3.1.2.  Additional financing for Member States' national development 

In  order  to  support  the  completion  of  national  development  projects  through  the  European 
External Borders Fund (EBF), a significant reallocation of resources towards SIS II national 
projects was undertaken within the 2011 programming for the EBF. The Community Actions 
part  of  the  EBF  has  been  made  available  to  eight  Member  States  with  constraints  to 
accommodate their extra needs in their annual programmes for 2011. 

These projects commenced at the end of 2011 and most of them have been completed by the 
end of 2012. 

Furthermore,  the  Commission  has  made  all  the  necessary  arrangements  to  launch  a  call  for 
proposal  allowing  Member  States  to  apply  for  the  additional  contributions  under  common 
Article  16  of  the  recast  migration  instruments  at  the  beginning  of  2013.  In  total,  EUR 13 
million has been made available and EUR 715 000 has been fixed as upper limit per Member 
State (to be co-financed 25 % from national resources). 

3.2. 

Operational management 

3.2.1.  The Agency for the operational management of the large-scale IT systems in the area 

of freedom, security and justice (eu-LISA) 

The preparatory activities to set up the eu-LISA  10 (in particular the recruitment of the staff, 
the fitting of the temporary premises, the finalisation of the key documents such as the work 
programme  for  2012  and  2013  and  the  negotiation  of  agreements  with  host  Member  States 
and associated countries) significantly intensified during the reporting period.  

Building on the preparatory work undertaken by the Commission, the Agency took up its core 
responsibilities  from  1  December  2012.  At  that  opportunity,  the  third  Management  Board 
took place in Tallinn on 29-30 November, in the presence of Mr. Krum Garkov, the Executive 
Director of eu-LISA since 1 November 2012.  

The first meeting of the SIS II advisory group took place on 6-7 June 2012. The next meeting 
will take place in January 2013.  

The eu-LISA will take up its responsibilities as regards the operational management of SIS II 
once the system is brought into operation.  

3.2.2. 

SIS II Transition 

The  coaching  by  the  Main  Development  Contractor  of  the  C.SIS  in  the  operational 
management  of  the  SIS  II  is  on-going  with  a  view  to  handing  over  the  SIS  II  production 
environment to C.SIS/eu-LISA in the first half of 2013. The draft operational handbook has 
been continuously updated with a view to be completed in cooperation with Member States 
by  January  2013.  According  to  the  plan  outlined  by  eu-LISA,  a  hand-over  of  operational 
management,  as  well  as  of  the  governance  aspects  of  operations  carried  out  by  the 
Commission, to eu-LISA will consist of three phases and will be completed by May 2013. 

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Regulation (EU) No 1077/2011of the European Parliament and the Council of 25 October 2011 (OJ L 
286/1, 1.11.2011) 

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3.3. 

Project management  

3.3.1.  Global Programme Management Board (GPMB) 

The GPMB continued to provide advice on a variety of Central System-related issues and has 
further  enhanced  consistency  between  central  and  national  SIS  II  projects.  In  this  reporting 
period,  the  regular  meetings  of  the  Member  State  holding  the  rotating  presidency  of  the 
Council, the Commission, several Member States' experts (including one newly nominated by 
Estonia)  and  the  Commission's  main  contractors  focused  in  particular  on  the  the 
Comprehensive  test  and  the  solution  to  the  setback  encountered  in  Finland.  The 
representatives  of  the  Finnish  national  project  management  team  participated  in  the  GPMB 
sessions on an ad hoc basis. 

Twenty-three plenary GPMB meetings took place during the period covered by this report.  

3.3.2. 

SIS-VIS Committee (SIS II) 

Several  key  documents  on  migration  and  testing  were  approved  at  the  five  meetings  of  the 
SIS-VIS Committee on SIS II technical matters in the period July – December 2012.  

