Proposal for a REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL on establishing a framework for interoperability between EU information systems (police and judicial cooperation, asylum and migration)
Date: 2017-12-12
Institutions: Directorate-General for Migration and Home Affairs, European Commission
Subjects: EU migration policy, Schengen Agreement, area of freedom, security and justice, biometrics, data protection, exchange of information, external border of the EU, information system, personal data, right of asylum

EN 

  EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 12.12.2017 COM(2017) 794 final 2017/0352 (COD)  Proposal for a REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL on establishing a framework for interoperability between EU information systems (police and judicial cooperation, asylum and migration) {SWD(2017) 473 final} - {SWD(2017) 474 final}  
 
 
EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

1. 

• 

CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL 

Background of the proposal 

In the past three years, the EU has experienced an increase in irregular border crossings into 
the EU, and an evolving and ongoing threat to internal security as demonstrated by a series of 
terrorist attacks. EU citizens expect external border controls on persons, and checks within the 
Schengen area, to be effective, to enable effective management of migration and to contribute 
to internal security. These challenges have brought into sharper focus the urgent need to join 
up  and  strengthen  in  a  comprehensive  manner  the  EU’s  information  tools  for  border 
management, migration and security. 

Information management in the EU can and must be made more effective and efficient, in full 
respect  of  fundamental  rights  including,  in  particular, the right  to  the  protection  of  personal 
data,  in  order  to  better  protect  the  EU’s  external  borders,  improve  the  management  of 
migration  and  enhance  internal  security  for  the  benefit  of  all  citizens.  There  are  already  a 
number  of  information  systems  at  EU  level,  and  more  systems  are  being  developed,  to 
provide  border  guards,  immigration  and  law  enforcement  officers  with  relevant  information 
on  persons.  For  this  support  to  be  effective,  the  information  provided  by  EU  information 
systems  needs  to  be  complete,  accurate  and  reliable.  However,  there  are  structural 
shortcomings  in  the  EU  information  management  architecture.  National  authorities  face  a 
complex landscape of differently governed information systems. Moreover, the architecture of 
data management for borders and security is fragmented, as information is stored separately in 
unconnected systems. This leads to blind spots. As a consequence, the various information 
systems at EU level are currently not interoperable — that is, able to exchange data and 
share information so that authorities and competent officials have the information they need, 
when  and  where  they  need  it.  Interoperability  of  EU-level  information  systems  can 
significantly contribute to eliminating the current blind spots where persons, including those 
possibly  involved  in  terrorist  activities,  can  be  recorded  in  different,  unconnected  databases 
under different aliases. 

In  April  2016,  the  Commission  presented  a  Communication  Stronger  and  smarter 
information systems for borders and security1 to address a number of structural shortcomings 
related to information systems.2 The aim of the April 2016 Communication was to initiate a 
discussion on how information systems in the European Union can better enhance border and 
migration  management  and  internal  security.  The  Council,  for  its  part,  similarly  recognised 
the  urgent  need  for  action  in  this  area.  In  June  2016,  it  endorsed  a  roadmap  to  enhance 
information exchange and information management including interoperability solutions in 
the Justice and Home Affairs area.3 The purpose of the roadmap was to support operational 
investigations and to swiftly provide front-line practitioners — such as police officers, border 
guards,  public  prosecutors,  immigration  officers  and  others  —  with  comprehensive,  topical 
and high-quality information to cooperate and act effectively. The European Parliament has 

1  COM(2016) 205 of 6 April 2016. . 
2 

(1) Sub-optimal functionalities in some of the existing information systems; (2) information gaps in the EU’s 
architecture of data management; (3) a complex landscape of differently governed information systems; and 
(4)  a  fragmented  architecture  of  data  management  for  borders  and  security  where  information  is  stored 
separately in unconnected systems, leading to blind spots. 

3  Roadmap  of  6 June  2016  to  enhance  information  exchange  and  information  management  including 

interoperability solutions in the Justice and Home Affairs area — 9368/1/16 REV 1. 

EN 

1 

  EN 

 
                                                 
also  urged  action  in  this  area.  In  its  July  2016  Resolution4  on  the  Commission’s  work 
programme for 2017, the European Parliament called for ‘proposals to improve and develop 
existing information systems, address information gaps and move towards interoperability, as 
well as proposals for compulsory information sharing at EU level, accompanied by necessary 
data  protection  safeguards’.  President  Juncker's  State  of  the  Union  address  in  September 
20165 and the European Council conclusions of December 20166 highlighted the importance 
of  overcoming  the  current  shortcomings  in  data  management  and  of  improving  the 
interoperability of existing information systems. 

In  June  2016,  as  a  follow-up  to  the  April  2016  Communication,  the  Commission  set  up  a 
high-level expert group on information systems and interoperability7 in order to address 
the legal, technical and operational challenges of enhancing interoperability between central 
EU  systems  for  borders  and  security,  including  their  necessity,  technical  feasibility, 
proportionality  and  data  protection  implications.  The  final  report  of  the  high-level  expert 
group was published in May 2017.8 It set out a range of recommendations to strengthen and 
develop  the  EU’s  information  systems  and  their  interoperability.  The  EU  Agency  for 
Fundamental Rights, the European Data Protection Supervisor and the EU Counter-Terrorism 
Coordinator  all  participated  actively  in  the  work  of  the  expert  group.  Each  submitted 
supportive statements, while acknowledging that wider issues on fundamental rights and data 
protection  had  to  be  addressed  in  moving  forward.  Representatives  of  the  Secretariat  of  the 
European  Parliament’s  Committee  on  Civil  Liberties,  Justice  and  Home  Affairs  and  of  the 
General  Secretariat  of  the  Council  attended  as  observers.  The  high-level  expert  group 
concluded that it is necessary and technically feasible to work towards practical solutions 
for  interoperability  and  that  they  can,  in  principle,  both  deliver  operational  gains  and  be 
established in compliance with data protection requirements. 

Building on the expert group’s report and recommendations, the Commission set out, in the 
Seventh progress report towards an effective and genuine Security Union,9 a new approach 
to  the  management  of  data  for  borders,  security  and  migration  management  where  all 
centralised  EU  information  systems  for  security,  border  and  migration  management  are 
interoperable in full respect of fundamental rights. The Commission announced its intention 
to pursue work towards creating a European search portal capable of querying simultaneously 
all relevant EU systems in the areas of security, border and migration management, possibly 
with more streamlined rules for law enforcement access, and to develop for these systems a 
shared  biometric  matching  service  (possibly  with  a  hit-flagging  functionality10)  and  a 
common  identity  repository.  It  announced  its  intention  to  present,  as  soon  as  possible,  a 
legislative proposal on interoperability. 

4  European  Parliament  resolution  of  6 July  2016  on  the  strategic  priorities  for  the  Commission  Work 

Programme 2017 (2016/2773(RSP). 

5  State of the Union 2016 (14.9.2016),  https://ec.europa.eu/commission/state-union-2016_en. 
6  European  Council  conclusions 

(15.12.2016),  http://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/meetings/european-

council/2016/12/20161215-euco-conclusions-final_pdf/. 

7  Commission  Decision  of  17 June  2016  setting  up  the  high-level  expert  group  on  information  systems  and 

interoperability — 2016/C 257/03. 

8  http://ec.europa.eu/transparency/regexpert/index.cfm?do=groupDetail.groupDetailDoc&id=32600&no=1. 
9  COM(2017) 261 final. 
10  New  privacy-by-design  concept  that  restricts  the  access  to  all  data  by  limiting  it  to  a  mere  ‘hit/no-hit’ 

notification, indicating the presence (or non-presence) of data. 

EN 

2 

  EN 

 
                                                 
The European Council conclusions of June 201711 reiterated the need to act. Building on the 
June  2017  conclusions12  of  the  Justice  and  Home  Affairs  Council,  the  European  Council 
invited  the  Commission  to  prepare,  as  soon  as  possible,  draft  legislation  enacting  the 
recommendations  made  by  the  high-level  expert  group.  This  initiative  also  responds  to  the 
Council’s  call  for  a  comprehensive  framework  for  law  enforcement  access  to  the  various 
databases  in  the  area  of  justice  and  home  affairs,  with  a  view  to  greater  simplification, 
consistency, effectiveness and attention to operational needs13. In order to reinforce the efforts 
to make the European Union a safer society, in full compliance with fundamental rights, the 
Commission  announced,  in  the  context  of  its  2018  Work  Programme14,  a  proposal  on  the 
interoperability of information systems to be presented by the end of 2017. 

• 

Objectives of the proposal 

The general objectives of this initiative result from the Treaty-based goals of improving the 
management of the Schengen external borders and contributing to the internal security of the 
European  Union.  They  also  stem  from  policy  decisions  by  the  Commission  and  relevant 
(European)  Council  Conclusions.  These  objectives  are  further  elaborated  in  the  European 
Agenda  on  Migration  and  subsequent  communications,  including  the  Communication  on 
preserving  and  strengthening  Schengen,15  the  European  Agenda  on  Security16  and  the 
Commission’s work and progress reports towards an effective and genuine Security Union.17  

Whilst building in particular on the April 2016 Communication and the findings of the high-
level expert group, the objectives of this proposal are intrinsically linked to the above. 

The specific objectives of this proposal are to: 

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

(4) 

ensure  that  end-users,  particularly  border  guards,  law  enforcement  officers, 
immigration  officials  and  judicial  authorities  have  fast,  seamless,  systematic  and 
controlled access to the information that they need to perform their tasks; 

provide a solution to detect multiple identities linked to the same set of biometric 
data, with the dual purpose of ensuring the correct identification of bona fide persons 
and combating identity fraud; 

facilitate identity checks of third-country nationals, on the territory of a Member 
State, by police authorities; and 

facilitate  and  streamline  access  by  law  enforcement  authorities  to  non-law 
enforcement  information  systems  at  EU  level,  where  necessary  for  the  prevention, 
investigation, detection or prosecution of serious crime and terrorism. 

11  European Council conclusions, 22-23 June 2017. 
12  Outcomes of the 3546th Council meeting on Justice and Home Affairs on 8 and 9 June 2017, 10136/17. 
13  The Council’s Committee of Permanent Representatives (Coreper), upon giving the mandate to the Council 
Presidency  to  start  interinstitutional  negotiations  on  the  EU  Entry/Exit  System  on  2 March  2017,  agreed  a 
draft  Council  statement  calling  on  the  Commission  to  propose  a  comprehensive  framework  for  law 
enforcement  access to  the various databases  in  the  area of justice  and home  affairs, with  a view  to greater 
simplification,  consistency,  effectiveness  and  attention  to  operational  needs  (Summary  Record  7177/17, 
21.3.2017). 

14  COM(2017) 650 final. 
15  COM(2017)570 final. 
16  COM(2015)185 final. 
17  COM(2016)230 final. 

EN 

3 

  EN 

 
 
                                                 
In addition to these primary operational objectives, this proposal will also contribute to: 

 

 

 

facilitating  the  technical  and  operational  implementation  by  Member  States  of 
existing and future new information systems; 

strengthening  and  streamlining  the  data  security  and  data  protection  conditions 
that govern the respective systems; and 

improving and harmonising data quality requirements of the respective systems. 

Finally,  this  proposal  includes  provisions  for  the  establishment  and  governance  of  the 
Universal  Message  Format  (UMF)  as  an  EU  standard  for  the  development  of  information 
systems in the area of justice and home affairs, and the establishment of a central repository 
for reporting and statistics.  

• 

Scope of the proposal 

Together with its sister proposal presented the same day, this interoperability proposal focuses 
on  the  EU  information  systems  for  security,  border  and  migration  management  that  are 
operated at the central level, three of them existing, one on the brink of development, and two 
others at the stage of proposals under discussion between co-legislators. Each system has its 
own objectives, purposes, legal bases, rules, user groups and institutional context. 

The three existing centralised information systems so far are: 

 

 

 

the Schengen Information System (SIS) with a broad spectrum of alerts on persons 
(refusals  of  entry  or  stay,  EU  arrest  warrant,  missing  persons,  judicial  procedure 
assistance,  discreet  and  specific  checks)  and  objects  (including  lost,  stolen  and 
invalidated identity or travel documents);18 

the  Eurodac  system  with  fingerprint  data  of  asylum  applicants  and  third-country 
nationals  who  have  crossed  the  external  borders  irregularly  or  who  are  illegally 
staying in a Member State; and 

the Visa Information System (VIS) with data on short-stay visas. 

In  addition  to  these  existing  systems,  the  Commission  proposed  in  2016-2017  three  new 
centralised EU information systems: 

 

 

the Entry/Exit System (EES), for which the legal basis has just been agreed, which 
will  replace  the  current  system  of  manual  stamping  of  passports  and  will 
electronically register the name, type of travel document, biometrics and the date and 
place  of  entry  and  exit  of  third-country  nationals  visiting  the  Schengen  area  for  a 
short stay; 

the proposed European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS), 
which  would,  once  adopted,  be  a  largely  automated  system  that  would  gather  and 
verify  information  submitted  by  visa-exempt  third-country  nationals  ahead  of  their 
travel to the Schengen area; and 

18  The Commission’s December 2016 draft Regulations on SIS propose to further extend this to include return 

decisions and inquiry checks. 

EN 

4 

  EN 

 
 
 
                                                 
 

the proposed European Criminal Record Information System for third-country 
nationals  (ECRIS-TCN  system),  which  would  be  an  electronic  system  for 
exchanging information on previous convictions handed down against third-country 
nationals by criminal courts in the EU. 

These six systems are complementary and — with the exception of the Schengen Information 
System (SIS) — exclusively focused on third-country nationals. The systems support national 
authorities in managing borders, migration, visa processing and asylum, and in fighting crime 
and terrorism. The latter applies in particular to the SIS, which is the most widely used law 
enforcement information-sharing instrument today.  

In  addition  to  these  information  systems,  centrally  managed  at  EU  level,  the  scope  of  this 
proposal also includes Interpol’s Stolen and Lost Travel Documents (SLTD) database, which 
pursuant to the provisions of the Schengen Borders Code is systematically queried at the EU’s 
external  borders,  and  Interpol's  Travel  Documents  Associated  with  Notices  (TDAWN) 
database.  It  also  covers  Europol  data,  as  far  as  this  is  relevant  for  the  functioning  of  the 
proposed  ETIAS  system  and  for  assisting  Member  States  when  querying  data  on  serious 
crime and terrorism.  

National information systems and decentralised EU information systems are outside the scope 
of this initiative. Provided that the necessity will be demonstrated, decentralised systems such 
as  those  operated  under  the  Prüm  framework,19  the  Passenger  Name  Record  (PNR) 
Directive20 and the Advance Passenger Information Directive21 may at a later stage be linked 
up to one or more of the components proposed under this initiative.22 

To  respect  the  distinction  between  the  matters  which  constitute  a  development  of  the 
Schengen acquis regarding borders and visa on the one hand and other systems which concern 
the Schengen acquis  on police  cooperation or  are not  related to  the Schengen  acquis on the 
other,  this  proposal  deals  with  access  to  the  Schengen  Information  System  as  currently 
regulated by Council Decision 2007/533/JHA as well as with Eurodac and [ECRIS-TCN]. 

• 

The necessary technical components to achieve interoperability 

In order to achieve the objectives of this proposal, four interoperability components need to be 
established: 

 

 

 

 

European search portal — ESP 

Shared biometric matching service — shared BMS 

Common identity repository — CIR 

Multiple-identity detector — MID 

Each of these components is described in detail in the Commission Staff Working Document 
on the impact assessment accompanying this proposal.   

The four components combined lead to the following interoperability solution: 

19  http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?qid=1508936184412&uri=CELEX:32008D06 15. 
20  http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?qid=1508936384641&uri=CELEX:32016L06 81. 
21  Council Directive 2004/82/EC of 29 April 2004 on the obligation of carriers to communicate passenger data. 
22  Similarly as regards the customs systems, the Council in its June 2017 conclusions invited the Commission to 
undertake a feasibility study to further explore the technical, operational and legal aspects of interoperability 
of the security and border management systems with customs systems, and present its findings for discussion 
by the Council by the end of 2018. 

EN 

5 

  EN 

 
 
                                                 
The objectives and functioning of these four components can be summarised as follows: 

(1) The European search portal (ESP) is the component that would enable the simultaneous 
query of multiple systems (Central-SIS, Eurodac, VIS, the future EES, and the proposed 
ETIAS  and  ECRIS-TCN  systems,  as  well  as  the  relevant  Interpol  systems  and  Europol 
data) using identity data (both biographical and biometric). It would ensure that users of 
the  EU  information  systems  have  fast,  seamless,  efficient,  systematic  and  controlled 
access to all information that they need to perform their tasks. 

A query through the European search portal would immediately, in a matter of seconds, 
return  information  from  the  various  systems  to  which  the  user  has  legal  access. 
Depending  on  the  purpose  of  the  query,  and  the  corresponding  access  rights,  the  ESP 
would be provided with specific configurations. 

The ESP does not process any new data, and it does not store any data; it would act as a 
single  window  or  ‘message  broker’  to  query  various  central  systems  and  retrieve  the 
necessary information  seamlessly, and would do so in  full respect of the access  control 
and data protection requirements of the underlying systems. The ESP would facilitate the 
correct  and  authorised  use  of  each  of  the  existing  EU  information  systems,  and  would 
make it easier and cheaper for Member States to consult and use the systems, in line with 
the legal instruments that govern these systems.  

(2) The shared biometric matching service (shared BMS) would enable the querying and 
comparison  of  biometric  data  (fingerprints  and  facial  images)  from  several  central 
systems (in particular, SIS, Eurodac, VIS, the future EES and the proposed ECRIS-TCN 
system). The proposed ETIAS will not contain biometric data and would therefore not be 
linked to the shared BMS. 

Where  each  existing  central  system  (SIS,  Eurodac,  VIS)  currently  has  a  dedicated, 
proprietary search engine for biometric data23, a shared biometric matching service would 
provide a common platform where the data is queried and compared simultaneously. The 
shared BMS would generate substantial benefits in terms of security, cost, maintenance 
and operation by relying on one unique technological component instead of five different 

23  These  biometric  search  engines  are  technically  referred  to  as  automated  fingerprint  identification  system 

(AFIS) or automated biometric identification system (ABIS). 

EN 

6 

  EN 

Shared BMSVISEESETIASEurodacECRIS-TCNSISEuropean Search PortalEuropolDataInterpolSystemsCommon Identity RepositoryMultipleIdentityDetectorLEA hit flagging 
 
 
 
                                                 
ones.  The  biometric  data  (fingerprint  and  facial  images)  are  exclusively  retained  by  the 
underlying  systems.  The  shared  BMS  would  create  and  retain  a  mathematical 
representation  of  the  biometric  samples  (a  template)  but  would  discard  the  actual  data, 
which remains thus stored in one location, only once. 

The shared BMS would be a key enabler to help detect connections between data sets and 
different  identities  assumed  by  the  same  person  in  different  central  systems.  Without  a 
shared BMS, none of the other three components will be able to function. 

(3)  The  common  identity  repository  (CIR)  would  be  the  shared  component  for  storing 
biographical24 and biometric identity data of third-country nationals recorded in Eurodac, 
VIS, the future EES, the proposed ETIAS and the proposed ECRIS-TCN system. Each of 
these five central systems records or will record biographical data on specific persons for 
specific reasons. This would not change. The relevant identity data would be stored in the 
CIR but would continue to 'belong' to the respective underlying systems that recorded this 
data.  

The  CIR  would  not  contain  SIS  data.  The  complex  technical  architecture  of  SIS 
containing  national  copies,  partial  national  copies  and  possible  national  biometric 
matching systems would make the CIR very complex to a degree where it may no longer 
be technically and financially feasible.  

The  key  objective  of  the  CIR  is  to  facilitate  the  biographical  identification  of  a  third-
country  national. It would offer increased speed of  operations, improved efficiency  and 
economies of scale. The establishment of the CIR is necessary to enable effective identity 
checks  of  third-country  nationals,  including  on  the  territory  of  a  Member  State.  In 
addition, by adding a ‘hit-flag functionality’ to the CIR it would be possible to check the 
presence (or non-existence) of data in any of the systems covered by the CIR through a 
simple hit/no-hit notification. This way, the CIR would also help streamlining of access 
by  law  enforcement  authorities  to  non-law  enforcement  information  systems,  while 
maintaining a high data protection safeguard (see the section on the two-step approach to 
law enforcement access, hereunder).  

Out of the five systems to be covered by the CIR, the future EES, the proposed ETIAS 
and  the  proposed  ECRIS-TCN  system  are  new  systems  that  still  need  to  be  developed. 
The  current  Eurodac  does  not  have  biographical  data;  this  extension  will  be  developed 
once  the  new  legal  base  for  Eurodac  is  adopted.  The  current  VIS  does  contain 
biographical  data,  but  the  necessary  interactions  between  VIS  and  the  future  EES  will 
require an upgrading of the existing VIS. The creation of the CIR therefore would arrive 
at  the  right  moment.  It  would  not  in  any  way  involve  duplicating  existing  data. 
Technically, the CIR would be developed on the basis of the EES/ETIAS platform.   

(4)  The  multiple-identity  detector  (MID)  would  check  whether  the  queried  identity  data 
exists in more than one of the systems connected to it. The MID covers the systems that 
store identity data in the CIR (Eurodac, VIS, the future EES, the proposed ETIAS and the 
proposed ECRIS-TCN system) as well as the SIS. The MID would enable the detection 
of  multiple identities linked to the same  set of biometric data,  with  the dual purpose of 
ensuring the correct identification of bona fide persons and combating identity fraud. 

24  Biographical data that can be found on the travel document includes; last name, first name, gender, date of 

birth, travel document number. They do not include addresses, former names, biometric data, etc. 

EN 

7 

  EN 

 
                                                 
The MID would enable to establish that different names belong to the same identity. It is 
a necessary innovation to effectively address the fraudulent use of identities, which is a 
serious breach of security. The MID would only show those biographical identity records 
that have a link in different central systems. These links would be detected by using the 
shared biometric matching service on the basis of biometric data and  would need  to be 
confirmed  or  rejected  by  the  authority  that  recorded  the  data  in  the  information  system 
that led to the creation of the link. To assist the authorised users of the MID in this task, 
the system would need to label the identified links in four categories:    

 

 

 

 

Yellow link - potentially differing biographical identities on the same person 

White link - confirmation that the different biographical identities belong to the same 
bona fide person  

Green link - confirmation that different bona fide persons happen to share the same  
biographic identity 

 Red link - suspicion that different biographical identities are unlawfully used by the 
same person. 

This  proposal  describes  the  procedures  that  would  be  put  in  place  to  handle  these 
different categories. The identity of affected bona fide persons should be disambiguated 
as quickly as possible, by turning the yellow link into a confirmed green or white link, so 
as to ensure that no unnecessary inconveniences will be faced. Where, on the other hand, 
the assessment leads to the confirmation of a red link, or a change from a yellow into a 
red link, appropriate action would need to be taken.    

The  two-step  approach  to  law  enforcement  access  as  provided  by  the  common 

• 
identity repository 

Law enforcement is defined as a secondary or ancillary objective of Eurodac, VIS, the future 
EES  and  the  proposed  ETIAS.  As  a  result,  the  possibility  of  accessing  data  stored  in  these 
systems  for  the  purpose  of  law  enforcement  is  restricted.  Law  enforcement  authorities  can 
only  consult  directly  these  non-law  enforcement  information  systems  for  the  purpose  of 
prevention,  investigation,  detection  or  prosecution  of  terrorism  and  other  serious  criminal 
offences.  Moreover,  the  respective  systems  are  governed  by  different  access  conditions  and 
safeguards and some of those current rules could hinder the speed of the legitimate use of the 
systems  by  these  authorities.  More  generally,  the  principle  of  prior  search  limits  the 
possibility  of  Member  State  authorities  to  consult  systems  for  justified  law  enforcement 
purposes and could thereby result in missed opportunities to uncover necessary information.  

In  its  April  2016  Communication,  the  Commission  acknowledged  the  need  to  optimise  the 
existing  tools  for  law  enforcement  purposes,  whilst  respecting  data  protection  requirements. 
This  necessity  was  confirmed  and  reiterated  by Member  States  and  relevant  agencies  in  the 
framework of the high-level expert group.   

In light of the above, by creating the CIR with a so-called 'hit-flag functionality', this proposal 
introduces  the  possibility  for  accessing  the  EES,  the  VIS,  the  ETIAS  and  Eurodac  using  a 
two-step data consultation approach. This two-step approach would not change the fact that 
law enforcement is a strictly ancillary objective of these systems and therefore needs to follow 
strict rules for access.  

EN 

8 

  EN 

 
 
 
As a first step, a law enforcement officer would launch a query on a specific person using the 
person's identity data, travel document or biometric data to check whether information on the 
searched  person  is  stored  in  the  CIR.  Where  such  data  is  present,  the  officer  will  receive  a 
reply  indicating  which  EU  information  system(s)  contains  data  on  this  person  (the  hit-
flag). The officer would not have actual access to any data in any of the underlying systems.  

As  a  second  step,  the  officer  may  individually  request  access  to  each  system  that  has  been 
indicated as containing data, in order to obtain the complete file on the queried person, in line 
with the existing rules and procedures established by each system concerned. This second 
step access would remain subject to prior authorisation by a designated authority and would 
continue to require a specific user ID and logging.  

This  new  approach  would  also  bring  added  value  to  law  enforcement  authorities  due  to  the 
existence  of  potential  links  in  the  MID.  The MID  would  help the  CIR  identifying  existing 
links,  which  makes  the  search  even  more  accurate.  The  MID  would  be  able  to  indicate 
whether the person is known under different identities in different information systems. 

The two-step data consultation approach is  particularly  valuable in  cases where the suspect, 
perpetrator  or  suspected  victim  of  a  terrorist  offence  or  other  serious  criminal  offence  is 
unknown. Indeed,  in  those  cases,  the CIR would  enable identifying the information  system 
that  knows  the  person  in  one  single  search.  By  doing  so,  the  existing  conditions  of  prior 
searches in national databases and of a prior search in the automated fingerprint identification 
system  of  other  Member  States  under  Decision  2008/615/JHA  ('Prüm  check')  become 
redundant. 

The  new  two-step  consultation  approach  would  only  enter  into  force  once  the  necessary 
interoperability components are fully operational.     

• 

Additional elements of this proposal to support the interoperability components 

(1)   In addition to the above components, this draft Regulation also includes the proposal to 
establish  a  central  repository  for  reporting  and  statistics  (CRRS).  This  repository  is 
necessary to enable the creation and sharing of reports with (anonymous) statistical data 
for  policy,  operational  and  data  quality  purposes.  The  current  practice  of  gathering 
statistical data only on the individual information systems is detrimental to data security 
and performance and it does not enable the correlating of data across systems. 

The  CRRS  would  provide  a  dedicated,  separate  repository  for  anonymous  statistics 
extracted  from  SIS,  VIS,  Eurodac,  the  future  EES,  the  proposed  ETIAS,  the  proposed 
ECRIS-TCN system, the common identity repository, the multiple-identity detector  and 
the shared biometric matching service. The repository would provide for the possibility of 
secured sharing of reports (as regulated by the respective legal instruments) to Member 
States, Commission (including Eurostat) and EU agencies. 

Developing one central repository instead of separate repositories for each system would 
lead to a lower cost and less effort for its establishment, operations and maintenance. It 
would  also  bring  a  higher  level  of  data  security  as  data  is  stored  and  access  control  is 
managed in one repository. 

EN 

9 

  EN 

 
(2)   This draft Regulation also proposes to establish the Universal Message Format (UMF) 
as  the  standard  that  would  be  used  at  EU  level  to  orchestrate  interactions  between 
multiple systems in an interoperable way, including the systems developed and managed 
by eu-LISA. The use of the standard by Europol and Interpol would also be encouraged.  

The UMF standard introduces a common and unified technical language to describe and 
link data elements, in particular the elements relating to persons and (travel) documents. 
Using UMF when developing new information systems guarantees easier integration and 
interoperability  with  other  systems,  in  particular  for  Member  States  needing  to  build 
interfaces to communicate with these new systems. In this respect, the compulsory use of 
UMF when developing new systems can be considered a necessary precondition for the 
introduction of the interoperability components proposed in this Regulation. 

In  order  to  ensure  the  complete  roll-out  across  the  EU  of  the  UMF  standard,  an 
appropriate governance structure is proposed. The Commission would be responsible for 
establishing  and  developing  the  UMF  standard,  in  the  framework  of  an  examination 
procedure  with  the  Member  States.  Schengen  associated  states  EU  agencies  and 
international  bodies  participating  in  the  UMF  projects  (such  as  eu-LISA,  Europol  and 
Interpol) will also be involved. The proposed governance structure is vital for the UMF in 
order  to  extend  and  expand  the  standard  while  guaranteeing  maximum  usability  and 
applicability. 

(3)   This  draft  Regulation  furthermore  introduces  the  concepts  of  automated  data  quality 
control mechanisms and common quality indicators, and the need for Member States to 
ensure the highest level of data quality when feeding and using the systems. If data is not 
of  the  highest  quality,  there can  be consequences  not  just  for  not  being able to  identify 
wanted  persons,  but  also  by  affecting  the  fundamental  rights  of  innocent  people.  To 
overcome problems that can arise from the input of data by human operators, automatic 
validation  rules  can  prevent  operators  from  making  mistakes.  The  goal  would  be  to 
automatically  identify  apparently  incorrect  or  inconsistent  data  submissions  so  that  the 
originating Member State is able to verify the data and carry out any necessary remedial 
actions.  This  would  be  supplemented  by  regular  data  quality  reports  to  be  produced  by 
the eu-LISA. 

• 

Consequences for other legal instruments 

Together with its sister proposal, this draft Regulation introduces innovations that will require 
amendments of other legal instruments: 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Regulation (EU) No 2016/399 (the Schengen Borders Code)   

Regulation (EU) 2017/2226 (the EES Regulation) 

Regulation (EC) No 767/2008 (the VIS Regulation) 

Council Decision 2004/512/EC (the VIS Decision) 

Council Decision 2008/633/JHA (the VIS/law enforcement access Decision) 

[the ETIAS Regulation] 

[the Eurodac Regulation] 

[the SIS Regulations] 

EN 

10 

  EN 

 
 

 

[the ECRIS-TCN Regulation, including  the corresponding provisions of Regulation 
(EU) 2016/1624 (the European Border and Coast Guard Regulation)] 

 [the eu-LISA Regulation] 

This  current  proposal  and  its  sister  proposal  include  detailed  provisions  for  the  necessary 
changes to the legal instruments that are currently stable texts as adopted by the co-legislators: 
the  Schengen  Borders  Code,  the  EES  Regulation,  the  VIS  Regulation,  Council  Decision 
2008/633/JHA and Council Decision 2004/512/EC.  

The  other  listed  instruments  (Regulations  on  ETIAS,  Eurodac,  SIS,  ECRIS-TCN,  eu-LISA) 
are  currently  under  negotiation  in  the  European  Parliament  and  Council.  For  these 
instruments, it is therefore not possible to set out the necessary amendments at this stage. The 
Commission will present such amendments for each of these instruments within two weeks of 
a political agreement on the respective draft Regulations being reached.  

• 

Consistency with existing policy provisions in the policy area 

This  proposal  comes  within the framework of the broader process that was launched by the 
April  2016  Communication  Stronger  and  smarter  information  systems  for  borders  and 
security, and the subsequent work of the high-level expert group on information systems and 
interoperability. The aim is to pursue three objectives: 

(a) strengthen and maximize the benefits of existing information systems;   

(b) address information gaps by establishing new information systems; 

(c) enhance interoperability between these systems. 