In  addition  to  regular  SIS-VIS  Committee  meetings,  working  groups  of  the  Committee  and 
workshops,  involving  Member  States'  experts,  are  organised  to  discuss  detailed  technical 
issues. These meetings generally focus on issues arising from specific project deliverables: 

– 

– 

– 

The Test Advisory Group (TAG), provides the SIS-VIS Committee with an opinion 
on issues related to the organisation, implementation and interpretation of tests. This 
group held eleven meetings in the reporting period. 

The  Change  Management  Board  (CMB),  provides  advice  on  classification, 
qualification  and  the  potential  impact  of  the  implementation  of  reported  Change 
Requests. When the technical requirements for the SIS II application were reviewed 
in 2010, it was made clear that the specifications would be frozen untill entry-into-
operation  of  the  SIS  II  system.  This  working  group,  which  also  reports  to  the  SIS-
VIS  Committee,  was  therefore  not  formally  convened  in  2011.  However,  in  2012, 
Member  States  and  the  Commission  reviewed  and  updated  the  CMB  rules  of 
procedure  to  allow  Member  States  to  assess  whether  the  planned  changes  in  their 
national  systems  are  in  compliance  with  the  Central  System.  Five  meetings  of  this 
working group took place in 2012.  

The Migration Experts Group (MEG) is an ad-hoc group of Member States' experts, 
the Commission project team members, the Operator of the system after go-live and 
the main contractor. This expert group has been used in order to prepare in detail and 
folow  up  the  execution  of  the  different  migration  rehearsals.  Eleven  meetings  took 
place during the reporting period. 

3.3.3.  National planning and coordination 

The Member States' national project managers (NPM) meetings are organised regularly by the 
Commission to allow the detailed exchange of information on all activities with relevance to 
the  global  project  status.  Also  in  this  reporting  period,  it  dealt  in  particular  with  the  global 
schedule, testing, migration, the transition to the SIS II,the SIS II operational handbook and 
the SIS II Task Force reports. During this reporting period, five NPM meetings took place. 

3.3.4.  Council  

The Commission has continued to keep all relevant Council bodies regularly informed about 
the SIS II project implementation, including the timetable and budgetary aspects. In an overall 

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constructive  atmosphere,  a  number  of  technical,  legal  and  budgetary  issues  in  relation  to 
central project have been clarified at preparatory levels. Wherever necessary, the Commission 
has, in addition to the meetings, communicated with the Member States concerned via other 
channels, such as bilateral letters. The Commission presented a SIS II state of play at each of 
the three JHA Councils held under the Cypriot rotating presidency of the Council.  

The  Commission  circulates  a  weekly  flash  report,  summarising  technical  developments,  to 
colleagues involved in the project at national level. 

3.3.5.  European Parliament 

The European Parliament continued to be supportive to the SIS II and it has lifted the reserve 
of part of the credits for the SIS II project in the 2012 EU General Budget. 

In order to maintain complete transparency, the Commission keeps the European Parliament 
informed on the whole range of aspects of SIS II development beyond the obligatory reports 
stemming from legal instruments and Council conclusions. 

In addition to the provision of a SIS II project update to the LIBE Committee, the European 
Parliament has been informed about the latest state of play of SIS II at the plenary session of 
19-22 November 2012 at the occasion of the debate on the proposed recast of the migration 
instrument. 

3.3.6.  Risk management 

The Commission closely monitors the risks in the SIS II project with the support of its quality 
assurance contractor. For each identified risk, a mitigation plan is established specifying the 
mitigation measures to be taken. The list of identified risks is updated on a weekly basis and 
is discussed with the Global Programme Management Board every month.  

The main risks during the reporting period were the following: 

• 

• 

the  readiness  of  the  Member  States  (end-user  applications)  and  notably  the  timely 
implementation of "Plan B" in Finland; 

the limited time remaining for contingency in the migration schedule. 

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3.3.7. 