On the  first objective,  the Commission  adopted proposals in December  2016 for the further 
reinforcement  of  the  existing  Schengen  Information  System  (SIS)25.  On  Eurodac,  following 
the  Commission’s  proposal  of  May  201626,  negotiations  on  the  revised  legal  basis  were 
accelerated. A proposal for a new legal basis for the Visa Information System (VIS) is also 
under preparation, and will be submitted in the second quarter of 2018. 

Regarding  the  second  objective,  negotiations  on  the  Commission’s  April  2016  proposal  to 
establish an Entry/Exit System (EES)27 were concluded as early as July 2017, when the co-
legislators  reached  a  political  agreement,  confirmed  by  the  European  Parliament  in  October 
2017 and formally adopted by the Council in November 2017. The legal base will enter into 
force in December 2017. Negotiations on the November 2016 proposal for the establishment 
of a European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS)28 have started and are 
expected  to  be  finalised  in  the  coming  months.  In  June  2017,  the  Commission  proposed  a 
legal  basis  for  addressing  another  information  gap:  the  European  Criminal  Record 
Information  System  for  third-country  nationals  (ECRIS-TCN  system)29.  Here  again,  the  co-
legislators have indicated that they aim for an early adoption of this legal basis. 

25  COM(2016) 883 final. 
26  COM(2016) 272 final. 
27  COM(2016) 194 final. 
28  COM(2016) 731 final. 
29  COM(2017) 344 final. 

EN 

11 

  EN 

 
 
                                                 
This  current  proposal  addresses 
Communication. 

the 

third  objective 

identified 

in 

the  April  2016 

• 

Consistency with other Union policies in the area of Justice and Home Affairs 

This proposal together with its sister proposal delivers on, and is in line with,  the European 
Agenda  on  Migration  and  subsequent  communications,  including  the  Communication  on 
preserving and strengthening Schengen30, as well as the European Agenda on Security31 and 
the  Commission’s  work  and  progress  reports  towards  an  effective  and  genuine  Security 
Union32. It is consistent with other Union policies, in particular as follows: 

 

 

 

2. 

• 

Internal  security:  the  European  Agenda  on  Security  states  that  common  high 
standards  of  border  management  are  essential  to  prevent  cross-border  crime  and 
terrorism.  This  proposal  further  contributes  to  achieving  a  high  level  of  internal 
security by offering the means for authorities to have fast, seamless, systematic and 
controlled access to the information they require. 

Asylum:  the  proposal  includes  Eurodac  as  one  of  the  central  EU  systems  to  be 
covered by interoperability. 

External border management and security: this proposal reinforces the SIS and VIS 
systems, which contribute to the efficient control of the Union’s external borders, as 
well as the future EES and the proposed ETIAS and ECRIS-TCN system. 

LEGAL BASIS, SUBSIDIARITY AND PROPORTIONALITY 

Legal basis 

The  main  legal  basis  will  be  the  following  articles  of  the  Treaty  on  the  Functioning  of  the 
European Union: Article 16(2), Article 74, Article 78(2)(e), Article 79(2)(c), Article 82(1)(d), 
Article 85(1), Article 87(2)(a) and Article 88(2). 

Under Article 16(2), the Union has the power to adopt measures relating to the protection of 
individuals  with  regard  to  the  processing  of  personal  data  by  Union  institutions,  bodies, 
offices and agencies and by Member States when carrying out activities which fall within the 
scope of Union law, and the rules relating to the free movement of such data. Under Article 
74, the Council can adopt measures to ensure administrative cooperation between departments 
of the Member States in the area of justice, liberty and security. Under Article 78, the Union 
has  the  power  to  adopt  measures  for  a  common  European  asylum  system.  Under  Article 
79(2)(c),  the  Union  has  the  power  to  adopt  measures  in  the  area  of  illegal  immigration  and 
unauthorised  residence.  Under  Articles  82(1)(d)  and  87(2)(a),  the  Union  has  the  power  to 
adopt  measures  to  strengthen  police  and  judicial  cooperation  concerning  the  collection, 
storage, processing, analysis and exchange of relevant information. Under Articles 85(1) and 
88(2), the Union has the power to determine the tasks of Eurojust and Europol, respectively. 

• 

Subsidiarity 

Freedom  of  movement  within  the  EU  requires  that  the  external  borders  of  the  Union  are 
effectively managed to ensure security. Member States have therefore agreed to address these 
challenges collectively, especially by sharing information through centralised EU systems in 

30  COM(2017)570 final. 
31  COM(2015)185 final. 
32  COM(2016)230 final. 

EN 

12 

  EN 

 
                                                 
the area of justice and home affairs. This is confirmed by the various conclusions that have 
been adopted by both the European Council and the Council, especially since 2015. 

The absence of internal border controls requires sound management of the Schengen external 
borders, where each Member State or Schengen associated country has to control the external 
border on behalf of the other Schengen states. Consequently, no Member State alone is able to 
cope on its own with irregular migration and cross-border crime. Third-country nationals who 
enter  the  area  without  internal  border  controls  are  able  to  travel  freely  within  it.  In  an  area 
without  internal  borders,  action  against  irregular  immigration  and  international  crime  and 
terrorism, including through the detection of identity fraud, should be undertaken in common, 
and can only be successfully addressed at EU level. 

Key common information systems at EU level are in place or in the process of being put in 
place.  Enhanced  interoperability  among  these  information  systems  necessarily  entails  EU-
level  action.  At  the  heart  of  the  proposal  is  the  improved  efficiency  and  use  of  centralised 
systems  managed  by  eu-LISA.  By  reason  of  the  scale,  effects  and  impact  of  the  envisaged 
actions, the fundamental objectives can only be achieved efficiently and systematically at EU 
level. 

• 

Proportionality 

As explained in full detail in the impact assessment accompanying this proposed Regulation, 
the policy choices made in this proposal are considered proportionate. They do not go beyond 
what it necessary to achieve the agreed objectives. 

The European search portal (ESP) is a necessary tool to reinforce the authorised use of the 
existing  and  future  EU  information  systems.  The  impact  of  the  ESP  in  terms  of  data 
processing is very limited. It will not store any data, except information regarding the various 
user profiles of the ESP, and the data and information systems to which they have access, and 
keeping  track  of  their  use  by  means  of  logs.  The  role  of  the  ESP  as  a  message  broker,  an 
enabler  and  a  facilitator,  is  proportionate,  necessary  and  limited  in  terms  of  searches  and 
access rights under the mandates of the legal bases dealing with information systems and the 
proposed Regulation on interoperability. 

The shared biometric matching service (shared BMS) is necessary for  the functioning of 
the ESP, the common identity repository and the multiple-identity detector and facilitates the 
use  and  maintenance  of  the  existing  and  future  relevant  EU  information  systems.  Its 
functionality enables the performing of searches on biometric data from various sources in an 
efficient,  seamless  and  systematic  way.  The  biometric  data  are  stored  and  retained  by  the 
underlying  systems.  The  shared  BMS  creates  templates  but  will  discard  the  actual  images. 
The data is thus stored in one location, only once. 

The  common  identity  repository  (CIR)  is  necessary  in  order  to  achieve  the  purpose  of 
correct  identification  of  a  third-country  national,  e.g.  during  an  identity  check  within  the 
Schengen area. The CIR also supports the functioning of the multiple-identity detector and is 
therefore a necessary component to achieve the dual purpose of facilitating identity checks for 
bona  fide  travellers  and  combating  identity  fraud.  Access  to  the  CIR  for  this  purpose  is 
limited to those users that need this information to carry out their tasks (which requires these 
checks  to  become  a  new  ancillary  purpose  of  Eurodac,  VIS,  the  future  EES,  the  proposed 
ETIAS and the proposed ECRIS-TCN system). The data processes are strictly limited to what 
is  needed to achieve this goal, and adequate safeguards will be  established to  ensure access 
rights  are  respected  and  the  data  stored  in  the  CIR  is  the  minimum  necessary.  In  order  to 

EN 

13 

  EN 

 
ensure  data  minimisation  and  to  avoid  unjustified  duplication  of  data,  the  CIR  holds  the 
required  biographic  data  of  each  of  its  underlying  systems  —  stored,  added,  modified  and 
deleted in accordance with their respective legal basis  — without copying it. Data  retention 
terms  are  fully  aligned  with  the  data  retention  provisions  of  the  underlying  information 
systems providing the identity data. 

The multiple-identity detector (MID) is necessary to provide a solution for the detection of 
multiple identities with the dual purpose of facilitating identity checks for bona fide travellers 
and combating identity fraud. The MID will contain the links between individuals present in 
more than one central information system, strictly limited to the data needed to verify that a 
person is  recorded  lawfully or  unlawfully under different biographical identities in different 
systems but also to clarify that two persons having similar biographical data may not be the 
same  person.  Data  processing  through  the  MID  and  the  shared  BMS  in  order  to  link 
individual  files  across  individual  systems  is  kept  to  an  absolute  minimum.  The  MID  will 
include safeguards against potential discrimination or unfavourable decisions for persons with 
multiple lawful identities. 

• 

Choice of the instrument 

A  Regulation  of  the  European  Parliament  and  the  Council  is  proposed.  The  proposed 
legislation addresses directly the operation of central EU information systems for borders and 
security,  all  of  which  have  been,  or  are  proposed  to  be,  established  under  Regulations. 
Similarly,  eu-LISA,  which  will  be  responsible  for  the  design  and  development,  and  in  due 
course  technical  management,  of  the  components  is  also  established  under  a  Regulation.  A 
Regulation is therefore the appropriate choice of instrument. 

3. 

• 

RESULTS  OF  STAKEHOLDER  CONSULTATIONS  AND 
ASSESSMENTS 

IMPACT 

Public consultation 

In preparation of this proposal the Commission launched in July 2017 a public consultation to 
collect the views of interested stakeholders on the subject of interoperability. The consultation 
received 18 responses from a variety of stakeholders, including  Member State governments, 
private  sector  organisations,  other  organisations  such  as  NGOs  and  think  tanks,  as  well  as 
private citizens33. Overall, the responses were broadly in favour of the underlying principles 
of this interoperability proposal. The vast majority of respondents agreed that the issues the 
consultation identified were the correct ones, and that the objectives that the interoperability 
package  seeks  to  achieve  are  correct.  In  particular,  respondents  considered  that  the  options 
outlined in the consultation paper would:  

 

 

 

help staff on the ground access the information they need; 

avoid duplication of data, reduce overlaps and highlight discrepancies in data; 

identify  people  more  reliably  —  including  people  with  multiple  identities  —  and 
reduce identity fraud. 

A clear majority of respondents supported each of the proposed options and considered them 
to be necessary to achieve the objectives of this initiative, underlining in their responses the 
need  for  strong  and  clear  data  protection  measures,  particularly  in  relation  to  access  to  the 

33  Further details are contained in the synopsis report annexed to the impact assessment. 

EN 

14 

  EN 

 
                                                 
information stored in the systems and data retention, and the need for up-to-date, high-quality 
data in the systems and measures to ensure this. 

All the points raised have been taken into account in the preparation of this proposal. 

Eurobarometer survey 

• 
In  June  2017,  a  Special  Eurobarometer34  survey  was  conducted,  showing  that  the  EU’s 
strategy  of  sharing  information  at  EU  level  to  combat  crime  and  terrorism  has  widespread 
public  support:  almost  all  respondents  (92 %)  agree  that  national  authorities  should  share 
information with the authorities of other Member States to better fight crime and terrorism.  

A clear majority (69 %) of respondents expressed the view that the police and other national 
law enforcement authorities should share information with other EU countries on a systematic 
basis. In all Member States, a majority of respondents think that information should be shared 
in every case. 

• 

High-level expert group on information systems and interoperability 

As already indicated in the introduction, this current proposal builds on the recommendations 
of the high-level expert group on information systems and interoperability35. This group 
was  established  in  June  2016  with  the  objective  of  addressing  the  legal,  technical  and 
operational  challenges  of  available  options  to  achieve  interoperability  between  central  EU 
systems for borders and security. The group took a broad and comprehensive perspective on 
the  data  management  architecture  for  border  management  and  law  enforcement,  taking  into 
account also the relevant roles, responsibilities and systems for customs authorities.  

The  group  comprised  experts  from  Member  States  and  Schengen  associated  countries,  and 
from the EU agencies eu-LISA, Europol, the European Asylum Support Office, the European 
Border  and  Coast  Guard  Agency  and  the  EU  Agency  for  Fundamental  Rights.  The  EU 
Counter-Terrorism Coordinator and the European Data Protection Supervisor also participated 
as  full  members  of  the  expert  group.  In  addition,  representatives  of  the  secretariat  of  the 
European  Parliament’s  Committee  on  Civil  Liberties,  Justice  and  Home  Affairs  and  of  the 
General Secretariat of the Council attended as observers. 

The final report of the high-level expert group was published in May 201736. It underlined 
the  need  to  act  to  address  the  structural  shortcomings  identified  in  the  April  2016 
Communication.  It  set  out  a  range  of  recommendations  to  strengthen  and  develop  the  EU’s 
information  systems  and  interoperability.  It  concluded  that  it  is  necessary  and  technically 
feasible  to  work  towards  the  European  search  portal,  the  shared  biometric  matching 
service and the common identity repository as solutions for interoperability and that they 
can,  in  principle,  both  deliver  operational  gains  and  be  established  in  compliance  with  data 
protection requirements. The group also recommended considering the additional option of a 
two-step approach towards law enforcement access, based on a hit-flagging functionality.  

34  The  Report  on  Europeans’  attitudes  towards  security  analyses  the  results  of  the  Special  Eurobarometer 
public opinion survey (464b) regarding citizens’ overall awareness, experiences and perceptions of security. 
This  survey  was  carried  out  by  TNS  Political  &  Social  network  in  the  28 Member  States  between  13  and 
26 June 2017. Some 28 093 EU citizens from different social and demographic categories were interviewed. 
35  Commission  Decision  of  17 June  2016  setting  up  the  high-level  expert  group  on  information  systems  and 

interoperability — 2016/C 257/03. 

36  http://ec.europa.eu/transparency/regexpert/index.cfm?do=groupDetail.groupDetailDoc&id=32600&no=1. 

EN 

15 

  EN 

 
                                                 
This  draft  Regulation  also  responds  to  the  high-level  experts  group’s  recommendations  on 
data quality, the Universal Message Format (UMF) and the establishment of a data warehouse 
(here presented as the central repository for reporting and statistics (CRRS)). 

The fourth interoperability component proposed in this draft Regulation (the multiple-identity 
detector)  was  not  identified  by  the  high-level  expert  group,  but  arose  during  the  course  of 
additional 
the 
Commission. 

the  proportionality  assessment  conducted  by 

technical  analysis  and 

• 

Technical studies 

Three  studies  were  commissioned  to  support  the  preparation  of  the  proposal.  Contracted  by 
the  Commission,  Unisys  delivered  a  report  on  a  feasibility  study  for  the  European  search 
portal.  eu-LISA  commissioned  a  technical  report  from  Gartner  (with  Unisys)  to  support  the 
development of the shared biometric matching service. PWC delivered to the Commission a 
technical report on a common identity repository. 

• 

Impact assessment 

This proposal is supported by an impact assessment as presented in the accompanying Staff 
Working Document SWD(2017) 473. 

The  Regulatory  Scrutiny  Board  reviewed  the  draft  impact  assessment  at  its  meeting  of  6 
December  2017  and  delivered  its  opinion  (positive  with  reservations)  on  8  December 
indicating  that  the  impact  assessment  be  adjusted  in  order  to  integrate  the  Board's 
recommendations  on  specific  aspects.  These  related  firstly  to  additional  measures  under  the 
preferred  option  streamlining  end-users'  existing  data  access  rights  in  EU  information 
systems,  and  to  illustrate  associated  safeguards  for  data  protection  and  fundamental  rights. 
The  second  main  consideration  was  to  clarify  the  integration  of  the  Schengen  Information 
System under option 2, including effectiveness and costs to facilitate its comparison with the 
preferred option 3. The Commission updated its impact assessment to respond to these main 
considerations and to address a number of other comments made by the Board. 

The  impact  assessment  evaluated  if  and  how  each  of  the  identified  objectives  could  be 
achieved by using one or more of the technical components identified by the high-level expert 
group  and  through  subsequent  analysis.  Where  necessary  it  also  looked  into  sub-options 
necessary  to  meet  these  objectives,  whilst  respecting  the  data  protection  framework.  The 
impact assessment concluded that: 

 

 

 

To  meet  the  objective  of  providing authorised  users  with  fast,  seamless,  systematic 
and  controlled  access  to  relevant  information  systems,  a  European  search  portal 
(ESP) should be created, built on a shared biometric matching service (shared BMS) 
to address all databases. 

To meet the objective of facilitating identity checks of third-country nationals, on the 
territory  of  a  Member  State,  by  authorised  officers,  a  common  identity  repository 
(CIR) should be created, containing the minimum set of identification data, and built 
on the same shared BMS. 

To  meet  the  objective  of  detecting  multiple  identities  linked  to  the  same  set  of 
biometric  data,  with  the  dual  purpose  of  facilitating  identity  checks  for  bona  fide 
travellers and combating identity fraud, a multiple-identity detector (MID) should be 
built, containing links between multiple identities across systems. 

EN 

16 

  EN 

 
 

To  meet  the  objective  of  facilitating  and  streamlining  access  by  law  enforcement 
authorities  to  non-law  enforcement  information  systems,  for  the  purpose  of 
preventing, investigating, detecting or prosecuting serious crime and terrorism, a ‘hit-
flag’ functionality should be included in the CIR. 

Since  all  objectives  must  be  met,  the  complete  solution  is  the  combination  of  ESP,  CIR 
(with hit flagging) and MID, all relying on the shared BMS. 

The  major  positive  impact  will  be  the  improvement  of  border  management  and  increased 
internal  security  within  the  European  Union.  The  new  components  will  streamline  and 
expedite  access  by  national  authorities  to  the  necessary  information  and  identification  of 
third-country nationals. They will enable authorities to make cross-links to already existing, 
necessary  information  on  individuals  during  border  checks,  for  visa  or  asylum  applications, 
and for police work. This will enable access to information that can support reliable decisions 
being made, whether relating to investigations of serious crime and terrorism or decisions in 
the  field  of  migration  and  asylum.  Whilst  not  directly  affecting  EU  nationals  (the  proposed 
measures  are  primarily  focused  on  third-country  nationals  whose  data  is  recorded  in  an  EU 
centralised information system), the proposals are expected to generate increased public trust 
by ensuring that their design and use increases the security of EU citizens. 

The immediate financial and economic impacts of the proposal will be limited to the design, 
development and operation of the new facilities. The costs will fall to the EU budget and to 
Member State authorities operating the systems. The impact on tourism will be positive as the 
proposed measures will both improve the security of the European Union and should also be 
beneficial for a speedier border control. Similarly, the impact on airports, seaports and carriers 
is expected to be positive, in particular because of expedited border control checks. 

 • 

Fundamental rights 

The  impact  assessment  looked  in  particular  into  the  impacts  of  the  proposed  measures  on 
fundamental rights and, in particular, to the right to data protection.   

In  accordance  with  the  Charter  of  Fundamental  Rights  of  the  EU,  to  which  EU  institutions 
and Member States, when they implement EU law, are bound (Article 51(1) of the Charter), 
the  opportunities  offered  by  interoperability  as  a  measure  to  enhance  security  and  the 
protection  of  the  external  border  need  to  be  balanced  with  the  obligation  to  ensure  that 
interferences  with  fundamental  rights  that  may  derive  from  the  new  interoperability 
environment  are  limited  to  what  is  strictly  necessary  to  genuinely  meet  the  objectives  of 
general  interest  pursued,  subject  to  the  principle  of  proportionality  (Article  52(1)  of  the 
Charter). 

The  proposed  interoperability  solutions  are  complementary components  to  existing systems. 
As  such,  they  would  not  alter  the  balance  already  ensured  by  each  of  the  existing  central 
systems as regards their positive impact on fundamental rights. 

Nevertheless, interoperability does have the potential of having an additional, indirect impact 
on a number of fundamental rights. Indeed, the correct identification of a person has a positive 
impact  on  the  right  to  respect  for  private  life,  and  in  particular  the  right  to  one’s  identity 
(Article 7 of the Charter), as it can contribute to avoid identity confusions. On the other hand, 
conducting checks based on biometric data can be perceived as interfering with the person’s 
right  to  dignity  (in  particular,  where  it  is  perceived  as  humiliating)  (Article  1).  Yet  in  a 

EN 

17 

  EN 

 
survey37  by  the  EU  Agency  for  Fundamental  Rights,  respondents  were  specifically  asked 
whether they believed that giving their biometrics in the context of border control might be 
humiliating. The majority of respondents did not feel that it would. 

The proposed interoperability components offer the opportunity to adopt targeted preventive 
measures to enhance security. As such, they can contribute to the protection of people’s right 
to life (Article 2 of the Charter), which also implies a positive obligation on authorities to take 
preventive operational measures to protect an individual whose life is at risk, if they know or 
ought  to  have  known  of  the  existence  of  an  immediate  risk38,  as  well  as  to  uphold  the 
prohibition of slavery and forced labour (Article 5).Through a reliable,  more accessible and 
easier identification, interoperability can support the detection of missing children or children 
subject to people trafficking, and facilitate swift and targeted responses. 

A reliable, more accessible and easier identification could also contribute to ensuring that the 
right to asylum (Article 18 of the Charter) and the prohibition of refoulement (Article 19 of 
the  Charter)  are  effectively  ensured.  Interoperability  could  in  fact  prevent  situations  where 
asylum applicants are unlawfully apprehended, detained and made subject to undue expulsion. 
Furthermore, through interoperability, identity fraud will be more easily identified. It would 
also  reduce  the  need  to  share  data  and  information  about  asylum  applicants  with  third 
countries  (particularly  the  country  of  origin)  for  the  purpose  of  establishing  the  person’s 
identity  and  obtaining  travel  documents,  which  could  potentially  endanger  the  person 
concerned. 

• 

Protection of personal data 

Given the personal data involved, interoperability will especially have an impact on the right 
to  the  protection  of  personal  data.  This  right  is  established  by  Article  8  of  the  Charter  and 
Article  16  of  the  Treaty  on  the  Functioning  of  the  European  Union,  and  in  Article  8  of  the 
European Convention on Human Rights. As underlined by the Court of Justice of the EU39, 
the right to the protection of personal data is not an absolute right, but must be considered in 
relation to its function in society40. Data protection is closely linked to respect for private and 
family life protected by Article 7 of the Charter. 

According to the General Data Protection Regulation41, the free movement of data within the 
EU is not to be restricted for reasons of data protection. However, a series of principles must 
be  met.  Indeed,  to  be  lawful,  any  limitation  on  the  exercise  of  the  fundamental  rights 
protected  by  the  Charter  must  comply  with  the  following  criteria,  laid  down  in  its 

37  FRA survey in the framework of the eu-LISA pilot on smart borders — travellers’ views on and experiences 
of  smart  borders,  Report  by  the  EU  Agency  for  Fundamental  Rights:  http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/home-
affairs/what-we-do/policies/borders-and-visas/smart-borders/docs/smart_borders_pilot_-
_technical_report_annexes_en.pdf. 

38  European Court of Human Rights, Osman v United Kingdom, No. 87/1997/871/1083, 28 October 1998, para. 

116. 

39  Court of Justice of the EU, judgment of 9.11.2010, Joined Cases C-92/09 and C-93/09 Volker und Markus 

Schecke and Eifert [2010] ECR I-0000. 

40  In  line  with  Article  52(1)  of  the  Charter,  limitations  may  be  imposed  on  the  exercise  of  the  right  to  data 
protection as long as the limitations are provided for by law, respect  the essence of the right and freedoms 
and,  subject  to  the  principle  of  proportionality,  are  necessary  and  genuinely  meet  objectives  of  general 
interest recognised by the European Union or the need to protect the rights and freedoms of others. 

41  Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection 
of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, and 
repealing Directive 95/46/EC (General Data Protection Regulation). 

EN 

18 

  EN 

 
 
 
                                                 
Article 52(1):  

 

 

 

 

 

it must be provided for by law; 

it must respect the essence of the rights; 

it must genuinely meet objectives of general interest recognised by the Union or the 
need to protect the rights and freedoms of others; 

it must be necessary; and 

it must be proportional. 

This  current  proposal  embeds  all  these  data  protection  rules,  as  set  out  in  full  detail  in  the 
impact  assessment  accompanying  this  proposed  Regulation.  The  proposal  is  based  on  the 
principles  of  data  protection  by design  and by default. It includes  all appropriate provisions 
limiting data processing to what is necessary for the specific purpose and granting data access 
only  to  those  entities  that  ‘need  to  know’.  Data  retention  periods  (where  relevant)  are 
appropriate and limited. Access to data is reserved exclusively for duly authorised staff of the 
Member State authorities or EU bodies that are competent for the specific purposes of each 
information system and limited to the extent that the data are required for the performance of 
tasks in accordance with these purposes. 

4. 

BUDGETARY IMPLICATIONS 

The  budgetary  implications  are  included  in  the  attached  financial  statement.  It  covers  the 
remaining  period  of  the  current  multiannual  financial  framework (until  2020)  and  the  seven 
years  of  the  following  period  (2021-2027).  The  proposed  budget  for  the  years  2021  and 
beyond  is  included  for  illustrative  purposes  and  does  not  prejudge  the  next  multiannual 
financial framework.  

The implementation of this proposal will require budgetary allocations for: 

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

(4) 

(5) 

The  development  and  integration  by  eu-LISA  of  the  four  interoperability 
components,  and  the  central  repository  for  reporting  and  statistics,  and  their 
subsequent maintenance and operations. 

The data migration to the shared biometric matching service (shared BMS) and the 
common  identity  repository  (CIR).  In  the  case  of  the  shared  BMS,  the  biometric 
templates  of  the  corresponding  data  from  the  three  systems  that  currently  use 
biometrics (SIS, VIS and Eurodac) need to be recreated on the shared BMS. In the 
case  of  CIR,  the  personal  data  elements  from  VIS  need  to  be  migrated  to  the  CIR, 
and the possible links found between identities in SIS, VIS and Eurodac need to be 
validated. This last process, in particular, is resource intensive.  

The update by eu-LISA of the national uniform interface (NUI) already included in 
the  EES  Regulation  to  become  a  generic  component  that  allows  the  exchange  of 
messages between Member States and the central system(s). 

The integration of Member State national systems with the NUI that will convey 
the  messages exchanged with  CIR/ multiple-identity detector  through the European 
search portal. 

The training on the use of the interoperability components by end-users, including 
through the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Training (CEPOL).   

EN 

19 

  EN 

 
 
The  interoperability  components  are  built  and  maintained  as  a  programme.  While  the 
European search portal (ESP) and the multiple-identity detector are entirely new components, 
along with the central repository for reporting and statistics (CRRS), the shared BMS and the 
CIR are shared components that combine existing data held (or to be held) in existing or new 
systems with their existing budgetary estimates. 

The ESP will implement existing, known interfaces towards SIS, VIS and Eurodac and will in 
due course be extended towards new systems.  

The ESP will be used by Member States and agencies using an interface based on Universal 
Message  Format  (UMF).  This  new  interface  will  require  developments,  adaptations, 
integrations  and  testing  by  the  Member  States,  eu-LISA,  Europol  and  the  European  Border 
and Coast Guard Agency. The ESP would use the concepts of the national uniform interface 
(NUI) introduced for EES, which would lower the integration efforts.  

The  ESP  will  generate  additional  costs  for  Europol  in  order  to  make  the  QUEST  interface 
available for use with basic protection level (BPL) data. 

The basis of the shared BMS will de facto be established with the creation of the new EES as 
this  constitutes  by  far  the  greatest  volume  of  new  biometric  data.  The  required  budget  was 
reserved  under  the  EES  legal  instrument.  Adding  further  biometric  data  from  VIS,  SIS  and 
Eurodac to  the shared  BMS constitutes an additional cost mainly  linked to  the migration  of 
existing data. This is estimated at EUR 10 m for all three systems. Adding new biometric data 
from  the  proposed  ECRIS-TCN  system  constitutes  a  limited  additional  cost  that  can  be 
covered from the funds reserved under the proposed ECRIS-TCN legal instrument to establish 
an ECRIS-TCN automated fingerprint identification system. 

The common identity repository will be established with the creation of the future EES and 
further extended  when developing  the  proposed  ETIAS.  The  storage  and  search  engines  for 
these data were included in the budget reserved under the future EES and the proposed ETIAS 
legal instruments. Adding new biographical data from both Eurodac and the proposed ECRIS-
TCN system constitutes a minor additional cost that was already reserved under the Eurodac 
and the proposed ECRIS-TCN legal instruments. 

The  total  budget  required  over  nine  years  (2019-2027)  amounts  to  EUR 424.7 million, 
covering the following items: 

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

A  budget  of  EUR 225 million  for  eu-LISA  which  covers  the  total  cost  for  the 
development  of  the  programme  delivering  the  five  interoperability  components 
(EUR 68.3 million),  the  maintenance  cost  from  the  moment  components  are 
delivered up until 2027 (EUR 56.1 million), a specific budget of EUR 25 million for 
the  migration  of  data  from  existing  systems  to  the  shared  BMS  and  the  additional 
costs  for  the  NUI  update,  network,  training  and  meetings.  A  specific  budget  of 
EUR 18.7 million covers the cost of upgrading  and operating ECRIS-TCN in  high-
availability mode from 2022. 

A  budget  of  EUR 136.3 million  for  Member  States  to  cover  the  changes  to  their 
national systems in order to use the interoperability components, the NUI delivered 
by eu-LISA and a budget for the training of the substantial end-user community. 

A  budget  of  EUR 48.9 million  for  Europol  to  cover  the  upgrade  of  Europol's  IT 
systems  to  the  volume  of  messages  to  be  handled  and  the  increased  performance 

EN 

20 

  EN 

 
(4) 

(5) 

(6) 

levels42. The interoperability components will be used by ETIAS in order to consult 
the Europol data.  

A budget of EUR 4.8 million for the European Border and Coast Guard Agency for 
hosting  a  team  of  specialists  who  during  one  year  will  validate  the  links  between 
identities at the moment the multiple-identity detector goes live.  

A  budget  of  EUR 2.0 million  for  European  Union  Agency  for  Law  Enforcement 
Training  (CEPOL)  to  cover  the  preparation  and  delivery  of  training  to  operational 
staff. 

A provision of EUR 7.7 million for DG HOME in order to cover a limited increase 
of staff and related costs during the development period of the different components, 
as  the  Commission  will  also  have  to  fulfil  additional  tasks  during  that  period  and 
takes the responsibility for the committee dealing with Universal Message Format. 

The  Internal  Security  Fund  (ISF)  Borders  Regulation  is  the  financial  instrument  where  the 
budget for the implementation of the interoperability initiative has been included. It provides 
in  Article  5(b)  that  EUR 791 million  is  to  be  implemented  through  a  programme  for 
developing IT systems based on existing and/or new IT systems, supporting the management 
of migration flows across the external borders subject to the adoption of the relevant Union 
legislative acts and under the conditions laid down in Article 15(5). Of this EUR 791 million, 
EUR 480.2 million is reserved for the development of the EES, EUR 210 million for ETIAS 
and  EUR 67.9 million  for  the  revision  of  SIS.  The  remainder  (EUR 32.9 million)  is  to  be 
reallocated using ISF-B mechanisms. The current proposal requires EUR 32.1 million for the 
current  multiannual  financial  framework  period  (2019/20)  which  therefore  fits  with  the 
remaining budget. 