SIS II information campaign 

According  to  the  SIS  II  legal  basis  the  Commission  shall,  in  cooperation  with  the  national 
data protection authorities and the European Data Protection Supervisor, accompany the start 
of operation of SIS II with an information campaign informing the public about its objectives, 
the data stored, the authorities having access and the rights of persons.11 

The preparation of the campaign has been accelerated in September 2012. The Commission 
invited  each  Member  State  to  designate  a  contact  persons  in  charge  of  the  campaign 
coordination  on  national  level  and  involved  the  national  data  protection  authorites  and  the 
European Data Protection Supervisor as well. Building on the previous cooperation with the 
Member States, the Commission concluded the contracts for the main deliverables (a leaflet, 
poster and a short video animation).  

Member States will be responsible for disseminating this information materials according to 
their needs (at border crossings, police stations, consulates etc.). 

4. 

PRIORITIES FOR THE NEXT REPORTING PERIOD 

During the next reporting period, there will be nine principal areas of activity: 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

the completion by the end of Januray 2013 of the Comprehensive test by those five 
Member States that have to rerun the test,  

the  completion  by  the  beginning  of  February  2013  of  the  SIRENE  functional  tests 
campaign (within the responsibility of the Member States), 

the Member States' notification of their legal and technical readiness to process SIS 
II data and exchange supplementary information, 

the  adoption  before  the  entry  into  operation  of  SIS  II  of  an  updated  Commission 
Implementing  Decision  on  the  SIRENE  Manual  and  other  implementing  measures 
for SIS II,  

the  Live  Data  Migration  from  SIS  1+  to  SIS  II  which  is  scheduled  to  take  place 
between 22 January and 27 March 2013,  

the  entry  into  operation  of  SIS  II  (provisionally  scheduled  for  27  March  2013  and 
subject to further decision on the final date by the Council) 

the 30 days Intensive Monitoring Period following the entry into operation of SIS II 

the launch of the SIS II information campaign, 

the hand over of the SIS II to eu-LISA. 

5. 

CONCLUSION 

Thanks to the goal-oriented  approach of  all stakeholders, the  challenges  encountered  during 
this  reporting  period  were  addressed  successfully,  allowing  the  SIS  II  project  to  remain  on 
track for the planned go-live at the end of the first quarter of 2013.  

The expected completion of the Comprehensive test, at the start of 2013, will mark an end to 
the series of test campaigns aiming at reaching the maturity of the entire system.  

11 

Common Article 19 of Regulation (EC) No 1987/2006 (OJ L 381, 28.12.2006) and of Council Decision 
2007/533/JHA (OJ L 205, 7.8.2007).  

EN 

10 

   EN 

                                                 
Therefore, the SIS II project is now about to reach its final stage, that is the actual migration 
of data between SIS 1+ and SIS II. The ultimate and timely transition to SIS II, including the 
adoption  of  a  decision  on  the  switchover  date,  represents  the  over-riding  priority  for  the 
following reporting period (January – June 2013).  

EN 

11 

   EN 

Budget execution 

From 2002 to Dec 2012 

From January to Dec 2012 

(EUR) 

Commitments 

Payments 

Commitments 

Payments 

Development 
(HP/Stéria) 

85.530.668 

70.792.838 

4.937.621 

19.720.697 

Development (Atos) 

3.921.248 

3.301.041 

386.207 

2.036.541 

Support & quality 
assurance 

15.852.914 

12.612.386 

2.760.645 

3.119.889 

Network 

45.335.129 

30.375.617 

6.809.121 

5.392.500 

Operational 
management 
preparation 

12.986.242 

9.309.334 

4.020.348 

2.232.031 

Security 

1 358 310 

386.914 

0 

169.202 

Studies / Consultancy

1 064 410 

963 207 

103 279 

20 947 

Information 
Campaign 

Experts Mission 
Expenses 

183.943 

33 373 

150.570,38 

0 

1.384.780 

582.711 

181.494 

266.134 

Others 

14 874 

14 874 

0 

0 

TOTAL: 

167.632.518 

128.372.295 

19.349.285 

32.957.941 

EN 

12 

   EN 

 
 