5. 

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION 

• 

Implementation plans and monitoring, evaluation and reporting arrangements 

eu-LISA is responsible for the operational management of large-scale IT systems in the area 
of  freedom,  security  and  justice.  As  such,  it  is  already  entrusted  with  the  operation  and 
technical  and  operational  improvements  of  existing  systems,  and  the  development  of  the 
future systems already envisaged. Under this proposed Regulation, it will define the design of 
the  physical  architecture  of  the  interoperability  components,  develop  and  implement  them, 
and ultimately host them. The respective components will be implemented incrementally, in 
conjunction with the development of the underlying systems.   

The  Commission  will  ensure  that  systems  are  in  place  to  monitor  the  development  and 
functioning  of  the  four  components  (European  search  portal,  shared  biometric  matching 
service, common identity repository, multiple-identity detector) and the central repository for 
reporting and statistics, and evaluate them against the main policy objectives. Four years after 
the  functionalities  are  put  in  place  and  operating,  and  every  four  years  thereafter,  eu-LISA 
should submit to the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission a report on the 
technical  functioning  of  the  interoperability  components.  In  addition,  five  years  after  the 
functionalities are put in place and operating, and every four years thereafter, the Commission 

42  The current information handling capacity of Europol is not compliant with the substantial volumes (average 

of 100,000 queries per day) and shortened response time that will be required by ETIAS. 

EN 

21 

  EN 

 
 
 
                                                 
should  produce  an  overall  evaluation  of  the  components,  including  on  the  direct  or  indirect 
impact of the components and of its practical implementation on fundamental rights. It should 
examine  results  achieved  against  objectives  and  assess  the  continuing  validity  of  the 
underlying rationale and any implications for future options. The Commission should submit 
the evaluation reports to the European Parliament and the Council. 

• 

Detailed explanation of the specific provisions of the proposal 

Chapter  I  sets  out  the  general  provisions  for  this  Regulation.  It  explains:  the  principles 
that 
underlying  the  Regulation;  the  components  established  therein;  the  objectives 
interoperability  seeks  to  address;  the  scope  of  this  Regulation;  the  definitions  of  the  terms 
used  in  this  Regulation;  and  the  principle  of  non-discrimination  regarding  the  processing  of 
data under this Regulation.  

Chapter II sets out the provisions for the European search portal (ESP). This chapter provides 
for the establishment of the ESP and its technical architecture, to be developed by eu-LISA. It 
specifies the aim of the ESP and identifies those who may use the ESP and how they are to 
use  it  in  accordance  with  existing  access  rights  for  each  of  the  central  systems.  There  is  a 
provision for eu-LISA to create user profiles for each category of user. This chapter sets out 
how the ESP will query central systems and provides for the content and format of replies to 
users.  Chapter II also provides that eu-LISA will keep logs of all processing operations, and 
provides for the fall-back procedure in case the ESP would be unable to access one or more of 
the central systems. 

Chapter III sets out the provisions for the shared biometric matching service (shared BMS). 
This chapter provides for the establishment of the shared BMS and its technical architecture, 
to be developed by eu-LISA. It specifies the aim of the shared BMS and sets out what data it 
stores.  It  explains  the  relationship  between  the  shared  BMS  and  the  other  components. 
Chapter III also provides that the shared BMS will not continue to store data once the data is 
no longer contained in the respective central system and provides that eu-LISA will keep logs 
of all processing operations. 

Chapter  IV  sets  out  the  provisions  for  the  common  identity  repository  (CIR).  This  chapter 
provides  for  the  establishment  of  the  CIR  and  its  technical architecture,  to  be  developed  by 
eu-LISA.  It  sets  out  the  aim  of  the  CIR  and  clarifies  which  data  will  be  stored,  and  how, 
including  provisions  to  ensure  the  quality  of  the  data  stored.  This  chapter  provides  that  the 
CIR will create individual files based on data held in the central systems, and that individual 
files  are  updated  in  line  with  changes  in  the  individual  central  systems.  Chapter  IV  also 
specifies how the CIR will operate in relation to the multiple-identity detector. This chapter 
identifies  those  who  may  have  access  to  the  CIR  and  how  they  may  access  the  data  in 
accordance with access rights, and more specific provisions depending on whether access is 
for identification purposes or, as a first step of the two-step approach, for accessing the EES, 
the VIS, the ETIAS and Eurodac via the CIR for law enforcement purposes. Chapter IV also 
provides that eu-LISA will keep logs of all processing operations concerning the CIR. 

Chapter  V  sets  out  the  provisions  for  the  multiple-identity  detector  (MID).  This  chapter 
provides for the establishment of the MID and its technical architecture, to be developed by 
eu-LISA. It explains the aim of the MID and regulates the use of the MID in accordance with 
access rights to each of the central systems. Chapter V sets out when and how the MID will 
launch searches to detect multiple identities, and how results are delivered and to be followed 
up, including when necessary through manual verification. Chapter V sets out a classification 
of the types of link that can result from the search depending on whether the result shows a 
single identity, multiple identities or shared identity data. This chapter provides that the MID 

EN 

22 

  EN 

 
will store linked data held in the central systems while data remains in two or more individual 
central  systems.  Chapter  V  also  provides  that  eu-LISA  will  keep  logs  of  all  processing 
operations concerning the MID. 

Chapter  VI  makes  provision  for  measures  to  support  interoperability.  It  provides  for 
improving data quality, establishing the Universal Message Format as the common standard 
for  information  exchange  supporting  interoperability,  and  creating  a  central  repository  for 
reporting and statistics. 

Chapter  VII  relates  to  data  protection.  This  chapter  makes  provisions  ensuring  that  data 
processed  under  this  Regulation  is  processed  lawfully  and  appropriately,  in  line  with  the 
provisions of Regulation No 45/2001. It explains who the data processor will be for each of 
the interoperability measures proposed in this Regulation, sets out measures required from eu-
LISA  and  Member  State  authorities  to  ensure  the  security  of  data  processing,  the 
confidentiality  of  data,  the  appropriate  handling  of  security  incidents  and  the  appropriate 
monitoring  of  compliance  with  the  measures  in  this  Regulation.  The  chapter  also  contains 
provisions regarding the rights of data subjects, including  the right  to  be informed that data 
regarding them has been stored and processed under this Regulation, and the right to access, 
correct and erase personal data that has been stored and processed under this Regulation. This 
chapter  further  sets  out  the  principle  that  data  processed  under  this  Regulation  must  not  be 
transferred or made available to any third country, international organisation or private party, 
with the exception of Interpol for some specific purposes, and data received from Europol via 
the  European  search  portal  where  the  rules  of  Regulation  2016/794  on  subsequent  data 
processing apply. Lastly, the chapter sets out the provisions relating to supervision and audit 
in relation to data protection. 

Chapter VIII sets out the responsibilities eu-LISA before and after the entry into operations of 
the measures in this proposal, and for Member States, Europol and the ETIAS central unit. 

Chapter IX sets out details relating to: statistical and reporting requirements relating to data 
processed  under  this  Regulation;  transitional  measures  that  will  be  required;  arrangements 
relating  to  costs  arising  from  this  Regulation;  requirements  relating  to  notifications;  the 
process  for  the  start  of  operations  of  measures  proposed  in  this  Regulation;  governance 
arrangements  including  the  formation  of  a  committee  and  an  advisory  group,  eu-LISA's 
responsibility in relation to training, and a practical handbook to support implementation and 
management  of  the  interoperability  components;  procedures  relating  to  monitoring  and 
evaluation of the measures proposed in this Regulation; and provision for the entry into force 
of this Regulation. 

EN 

23 

  EN 

 
2017/0352 (COD) 

Proposal for a 

REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL 

on establishing a framework for interoperability between EU information systems 
(police and judicial cooperation, asylum and migration) 

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, 

Having  regard  to  the  Treaty  on  the  Functioning  of  the  European  Union,  and  in  particular 
Article  16(2),  Article  74,  Article  78(2)(e),  Article  79(2)(c),  Article  82(1)(d),  Article  85(1), 
Article 87(2)(a) and Article 88(2) thereof, 

Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission, 

After transmission of the draft legislative act to the national parliaments, 

After consulting the European Data Protection Supervisor, 
Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee,43  
Having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions,44  

Acting in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure, 

Whereas: 

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

In  its  Communication  of  6  April  2016  entitled  Stronger  and  Smarter  Information 
Systems for Borders and Security45, the  Commission underlined the need to  improve 
the  Union's  data  management  architecture  for  border  management  and  security.  The 
Communication initiated a process towards achieving the interoperability between EU 
information systems for security, border and migration management, with the aim to 
address the structural  shortcomings  related to  these systems that impede  the work of 
national  authorities  and  to  ensure  that  border  guards,  customs  authorities,  police 
officers and judicial authorities have the necessary information at their disposal. 

In  its  Roadmap  to  enhance  information  exchange  and  information  management 
including  interoperability  solutions  in  the  Justice  and  Home  Affairs  area  of  6  June 
201646, the Council identified various legal, technical and operational challenges in the 
interoperability of EU information systems and called for the pursuit of solutions. 

In its Resolution of 6 July 2016 on the strategic priorities for the Commission  Work 
Programme  201747,  the  European  Parliament  called  for  proposals  to  improve  and 
develop existing EU information systems, address information gaps and move towards 
their interoperability, as well as proposals  for compulsory information sharing at EU 
level, accompanied by the necessary data protection safeguards. 

43  OJ C , , p. . 
44 
45  COM(2016)205, 6.4.2016. 
46  Roadmap  of  6  June  2016  to  enhance  information  exchange  and  information  management  including 

interoperability solutions in the Justice and Home Affairs area — 9368/1/16 REV 1. 

47  European  Parliament  resolution  of  6  July  2016  on  the  strategic  priorities  for  the  Commission  Work 

Programme 2017 (2016/2773(RSP). 

EN 

24 

  EN 

 
                                                 
 
(4) 

(5) 

(6) 

(7) 

(8) 

The  European  Council  of  15  December  201648  called  for  continued  delivery  on  the 
interoperability of EU information systems and databases. 
In  its  final  report  of  11  May  201749,  the  high-level  expert  group  on  information 
systems and interoperability concluded that it is necessary and technically feasible to 
work  towards  practical  solutions  for  interoperability  and  that  they  can,  in  principle, 
both  deliver  operational  gains  and  be  established  in  compliance  with  data  protection 
requirements. 

In  its  Communication  of  16  May  2017  entitled  Seventh  progress  report  towards  an 
effective  and  genuine  Security  Union50,  the  Commission  set  out,  in  line  with  its 
Communication of 6 April 2016 and confirmed by the findings and recommendations 
of  the  high-level  expert  group  on  information  systems  and  interoperability,  a  new 
approach to the management of data for borders, security and migration where all EU 
information systems for security, border and migration management are interoperable 
in full respect of fundamental rights. 
In  its  Conclusions  of  9  June  201751  on  the  way  forward  to  improve  information 
exchange  and  ensure  the  interoperability  of  EU  information  systems,  the  Council 
invited the Commission to pursue the solutions for interoperability as proposed by the 
high-level expert group. 
The  European  Council  of  23  June  201752  underlined  the  need  to  improve  the 
interoperability between databases and invited the Commission to prepare, as soon as 
possible, draft legislation enacting the proposals made by the high-level expert group 
on information systems and interoperability. 

(9)  With  a  view  to  improve  the  management  of  the  external  borders,  to  contribute  to 
preventing  and  combating  irregular  migration  and  to  contribute  to  a  high  level  of 
security  within  the  area  of  freedom,  security  and  justice  of  the  Union,  including  the 
maintenance of public security and public policy and safeguarding the security in the 
territories  of  the  Member  States,  interoperability  between  EU  information  systems, 
namely  the  Entry/Exit  System  (EES),  the  Visa  Information  System  (VIS),  [the 
European  Travel  Information  and  Authorisation  System  (ETIAS)],  Eurodac,  the 
Schengen Information System (SIS), and the [European Criminal Records Information 
System  for  third-country  nationals  (ECRIS-TCN)]  should  be  established  in  order  for 
these  EU  information  systems  and  their  data  to  supplement  each  other.  To  achieve 
this,  a  European  search  portal  (ESP),  a  shared  biometric  matching  service  (shared 
BMS),  a  common  identity  repository  (CIR)  and  a  multiple-identity  detector  (MID) 
should be established as interoperability components. 

(10)  The  interoperability  between  the  EU  information  systems  should  allow  said  systems  
to  supplement  each  other  in  order  to  facilitate  the  correct  identification  of  persons, 
contribute to fighting identity fraud, improve and harmonise data quality requirements 
of  the  respective  EU  information  systems,  facilitate  the  technical  and  operational 
implementation  by  Member  States  of  existing  and  future  EU  information  systems, 
strengthen  and  simplify  the  data  security  and  data  protection  safeguards  that  govern 
the respective EU information systems, streamline the law enforcement access to the 

48  http://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2016/12/15/euco-conclusions-final/. 
49  http://ec.europa.eu/transparency/regexpert/index.cfm?do=groupDetail.groupDetailDoc&id=32600&no=1. 
50  COM(2017) 261 final, 16.5.2017. 
51  http://www.consilium.europa.eu/media/22186/st10136en17-vf.pdf. 
52  European Council conclusions, 22-23 June 2017. 

EN 

25 

  EN 

 
                                                 
EES,  the  VIS,  the  [ETIAS]  and  Eurodac,  and  support  the  purposes  of  the  EES,  the 
VIS, the [ETIAS], Eurodac, the SIS and the [ECRIS-TCN system]. 

(11)  The  interoperability  components  should  cover  the  EES,  the  VIS,  the  [ETIAS], 
Eurodac, the SIS, and the [ECRIS-TCN system]. They should also cover the Europol 
data  to  the  extent  of  enabling  it  to  be  queried  simultaneously  with  these  EU 
information systems. 

(12)  The interoperability components should concern persons in respect of whom personal 
data may be processed in the EU information systems and by Europol, namely third-
country nationals whose personal data is processed in the EU information systems and 
by  Europol,  and  to  EU  citizens  whose  personal  data  is  processed  in  the  SIS  and  by 
Europol. 

(13)  The  European  search  portal  (ESP)  should  be  established  to  facilitate  technically  the 
ability  of  Member  State  authorities  and  EU  bodies  to  have  fast,  seamless,  efficient, 
systematic and controlled access to the EU information systems, the Europol data and 
the  Interpol databases  needed  to  perform  their  tasks,  in  accordance  with  their  access 
rights, and to support the  objectives of the EES, the VIS, the [ETIAS], Eurodac, the 
SIS,  the  [ECRIS-TCN  system]  and  the  Europol  data.  Enabling  the  simultaneous 
querying of all relevant EU information systems in parallel, as well as of the Europol 
data  and  the  Interpol  databases,  the  ESP  should  act  as  a  single  window  or  ‘message 
broker’  to  search  various  central  systems  and  retrieve  the  necessary  information 
seamlessly and in full respect of the access control and data protection requirements of 
the underlying systems. 

(14)  Those  European  search  portal  (ESP)  end-users  that  have  the  right  to  access  Europol 
data under Regulation (EU) 2016/794 of the European Parliament and of the Council53 
should  be  able  to  query  the  Europol  data  simultaneously  with  the  EU  information 
systems  to  which  they  have  access.  Any  further  data  processing  following  such  a 
query  should  take  place  in  accordance  with  Regulation  (EU)  2016/794,  including 
restrictions on access or use imposed by the data provider. 

(15)  The European search portal (ESP) should be developed and configured in such a way 
that  it  does  not  allow  the  use  of  fields  of  data  for  the  query  that  are  not  related  to 
persons or travel documents or that are not present in an EU information system, in the 
Europol data or in the Interpol database. 

(16)  To ensure fast and systematic use of all EU information systems, the European search 
portal  (ESP)  should  be  used  to  query  the  common  identity  repository,  the  EES,  the 
VIS,  [the  ETIAS],  Eurodac  and  [the  ECRIS-TCN  system].  However,  the  national 
connection to the different EU information systems should remain in order to provide 
a  technical  fall  back.  The  ESP  should  also  be  used  by  Union  bodies  to  query  the 
Central SIS in accordance with their access rights and in order to perform their tasks. 
The ESP should be an additional means to query the Central SIS, the Europol data and 
the Interpol systems, complementing the existing dedicated interfaces.  

(17)  Biometric data, such as fingerprints and facial images, are unique and therefore much 
more  reliable  than  alphanumeric  data  for  identifying  a  person.  The  shared  biometric 
matching  service  (shared  BMS)  should  be  a  technical  tool  to  reinforce  and  facilitate 

53  Regulation (EU) 2016/794 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 May 2016 on the European 
Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol) and replacing and repealing Council Decisions 
2009/371/JHA, 2009/934/JHA, 2009/935/JHA, 2009/936/JHA and 2009/968/JHA (OJ L 135, 24.5.2016, p. 
53). 

EN 

26 

  EN 

 
                                                 
the  work  of  the  relevant  EU  information  systems  and  the  other  interoperability 
components.  The  main  purpose  of  the  shared  BMS  should  be  to  facilitate  the 
identification  of  an  individual  who  may  be  registered  in  different  databases,  by 
matching  their  biometric  data  across  different  systems  and  by  relying  on  one  unique 
technological  component  instead  of  five  different  ones  in  each  of  the  underlying 
systems.  The  shared  BMS  should  contribute  to  security,  as  well  as  financial, 
maintenance  and  operational  benefits  by  relying  on  one  unique  technological 
component instead of different ones in each of the underlying systems. All automated 
fingerprint identification systems, including those currently used for Eurodac, the VIS 
and  the  SIS,  use  biometric  templates  comprised  of  data  derived  from  a  feature 
extraction of actual biometric samples. The shared BMS should regroup and store all 
these biometric templates in one single location, facilitating cross-system comparisons 
using biometric data and enabling economies of scale in developing and maintaining 
the EU central systems. 

(18)  Biometric data constitute sensitive personal data. This regulation should lay down the 
basis  for  and  the  safeguards  for  processing  of  such  data  for  the  purpose  of  uniquely 
identifying the persons concerned. 

(19)  The  systems  established  by  Regulation  (EU)  2017/2226  of  the  European  Parliament 
and of the Council54, Regulation (EC) No 767/2008 of the European Parliament and of 
the  Council55,  [the  ETIAS  Regulation]  for  the  management  of  the  borders  of  the 
Union,  the system  established  by  [the  Eurodac Regulation] to  identify the  applicants 
for international protection and combat irregular migration, and the system established 
by [the ECRIS-TCN system Regulation] require in order to be effective to rely on the 
accurate  identification  of  the  third-country  nationals  whose  personal  data  are  stored 
therein.  

(20)  The  common  identity  repository  (CIR)  should  therefore  facilitate  and  assist  in  the 
correct identification of persons registered in the EES, the VIS, [the ETIAS], Eurodac 
and [the ECRIS-TCN system]. 

(21)  Personal data stored in these EU information systems may relate to the same persons 
but under different or incomplete identities. Member States dispose of efficient ways 
to  identify  their  citizens  or  registered  permanent  residents  in  their  territory,  but  the 
same  is  not  true  for  third-country  nationals.  The  interoperability  between  EU 
information  systems  should  contribute  to  the  correct  identification  of  third-country 
nationals.  The  common  identity  repository  (CIR)  should  store  the  personal  data 
concerning third-country nationals present in the systems that are necessary to enable 
the more accurate identification of those individuals, therefore including their identity, 
travel  document  and  biometric  data,  regardless  of  the  system  in  which  the  data  was 
originally  collected.  Only  the  personal  data  strictly  necessary  to  perform  an  accurate 
identity  check  should  be  stored  in  the  CIR.  The  personal  data  recorded  in  the  CIR 
should  be  kept  for  no  longer  than  is  strictly  necessary  for  the  purposes  of  the 

54Regulation (EU) 2017/2226 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 November 2017 establishing 
an  Entry/Exit System  (EES) to  register  entry and  exit data  and  refusal of  entry data of  third-country  nationals 
crossing the external borders of the Member States and determining the conditions for access to the EES for law 
enforcement  purposes,  and  amending  the  Convention  implementing  the  Schengen  Agreement  and  Regulations 
(EC) No 767/2008 and (EU) No 1077/2011 (EES Regulation) (OJ L 327, 9.12.2017, p. 20–82). 
55  Regulation (EC) No 767/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 July 2008 concerning the 
Visa Information System (VIS) and the exchange of data between Member States on short-stay visas (VIS 
Regulation) (OJ L 218, 13.8.2008, p. 60). 

EN 

27 

  EN 

 
                                                 
underlying systems and should be automatically deleted when the data is deleted in the 
underlying systems in accordance with their logical separation. 

(22)  The  new  processing  operation  consisting  in  the  storage  of  such  data  in  the  common 
identity  repository  (CIR)  instead  of  the  storage  in  each  of  the  separate  systems  is 
necessary  to  increase  the  accuracy  of  the  identification  that  is  made  possible  by  the 
automated  comparison  and  matching  of  such  data.  The  fact  that  the  identity  and 
biometric data of third-country nationals is stored in the CIR should not hinder in any 
way the processing of data for the purposes of the EES, the VIS, the ETIAS, Eurodac 
or the ECRIS-TCN system Regulations, as the CIR should be a new shared component 
of those underlying systems. 

(23) 

In that connection, creating an individual file in the common identity repository (CIR) 
for  each  person  that  is  recorded  in  the  EES,  the  VIS,  the  ETIAS,  Eurodac  or  the 
ECRIS-TCN  system,  is  necessary  to  achieve  the  purpose  of  correct  identification  of 
third-country nationals within the Schengen area, and to support the multiple-identity 
detector for the dual purpose of facilitating identity checks for bona fide travellers and 
combating identity fraud. The individual file should store in one single place and make 
accessible  to  the  duly  authorised  end-users  all  the  possible  identities  linked  to  a 
person. 

(24)  The  common  identity  repository  (CIR)  should  thus  support  the  functioning  of  the 
multiple-identity  detector  and  to  facilitate  and  streamline  access  by  law  enforcement 
authorities  to  the  EU  information  systems  that  are  not  established  exclusively  for 
purposes of prevention, investigation, detection or prosecution of serious crime.  

(25)  The  common  identity  repository  (CIR)  should  provide  for  a  shared  container  for 
identity and biometric data of third-country nationals registered in the EES, the VIS, 
[the ETIAS], Eurodac and the [ECRIS-TCN system], serving as the shared component 
between these systems for storage of this data, and to allow its querying.  

(26)  All records in the common identity repository (CIR) should be logically separated by 
automatically tagging each record with the underlying system owning that record. The 
access control of the CIR should use these tags to allow the record to be accessible or 
not.  

(27) 

In  order  to  ensure  the  correct  identification  of  a  person,  Member  State  authorities 
competent for preventing and combating irregular migration and competent authorities 
within the meaning of Article 3(7) of Directive 2016/680 should be allowed to query 
the  common  identity  repository  (CIR)  with  the  biometric  data  of  that  person  taken 
during an identity check.  

(28)  Where the biometric data of the person cannot be used or if the query with that data 
fails, the query should be carried out with identity data of that person in combination 
with  travel  document  data.  Where  the  query  indicates  that  data  on  that  person  are 
stored in the common identity repository (CIR), Member State authorities should have 
access to consult the identity data of that person stored in the CIR, without providing 
any indication as to which EU information system the data belongs to. 

(29)  Member States should adopt national legislative measures designating the authorities 
competent to perform identity checks with the use of the common identity repository 
(CIR) and laying down the procedures, conditions and criteria of such checks in line 
with the principle of proportionality. In particular, the power to collect biometric data 
during  an  identity  check  of  a  person  present  before  the  member  of  those  authorities 
should be provided for by national legislative measures. 

EN 

28 

  EN 

 
(30)  This Regulation should also introduces a new possibility for streamlined access to data 
beyond identity data present in the EES, the VIS, [the ETIAS] or Eurodac by Member 
State designated law enforcement authorities and Europol. Data, including data other 
than  identity  data  contained  in  those  systems,  may  be  necessary  for  the  prevention, 
detection,  investigation  and  prosecution  of  terrorist  offences  or  serious  criminal 
offences in a specific case. 

(31)  Full access to the necessary data contained in the EU information systems necessary 
for the purposes of preventing,  detecting and investigating terrorist offences or other 
serious  criminal  offences,  beyond  the  relevant  identity  data  covered  under  common 
identity repository (CIR) obtained using biometric data of that person taken during an 
identity check, should continue to be governed by the provisions in the respective legal 
instruments. The designated law enforcement authorities and Europol do not know in 
advance which of the EU information systems contains data of the persons they need 
to inquire upon. This results in delays and inefficiencies in the conduct of their tasks. 
The end-user authorised by the designated authority should therefore be allowed to see 
in  which  of  the  EU  information  systems  the  data  corresponding  to  the  query 
introduced  are  recorded.  The  concerned  system  would  thus  be  flagged  following  the 
automated  verification  of  the  presence  of  a  hit  in  the  system  (a  so-called  hit-flag 
functionality).  

(32)  The logs of the queries of the common identity repository should indicate the purpose 
of the query. Where such a query was performed using the two-step data consultation 
approach, the logs should include a reference to the national file of the investigation or 
case, therefore indicating that such query was launched for the purposes of preventing, 
detecting and investigating terrorist offences or other serious criminal offences. 

(33)  The  query  of  the  common  identity  repository  (CIR)  by  Member  State  designated 
authorities  and  Europol  in  order  to  obtain  a  hit-flag  type  of  response  indicating  the 
data  is  recorded  in  the  EES,  the  VIS,  [the  ETIAS]  or  Eurodac  requires  automated 
processing of personal data. A hit-flag would not reveal personal data of the concerned 
individual other than an indication that some of his or her data are stored in one of the 
systems.  No  adverse  decision  for  the  concerned  individual  should  be  made  by  the 
authorised end-user solely on the basis of the simple occurrence of a hit-flag. Access 
by  the  end-user  of  a  hit-flag  would  therefore  realise  a  very  limited  interference  with 
the right to protection of personal data of the concerned individual, while it would be 
necessary  to  allow  the  designated  authority  and  Europol  to  address  its  request  for 
access  for  personal  data  more  effectively  directly  to  the  system  that  was  flagged  as 
containing it.  

(34)  The  two-step  data  consultation  approach  is  particularly  valuable  in  cases  where  the 
suspect, perpetrator or suspected victim of a terrorist offence or other serious criminal 
offence  is  unknown.  In  those  cases  the  common  identity  repository  (CIR)  should 
enable identifying the information system that knows the person in one single search. 
By creating the obligation to use this new law enforcement access approach in these 
cases, access to the personal data stored in the EES, the VIS, [the ETIAS] and Eurodac 
should take place without the requirements of a prior search in national databases and 
the launch of a prior search in the automated fingerprint identification system of other 
Member  States  under  Decision  2008/615/JHA.  The  principle  of  prior  search 
effectively  limits  the  possibility  of  Member  State’  authorities  to  consult  systems  for 
justified law enforcement purposes and could thereby result in missed opportunities to 
uncover  necessary  information.  The  requirements  of  a  prior  search  in  national 
databases and the launch of a prior search in the automated fingerprint identification 

EN 

29 

  EN 

 
system  of  other  Member  States  under  Decision  2008/615/JHA  should  only  cease  to 
apply  once  the  alternative  safeguard  of  the  two-step  approach  to  law  enforcement 
access through the CIR has become operational. 

(35)  The multiple-identity detector (MID) should be established to support the functioning 
of the common identity repository and to support the objectives of the EES, the VIS, 
[the ETIAS], Eurodac, the SIS and [the ECRIS-TCN system]. In order to be effective 
in fulfilling their respective objectives, all of these EU information systems require the 
accurate identification of the persons whose personal data are stored therein. 

(36)  The possibility to achieve the objectives of the EU information systems is undermined 
by the current inability for the authorities using these systems to conduct sufficiently 
reliable  verifications  of  the  identities  of  the  third-country  nationals  whose  data  are 
stored  in  different  systems.  That  inability  is  determined  by  the  fact  that  the  set  of 
identity  data  stored  in  a  given  individual  system  may  be  fraudulent,  incorrect,  or 
incomplete,  and  that  there  is  currently  no  possibility  to  detect  such  fraudulent, 
incorrect or incomplete identity data by way of comparison with data stored in another 
system.  To  remedy  this  situation  it  is  necessary  to  have  a  technical  instrument  at 
Union  level  allowing  accurate  identification  of  third-country  nationals  for  these 
purposes. 

(37)  The multiple-identity detector (MID) should create and store links between data in the 
different EU information systems in order to detect multiple identities, with the dual 
purpose of facilitating identity checks for bona fide travellers and combating identity 
fraud.  The  MID  should  only  contain  the  links  between  individuals  present  in  more 
than one EU information system, strictly limited to the data necessary to verify that a 
person  is  recorded  lawfully  or  unlawfully  under  different  biographical  identities  in 
different systems, or to clarify that two persons having similar biographical data may 
not be the same person. Data processing through the European search portal (ESP) and 
the  shared  biometric  matching  service  (shared BMS)  in  order  to  link  individual  files 
across  individual  systems  should  be  kept  to  an  absolute  minimum  and  therefore  is 
limited  to  a  multiple-identity  detection  at  the  time  new  data  is  added  to  one  of  the 
information  systems  included in  the common identity  repository  and in  the SIS. The 
MID  should  include  safeguards  against  potential  discrimination  or  unfavourable 
decisions for persons with multiple lawful identities. 

(38)  This Regulation provides for new data processing operations aimed at identifying the 
persons  concerned  correctly.  This  constitutes  an  interference  with  their  fundamental 
rights as protected by Articles 7 and 8 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights. Since the 
effective  implementation  of  the  EU  information  systems  is  dependent  upon  correct 
identification of the individuals  concerned, such interference is justified by the same 
objectives  for  which  each  of  those  systems  have  been  established,  the  effective 
management  of  the  Union's  borders,  the  internal  security  of  the  Union,  the  effective 
implementation of the Union's asylum and visa policies and the fight against irregular 
migration. 

(39)  The  European  search  portal  (ESP)  and  shared  biometric  matching  service  (shared 
BMS) should compare data in common identity repository (CIR) and SIS on persons 
when new records are created by a national authority or an EU body. Such comparison 
should  be  automated.  The  CIR  and  the  SIS  should  use  the  shared  BMS  to  detect 
possible links on the basis of biometric data. The CIR and the SIS should use the ESP 
to detect possible links on the basis of alphanumeric data. The CIR and the SIS should 
be able to identify identical or similar data on the third-country national stored across 

EN 

30 

  EN 

 
several  systems.  Where  such  is  the  case,  a  link  indicating  that  it  is  the  same  person 
should be established. The CIR and the SIS should be configured in such a way that 
small  transliteration  or  spelling  mistakes  are  detected  in  such  a  way  as  not  to  create 
any unjustified hindrance to the concerned third-country national.  

(40)  The  national  authority  or  EU  body  that  recorded  the  data  in  the  respective  EU 
information system should confirm or change these links. This authority should have 
access to the data stored in the common identity repository (CIR) or the SIS and in the 
multiple-identity detector (MID) for the purpose of the manual identity verification.  