 
SIS-VIS Committee (SIS II) and Working Group Meetings 

a) Meetings held during the reporting period  

JULY 2012 

4, 10, 18, 24 

SIS II Global Programme Management Board 

26 

26 

3, 10, 17, 24, 
31 

5, 18 

SIS II National Project Managers Meeting 

SIS-VIS Committee (SIS II Technical Formation Meeting) 

SIS II TAG meeting (Test Advisory Group) 

SIS II CMB meeting 

AUGUST 2012 

1, 8, 22, 29 

SIS II Global Programme Management Board 

7, 14, 21, 28 

SIS II TAG meeting (Test Advisory Group) 

SEPTEMBER 2012 

5, 13, 19, 25 

SIS II Global Programme Management Board 

27 

27 

4, 11 

6 

20, 26 

SIS-VIS Committee (SIS II Technical Formation Meeting) 

SIS II National Project Managers Meeting 

SIS II TAG meeting (Test Advisory Group) 

SIS II Migration Workshop 

SIS II MEG meeting 

EN 

13 

   EN 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
OCTOBER 2012 

3, 10, 24, 30 

SIS II Global Programme Management Board 

26 

26 

 SIS-VIS Committee (SIS II Technical Formation Meeting) 

SIS II National Project Managers Meeting 

11, 18, 25 

SIS II MEG meeting 

NOVEMBER 2012 

6, 14, 21, 28 

SIS II Global Programme Management Board 

14/ 23 

23 

SIS-VIS Committee (SIRENE/ SIS II Technical Formation 
Meeting) 

SIS II National Project Managers Meeting 

7, 14, 22, 29 

SIS II MEG meeting 

30 

SIS II CMB meeting 

DECEMBER 2012 

5, 12, 19 

SIS II Global Programme Management Board 

14 

14 

6, 13 

6, 13 

SIS-VIS Committee (SIS II Technical Formation Meeting) 

SIS II National Project Managers' Meeting 

SIS II MEG meeting 

SIS II CMB meeting 

EN 

14 

   EN 

 
 
 
 
SIS-VIS Committee (SIS II) and Working Group Meetings 

b) Meetings provisionally scheduled during the following reporting period 

JANUARY 2013 

9, 16, 23, 30 

 SIS II Global Programme Management Board 

24 

24 

SIS-VIS Committee (SIS II Technical Formation Meeting) 

SIS II National Project Managers' Meeting 

10, 17, 24, 31  

SIS II MEG meeting  

FEBRUARY 2013 

6, 13, 20, 27 

SIS II Global Programme Management Board 

26 

26 

SIS-VIS Committee (SIS II Technical Formation Meeting) 

SIS II National Project Managers' Meeting 

7, 14, 21, 28 

SIS II MEG meeting 

MARCH 2013 

6, 13 , 20 , 27  

SIS II Global Programme Management Board 

27 

27 

SIS-VIS Committee (SIS II Technical Formation Meeting)) 

SIS II National Project Managers' Meeting 

7 , 14 , 21  

SIS II MEG meeting  

APRIL 2013  

3, 10 , 17 , 24  

SIS II Global Programme Management Board 

26 

26 

SIS-VIS Committee (SIS II Technical Formation Meeting)) 

SIS II National Project Managers' Meeting 

4 , 11, 18 , 25  

 SIS II MEG meeting 

EN 

15 

   EN 

 
 
 
 
MAY 2013 

8 , 15 , 22, 29  

SIS II Global Programme Management Board 

30 

30 

SIS-VIS Committee (SIS II Technical Formation Meeting)) 

SIS II National Project Managers' Meeting 

16 , 23 , 3  

 SIS II MEG meeting 

JUNE 2013 

5 , 12 , 19, 26  

SIS II Global Programme Management Board 

28 

28 

SIS-VIS Committee (SIS II Technical Formation Meeting)) 

SIS II National Project Managers' Meeting 

6 , 13 , 20, 27  

 SIS II MEG meeting 

EN 

16 

   EN