(41)  Access  to  the  multiple-identity  detector  (MID)  by  Member  State  authorities  and  EU 
bodies having access to at least one EU information system included in the common 
identity repository (CIR) or to the SIS should be limited to so called red links where 
the linked data shares the same biometric but different identity data and the authority 
responsible for the verification of different identities concluded it refers unlawfully to 
the same person, or  where the  linked data has similar identity  data and the authority 
responsible for the verification of different identities concluded it refers unlawfully to 
the same person. Where the linked identity data is not similar, a yellow link should be 
established and a manual verification should take place in order to confirm the link or 
change its colour accordingly. 

(42)  The  manual  verification  of  multiple  identities  should  be  ensured  by  the  authority 
creating or updating the data that triggered a hit resulting in a link with data already 
stored in another EU information system. The authority responsible for the verification 
of  multiple  identities  should  assess  whether  there  are  multiple  lawful  or  unlawful 
identities. Such assessment should be performed where possible in the presence of the 
third-country  national  and  where  necessary  by  requesting  additional  clarifications  or 
information.  Such  assessment  should  be  performed  without  delay,  in  line  with  legal 
requirements for the accuracy of information under Union and national law.  

(43)  For the links obtained in relation to the Schengen Information System (SIS) related to 
the  alerts  in  respect  of  persons  wanted  for  arrest  or  for  surrender  or  extradition 
purposes, on missing or vulnerable persons, on persons sought to assist with a judicial 
procedure,  on  persons  for  discreet  checks  or  specific  checks  or  on  unknown  wanted 
persons, the authority responsible for the verification of multiple identities should be 
the SIRENE Bureau of the Member State that created the alert. Indeed those categories 
of  SIS  alerts  are  sensitive  and  should  not  necessarily  be  shared  with  the  authorities 
creating or updating the data in one of the other EU information systems. The creation 
of  a  link  with  SIS  data  should  be  without  prejudice  to  the  actions  to  be  taken  in 
accordance with the [SIS Regulations]. 

(44) 

eu-LISA  should  establish  automated  data  quality  control  mechanisms  and  common 
data quality indicators. eu-LISA should be responsible to develop a central monitoring 
capacity  for  data  quality  and  to  produce  regular  data  analysis  reports to  improve  the 
control  of  implementation  and  application  by  Member  States  of  EU  information 
systems.  The  common  quality  indicators  should  include  the  minimum  quality 
standards  to  store  data  in  the  EU  information  systems  or  the  interoperability 
components.  The  goal  of  such  a  data  quality  standards  should  be  for  the  EU 
information  systems  and  interoperability  components  to  automatically  identify 
apparently incorrect or  inconsistent data  submissions  so that the originating Member 
State is able to verify the data and carry out any necessary remedial actions. 

(45)  The  Commission  should  evaluate  eu-LISA  quality  reports  and  should  issue 
recommendations  to  Member  States  where  appropriate.  Member  States  should  be 

EN 

31 

  EN 

 
responsible for preparing an action plan describing actions to remedy any deficiencies 
in data quality and should report on its progress regularly. 

(46)  The  Universal  Message  Format  (UMF)  should  establish  a  standard  for  structured, 
cross-border  information  exchange  between  information  systems,  authorities  and/or 
organisations in the field of Justice and Home affairs. UMF should define a common 
vocabulary  and  logical  structures  for  commonly  exchanged  information  with  the 
objective  to  facilitate  interoperability  by  enabling  the  creation  and  reading  of  the 
contents of the exchange in a consistent and semantically equivalent manner. 

(47)  A  central  repository  for  reporting  and  statistics  (CRRS)  should  be  established  to 
generate  cross-system  statistical  data  and  analytical  reporting  for  policy,  operational 
and data quality purposes. eu-LISA should establish, implement and host the CRRS in 
its  technical  sites  containing  anonymous  statistical  data  from  the  above-mentioned 
systems, the common identity repository, the multiple-identity detector and the shared 
biometric matching service (shared BMS). The data contained in the CRRS should not 
enable  the  identification  of  individuals.  eu-LISA  should  render  the  data  anonymous 
and should record such anonymous  data in the CRRS. The process for rendering the 
data anonymous should be automated and no direct access by eu-LISA staff should be 
granted  to  any  personal  data  stored  in  the  EU  information  systems  or  in  the 
interoperability components. 

(48)  Regulation (EU) 2016/679 should apply to the processing of personal data under this 
Regulation  by  national  authorities  unless  such  processing  is  carried  out  by  the 
designated authorities or central access points of the Member States for the purposes 
of  the  prevention,  detection  or  investigation  of  terrorist  offences  or  of  other  serious 
criminal offences, when Directive (EU) 2016/680 of the European Parliament and of 
the Council should apply. 

(49)  The  specific  provisions  on  data  protection  of  [the  Eurodac  Regulation],  [the 
Regulation on SIS in the field of law enforcement], [the Regulation on SIS in the field 
of  illegal  return]  and  [the  ECRIS-TCN  System  Regulation]  should  apply  to  the 
processing of personal data in  those respective systems. 

(50)  Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council56 should 
apply to the processing of personal data by eu-LISA and other institutions and bodies 
of  the  Union  when  carrying  out  their  responsibilities  under  this  Regulation,  without 
prejudice  to  Regulation  (EU)  2016/794,  which  should  apply  to  the  processing  of 
personal data by Europol. 

(51)  The national supervisory authorities established in accordance with [Regulation (EU) 
2016/679]  should  monitor  the  lawfulness  of  the  processing  of  personal  data  by  the 
Member  States,  whilst  the  European  Data  Protection  Supervisor  as  established  by 
Regulation  (EC)  No  45/2001  should  monitor  the  activities  of  the  Union  institutions 
and  bodies  in  relation  to  the  processing  of  personal  data.  The  European  Data 
Protection Supervisor and the supervisory authorities should cooperate with each other 
in the monitoring of the processing of personal data by interoperability components. 

(52) 

"(...)  The  European  Data  Protection  Supervisor  was  consulted  in  accordance  with 
Article 28(2) of Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 and delivered an opinion on … " 

56  Regulation  (EC)  No  45/2001  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council of 18  December  2000  on  the 
protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data by the Community institutions and 
bodies and on the free movement of such data (OJ L 8, 12.1.2001, p.1).   

EN 

32 

  EN 

 
                                                 
(53) 

Insofar as confidentiality is concerned, the relevant provisions of the Staff Regulations 
of  officials  and  the  Conditions  of  Employment  of  other  servants  of  the  European 
Union should apply to officials or other servants employed and working in connection 
with SIS. 

(54)  Both  the  Member  States  and  eu-LISA  should  maintain  security  plans  in  order  to 
facilitate  the  implementation  of  security  obligations  and  should  cooperate  with  each 
other  in  order  to  address  security  issues.  eu-LISA  should  also  make  sure  there  is  a 
continuous  use  of  the  latest  technological  developments  to  ensure  data  integrity 
interoperability 
regarding 
components. 

the  development,  design  and  management  of 

the 

(55)  To  support  the  purposes  of  statistics  and  reporting,  it  is  necessary  to  grant  access  to 
authorised staff of the competent authorities, institutions and bodies identified in this 
Regulation  to  consult  certain  data  related  to  certain  interoperability  components 
without enabling individual identification.  

(56) 

In  order  to  allow  competent  authorities  and  the  EU  bodies  to  adapt  to  the  new 
requirements on the use of the European search portal (ESP), it is necessary to provide 
for  a  transitional  period.  Similarly,  in  order  to  allow  for  the  coherent  and  optimal 
functioning  of  the  multiple-identity  detector  (MID),  transitional  measures  should  be 
established for the start of its operations. 

(57)  The costs for the development of the interoperability components projected under the 
current Multiannual Financial Framework are lower than the remaining amount on the 
budget earmarked for Smart Borders in Regulation (EU) No 515/2014 of the European 
Parliament and the Council57. Accordingly, this Regulation, pursuant to Article 5(5)(b) 
of Regulation (EU) No 515/2014, should reallocate the amount currently attributed for 
developing  IT  systems  supporting  the  management  of  migration  flows  across  the 
external borders. 

(58) 

In order to supplement certain detailed technical aspects of this Regulation, the power 
to adopt acts in accordance with Article 290 of the Treaty  on the Functioning of the 
European Union should be delegated to the Commission in respect of the profiles for 
the users of the European search portal (ESP) and the content and format of the ESP 
replies.  It  is  of  particular  importance  that  the  Commission  carry  out  appropriate 
consultations  during  its  preparatory  work,  including  at  expert  level,  and  that  those 
consultations  be  conducted  in  accordance  with  the  principles  laid  down  in  the 
Interinstitutional Agreement on Better Law-Making of 13 April 201658. In particular, 
to  ensure  equal  participation  in  the  preparation  of  delegated  acts,  the  European 
Parliament and the Council should receive all documents at the same time as Member 
State  experts,  and  their  experts  should  systematically  have  access  to  meetings  of 
Commission expert groups dealing with the preparation of delegated acts. 

(59) 

In  order  to  ensure  uniform  conditions  for  the  implementation  of  this  Regulation, 
implementing powers should be conferred on the Commission to adopt detailed rules 
on:  automated  data  quality  control  mechanisms,  procedures  and 
indicators; 
development of the UMF standard; procedures for determining cases of similarity of 
identities;  the  operation  of  the  central  repository  for  reporting  and  statistics;  and 
cooperation procedure in case of security incidents. Those powers should be exercised 

57  Regulation (EU) No 515/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 April 2014 establishing 
as part of the Internal Security Fund, the Instrument for financial support for external borders and visa and 
repealing Decision No 574/2007/EC (OJ L 150, 20.5.2014, p. 143). 

58  http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=uriserv:OJ.L_.2016.123.01.0001.01.ENG. 

EN 

33 

  EN 

 
                                                 
in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 of the European Parliament and of 
the Council59. 

(60)  Regulation 2016/794 shall apply for any processing of Europol data for the purposes 

of this Regulation. 

(61)  This Regulation is without prejudice to the application of Directive 2004/38/EC. 

(62) 

(63) 

In accordance with Article 3 of the Agreement between the European Community and 
the  Kingdom  of  Denmark  on  the  criteria  and  mechanisms  for  establishing  the  State 
responsible  for  examining  a  request  for  asylum  lodged  in  Denmark  or  any  other 
Member State of the European Union and ‘Eurodac’ for the comparison of fingerprints 
for  the  effective  application  of  the  Dublin  Convention60,  Denmark  is  to  notify  the 
Commission  whether  it  will  implement  the  contents  of  this  Regulation,  insofar  as  it 
relates  to  Eurodac  [and  the  automated  system  for  registration,  monitoring  and  the 
allocation mechanism for applications for international protection referred to in Article 
44  of  Regulation  (EU)  XX/XX  establishing  the  criteria  and  mechanisms  for 
determining  the  Member  State  responsible  for  examining  an  application  for 
international protection lodged in one of the Member States by a third-country national 
or a stateless person (recast)]. 

Insofar  as  its  provisions  relate  to  SIS  as  governed  by  Decision  2007/533/JHA,  the 
United Kingdom is taking part in this Regulation, in accordance with Article 5(1) of 
Protocol No 19 on the Schengen acquis integrated into the framework of the European 
Union, annexed to the Treaty on European Union and to the Treaty on the Functioning 
of the European Union (Protocol on the Schengen acquis) 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  acquis61.  Furthermore,  insofar  as  its  provisions  relate  to  Eurodac  [and  the 
automated  system  for  registration,  monitoring  and  the  allocation  mechanism  for 
applications  for  international  protection  referred  to  in  Article  44  of  Regulation  (EU) 
XX/XX  establishing  the  criteria  and  mechanisms  for  determining  the  Member  State 
responsible for examining an application for international protection lodged in one of 
the Member States by a third-country national or a stateless person (recast)] the United 
Kingdom  may  notify  to  the  President  of  the  Council  its  wish  to  take  part  in  the 
adoption and application of this Regulation, in accordance with Article 3 of Protocol 
No  21  on  the  position  of  the  United  Kingdom  and  Ireland  in  respect  of  the  area  of 
freedom, security and justice, annexed to the TEU and to the TFEU (Protocol on the 
position  of  the  United  Kingdom  and  Ireland).  Insofar  as  its  provisions  relate  to  [the 
ECRIS-TCN  system],  in  accordance  with  Articles  1  and  2  and  Article  4a(1)  of 
Protocol 21 on the position of the United Kingdom and Ireland in respect of the area of 
freedom, security and justice, annexed to the TEU and the TFEU, the United Kingdom 
is not taking part in the adoption of this Regulation and is not bound or subject to its 
application. In accordance with Article 3 and Article 4a(1) of Protocol 21, the United 
Kingdom may notify its wish to take part in the adoption of this Regulation. 

(64) 

Insofar as its provisions relate to SIS as governed by Decision 2007/533/JHA, Ireland 
is taking part in this Regulation, in accordance with Article 5(1) of Protocol No 19 on 

59  Regulation  (EU)  No  182/2011  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  16  February  2011  laying 
down  the  rules  and  general  principles  concerning  mechanisms  for  control  by  the  Member  States  of  the 
Commission's exercise of implementing powers (OJ L 55, 28.2.2011, p. 13). 

60 
61 

EN 

34 

  EN 

 
                                                 
 
 
the Schengen acquis integrated into the framework of the European Union, annexed to 
the Treaty on European Union and to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European 
Union  (Protocol  on  the  Schengen  acquis),  and  Article  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 acquis62. Furthermore, insofar as its provisions relate to 
Eurodac  [and  the  automated  system  for  registration,  monitoring  and  the  allocation 
mechanism  for  applications  for  international  protection  referred  to  in  Article  44  of 
Regulation (EU) XX/XX establishing the criteria and mechanisms for determining the 
Member  State  responsible  for  examining  an  application  for  international  protection 
lodged in one of the Member States by a third-country national or a stateless person 
(recast)], Ireland may notify to the President of the Council its wish to take part in the 
adoption and application of this Regulation, in accordance with Article 3 of Protocol 
No  21  on  the  position  of  the  United  Kingdom  and  Ireland  in  respect  of  the  area  of 
freedom,  security  and  justice,  annexed  to  the  Treaty  on  European  Union  and  to  the 
Treaty  on  the  Functioning  of  the  European  Union  (Protocol  on  the  position  of  the 
United  Kingdom  and  Ireland).  Insofar  as  its  provisions  relate  to  [the  ECRIS-TCN 
system], in accordance with Articles 1 and 2 and Article 4a(1) of Protocol 21 on the 
position of the United Kingdom and Ireland in respect of the area of freedom, security 
and  justice,  annexed  to  the  TEU  and  the  TFEU,  Ireland  is  not  taking  part  in  the 
adoption  of  this  Regulation  and  is  not  bound  or  subject  to  its  application.  In 
accordance with Article 3 and Article 4a(1) of Protocol 21, Ireland may notify its wish 
to take part in the adoption of this Regulation. 

(65)  As  regards  Iceland  and  Norway,  as  regards  Eurodac  [and  the  automated  system  for 
registration,  monitoring  and 
the  allocation  mechanism  for  applications  for 
international  protection  referred  to  in  Article  44  of  Regulation  (EU)  XX/XX 
establishing  the  criteria  and  mechanisms  for  determining  the  Member  State 
responsible for examining an application for international protection lodged in one of 
the  Member  States  by  a  third-country  national  or  a  stateless  person  (recast)],  this 
Regulation constitutes a new measure within the meaning of the Agreement between 
the  European  Community  and  the  Republic  of  Iceland  and  the  Kingdom  of  Norway 
concerning  the  criteria  and  mechanisms  for  establishing  the  State  responsible  for 
examining a request for asylum lodged in a Member State or in Iceland or Norway.  

(66)  As regards Switzerland, as regards Eurodac [and the automated system for registration, 
monitoring and the allocation mechanism for applications for international protection 
referred  to  in  Article  44  of  Regulation  (EU)  XX/XX  establishing  the  criteria  and 
mechanisms  for  determining  the  Member  State  responsible  for  examining  an 
application for international protection lodged in one of the Member States by a third-
country  national  or  a  stateless  person  (recast)],  this  Regulation  constitutes  a  new 
measure  related  to  Eurodac  within  the  meaning  of  the  Agreement  between  the 
European  Community  and  the  Swiss  Confederation  concerning  the  criteria  and 
mechanisms for establishing the State responsible for examining a request for asylum 
lodged in a Member State or in Switzerland.  

(67)  As  regards  Liechtenstein,  as  regards  Eurodac,  [and  the  automated  system  for 
the  allocation  mechanism  for  applications  for 
registration,  monitoring  and 
international  protection  referred  to  in  Article  44  of  Regulation  (EU)  XX/XX 
establishing  the  criteria  and  mechanisms  for  determining  the  Member  State 

62   

EN 

35 

  EN 

 
                                                 
responsible for examining an application for international protection lodged in one of 
the  Member  States  by  a  third-country  national  or  a  stateless  person  (recast)]  this 
Regulation constitutes a new measure within the meaning of the Protocol between the 
European Community, the Swiss Confederation and the Principality of Liechtenstein 
on  the  accession  of  the  Principality  of  Liechtenstein  to  the  Agreement  between  the 
European  Community  and  the  Swiss  Confederation  concerning  the  criteria  and 
mechanisms for establishing the State responsible for examining a request for asylum 
lodged in a Member State or in Switzerland.  

(68)  This Regulation respects the fundamental rights and observes the principles recognised 
in particular by the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union and shall be 
applied in accordance with those rights and principles, 

HAVE ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: 

CHAPTER I 
General provisions 

Article 1 
Subject matter 

1. 

This  Regulation,  together  with  [Regulation  2018/xx  on  interoperability  borders and 
visa], establishes a framework to ensure the interoperability between the Entry/Exit 
System (EES), the Visa Information System (VIS), [the European Travel Information 
and  Authorisation  System  (ETIAS)],  Eurodac,  the  Schengen  Information  System 
(SIS),  and  [the  European  Criminal  Records  Information  System  for  third-country 
nationals  (ECRIS-TCN)]  in  order  for  those  systems  and  data  to  supplement  each 
other. 

2. 

The framework shall include the following interoperability components: 

(a) 

(b) 

(c) 

(d) 

a European search portal (ESP); 

a shared biometric matching service (shared BMS); 

a common identity repository (CIR); 

a multiple-identity detector (MID). 

3. 

4. 

This  Regulation  also  lays  down  provisions  on  data  quality  requirements,  on  a 
Universal Message Format (UMF), on a central repository for reporting and statistics 
(CRRS) and lays down the responsibilities of the Member States and of the European 
Agency  for  the  operational  management  of  large-scale  IT  systems  in  the  area  of 
freedom, security and justice (eu-LISA), with respect to the design and operation of 
the interoperability components. 

This  Regulation  also  adapts  the  procedures  and  conditions  for  Member  State  law 
enforcement  authorities  and  for  the  European  Union  Agency  for  Law  Enforcement 
Cooperation (Europol) access to the Entry/Exit System (EES), the Visa Information 
System  (VIS),  [the  European  Travel  Information  and  Authorisation  System 
(ETIAS),]  and  Eurodac  for  the  purposes  of  the  prevention,  detection  and 
investigation of terrorist offences or of other serious criminal offences falling under 
their competence. 

EN 

36 

  EN 

 
 
 
Article 2 
Objectives of interoperability  

1. 

By ensuring interoperability, this Regulation shall have the following objectives: 

(a) 

(b) 

(c) 

(d) 

(e) 

to improve the management of the external borders; 

to contribute to preventing and combating irregular migration;  

to contribute to a high level of security within the area of freedom, security and 
justice  of  the  Union  including  the  maintenance  of  public  security  and  public 
policy and safeguarding the security in the territories of the Member States; 

to improve the implementation of the common visa policy; and 

to assist in examining application for international protection. 

2. 

The objectives of ensuring interoperability shall be achieved by: 

(a) 

(b) 

(c) 

(d) 

(e) 

(f) 

(g) 

ensuring the correct identification of persons; 

contributing to fighting identity fraud; 

improving  and  harmonising  data  quality  requirements  of  the  respective  EU 
information systems; 

facilitating the technical and operational implementation by Member States of 
existing and future EU information systems; 

strengthening and simplifying and making more uniform the data security and 
data protection conditions that govern the respective EU information systems; 

streamlining  the  conditions  for  law  enforcement  access  to  the  EES,  the  VIS, 
[the ETIAS] and Eurodac; 

supporting  the  purposes  of  the  EES,  the  VIS,  [the  ETIAS],  Eurodac,  the  SIS 
and [the ECRIS-TCN system]. 

Article 3 
Scope 

1. 

2. 

3. 

This Regulation applies to Eurodac, the Schengen Information System (SIS) and [the 
European Criminal Records Information System for third-country nationals (ECRIS-
TCN)]. 

This Regulation also applies to the Europol data to the extent of enabling querying it 
simultaneously  to  the  EU  information  systems  referred  to  in  paragraph  1  in 
accordance with Union law. 

This  Regulation  applies  to  persons  in  respect  of  whom  personal  data  may  be 
processed  in  the  EU  information  systems  referred  to  in  paragraph  1  and  in  the 
Europol data referred to in paragraph 2. 

Article 4 
Definitions 

For the purposes of this Regulation, the following definitions apply: 

(1) 

‘external  borders’  means  external  borders  as  defined  in  Article 2(2)  of 
Regulation (EU) 2016/399; 

EN 

37 

  EN 

 
(2) 

(3) 

(4) 

(5) 

(6) 

(7) 

‘border checks’ means border checks as defined in Article 2(11) of Regulation 
(EU) 2016/399; 

‘border authority’ means the border guard assigned in accordance with national 
law to carry out border checks; 

‘supervisory  authorities’  means  the  supervisory  authority  established  in 
accordance  with  Article 51(1)  of  Regulation 
the 
supervisory authority established in accordance with Article 41(1) of Directive 
(EU) 2016/680; 

(EU) 2016/679  and 

‘verification’  means  the  process  of  comparing  sets  of  data  to  establish  the 
validity of a claimed identity (one-to-one check); 

‘identification’ means the process of determining a person’s identity through a 
database search against multiple sets of data (one-to-many check); 

‘third-country  national’  means  a  person  who  is  not  a  citizen  of  the  Union 
within  the  meaning  of  Article  20(1)  of  the  Treaty,  or  a  stateless  person  or  a 
person whose nationality is unknown;  

(8) 

‘alphanumeric  data’  means  data  represented  by  letters,  digits,  special 
characters, spaces and punctuation marks; 

(9) 

‘identity data’ means the data referred to in Article 27(3)(a) to (h);  

(10)  ‘fingerprint data’ means the data relating to the fingerprints of an individual; 

(11)  ‘facial image’ means digital images of the face; 

(12)  ‘biometric data’ means fingerprint data and/or facial image; 

(13)  ‘biometric template’ means a mathematical representation obtained by feature 
extraction  from  biometric  data  limited  to  the  characteristics  necessary  to 
perform identifications and verifications; 

(14)  ‘travel document’ means a passport or other equivalent document entitling the 
holder to cross the external borders and to which a visa may be affixed; 

(15)  ‘travel document data’ means the type, number and country of issuance of the 
travel document, the date of expiry of the validity of the travel document and 
the three-letter code of the country issuing the travel document;  

(16)  ‘travel authorisation’ means travel authorisation as defined in Article 3 of the 

[ETIAS Regulation]; 

(17)  ‘short-stay  visa’  means  visa  as  defined  in  Article 2(2)(a)  of  Regulation  (EC) 

No 810/2009; 

(18)  ‘EU  information  systems’  means  the  large-scale  IT  systems  managed  by  eu-

LISA; 

(19)  ‘Europol  data’  means  personal  data  provided  to  Europol  for  the  purpose 

referred to in Article 18(2)(a) of Regulation (EU) 2016/794; 

(20)  ‘Interpol  databases’  means  the  Interpol  Stolen  and  Lost  Travel  Document 
database (SLTD) and the Interpol Travel Documents Associated with Notices 
database (Interpol TDAWN); 

EN 

38 

  EN 

 
(21)  ‘match’ means the existence of a correspondence established by comparing two 
or  more  occurrences  of  personal  data  recorded  or  being  recorded  in  an 
information system or database;  

(22)  ‘hit’ means the confirmation of one match or several matches;  

(23)  'police  authority'  means  'competent  authority'  as  defined  in  Article  3(7)  of 

Directive 2016/680; 

(24)  ‘designated  authorities’  means  the  Member  State  designated  authorities 
referred  to  in  Article  29(1)  of  Regulation  (EU)  2017/2226,  Article  3(1)  of 
Council  Decision  2008/633/JHA,  [Article  43  of  the  ETIAS  Regulation]  and 
[Article 6 of the Eurodac Regulation]; 

(25)  ‘terrorist offence’ means an offence under national law which corresponds or is 
equivalent to one of the offences referred to in Directive (EU) 2017/541; 

(26)  ‘serious criminal offence’ means an offence which corresponds or is equivalent 
to  one  of  the  offences  referred  to  in  Article  2(2)  of  Framework  Decision 
2002/584/JHA, if it is punishable under national law by a custodial sentence or 
a detention order for a maximum period of at least three years; 

(27)  'EES'  means  the  Entry/Exit  System  as  referred  to  in  Regulation  (EU) 

2017/2226; 

(28)  'VIS' means the Visa Information System as referred to in Regulation (EC) No 

767/2008; 

(29)  ['ETIAS' means the European Travel Information and Authorisation System as 

referred to in the ETIAS Regulation]; 

(30)  'Eurodac' means Eurodac as referred to in the [Eurodac Regulation]; 

(31)  'SIS' means the Schengen Information System as referred to [in the Regulation 
on  SIS  in  the  field  of  border  checks,  Regulation  on  SIS  in  the  field  of  law 
enforcement and Regulation on SIS in the field of illegal return]; 

(32)  ['ECRIS-TCN  System'  means  the  European  Criminal  Records  Information 
System holding conviction information on third-country national and stateless 
persons as referred to in the ECRIS-TCN System Regulation]; 

(33)  'ESP' means the European search portal as referred to in Article 6; 

(34)  'shared  BMS'  means  the  shared  biometric  matching  service  as  referred  to  in 

Article 15; 

(35)  'CIR' means the common identity repository as referred to in Article 17; 

(36)  'MID' means the multiple-identity detector as referred to in Article 25; 

(37)  'CRRS' means the central repository for reporting and statistics as referred to in 

Article 39. 

Article 5 
Non-discrimination 

Processing  of  personal  data  for  the  purposes  of  this  Regulation  shall  not  result  in 
discrimination against persons on any grounds such as sex, racial or ethnic origin, religion or 
belief, disability, age or sexual orientation. It shall fully respect human dignity and integrity. 
Particular attention shall be paid to children, the elderly and persons with a disability. 

EN 

39 

  EN 

 
CHAPTER II 
European Search Portal 

Article 6 
European search portal 

1. 

A  European  search  portal  (ESP)  is  established  for  the  purposes  of  ensuring  that 
Member  State  authorities  and  EU  bodies  have  fast,  seamless,  efficient,  systematic 
and  controlled  access  to  the  EU  information  systems,  the  Europol  data  and  the 
Interpol  databases  that  they  need  to  perform  their  tasks  in  accordance  with  their 
access  rights  and  of  supporting  the  objectives  of  the  EES,  the  VIS,  [the  ETIAS], 
Eurodac, the SIS, [the ECRIS-TCN system] and the Europol data. 

2. 

The ESP shall be composed of: 

(a) 

(b) 

(c) 

a  central  infrastructure,  including  a  search  portal  enabling  the  simultaneous 
querying  of  the  EES,  the  VIS,  [the  ETIAS],  Eurodac,  the  SIS,  [the  ECRIS-
TCN system] as well as of the Europol data and the Interpol databases; 

a  secure  communication  channel  between  the  ESP,  Member  States  and  EU 
bodies that are entitled to use the ESP in accordance with Union law; 

a secure communication infrastructure between the ESP and the EES, the VIS, 
[the ETIAS], Eurodac, the Central-SIS, [the ECRIS-TCN system], the Europol 
data  and  the  Interpol  databases  as  well  as  between  the  ESP  and  the  central 
infrastructures  of  the  common  identity  repository  (CIR)  and  the  multiple-
identity detector. 

3. 

eu-LISA shall develop the ESP and ensure its technical management. 

Article 7 
Use of the European search portal 

1. 

2. 

3. 

The use of the ESP shall be reserved to the Member State authorities and EU bodies 
having access to the EES, [the ETIAS], the VIS, the SIS, Eurodac and [the ECRIS-
TCN  system],  to  the  CIR  and  the  multiple-identity  detector  as  well  as  the  Europol 
data and the Interpol databases in accordance with Union or national law governing 
such access. 

The authorities referred to in paragraph 1 shall use the ESP to search data related to 
persons or their travel documents in the central systems of Eurodac and [the ECRIS-
TCN  system]  in  accordance  with  their  access  rights  under  Union  and  national  law. 
They shall also use the ESP to query the CIR in accordance with their access rights 
under this Regulation for the purposes referred to in Articles 20, 21 and 22. 

The Member State authorities referred to in paragraph 1 may use the ESP to search 
data related to persons or their travel documents in the Central SIS referred to in the 
[Regulation on SIS in the field of border checks and of the Regulation on SIS in the 
field of law enforcement]. Access to the Central SIS via the ESP shall be established 
through  the  national  system  (N.SIS)  of  each  Member  State  in  accordance  with 
[Article  4(2)  of  the  Regulation  on  SIS  in  the  field  of  border  checks  and  of  the 
Regulation on SIS in the field of law enforcement]. 

EN 

40 

  EN 

 
 
 
4. 

5. 

1. 

2. 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

6. 

The  EU  bodies  shall  use  the  ESP  to  search  data  related  to  persons  or  their  travel 
documents in the Central SIS. 

The authorities referred to in paragraph 1 may use the ESP to search data related to 
persons or their travel documents in the Europol data in accordance with their access 
rights under Union and national law. 

Article 8 
Profiles for the users of the European search portal 

For the purposes of enabling the use of the ESP, eu-LISA shall create a profile for 
each category of user of the ESP in accordance with the technical details and access 
rights  referred  to  in  paragraph  2,  including,  in  accordance  with  Union  and  national 
law: 

(a) 

(b) 

the fields of data to be used for querying; 

the  EU  information  systems,  the  Europol  data  and  the  Interpol  databases  that 
shall and may be consulted and that shall provide a reply to the user; and 

(c) 

the data provided in each reply. 

The Commission shall adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 63 to specify 
the technical details of the profiles referred to in paragraph 1 for the users of the ESP 
referred to in Article 7(1) in accordance with their access rights. 

Article 9 
Queries 

The  users  of  the  ESP  shall  launch  a  query  by  introducing  data  in  the  ESP  in 
accordance  with  their  user  profile  and  access  rights.  Where  a  query  has  been 
launched, the ESP shall query simultaneously, with the data introduced by the user of 
the ESP, the EES, [the ETIAS], the VIS, the SIS, Eurodac, [the ECRIS-TCN system] 
and the CIR as well as the Europol data and the Interpol databases. 

The fields of data used to launch a query via the ESP shall correspond to the fields of 
data related to persons or travel documents that may be used to query the various EU 
information systems, the Europol data and the Interpol databases in accordance with 
the legal instruments governing them. 

eu-LISA  shall  implement  an  interface  control  document  (ICD)  based  on  the  UMF 
referred to in Article 38 for the ESP. 

The  EES,  [the  ETIAS],  the  VIS,  the  SIS,  Eurodac,  [the  ECRIS-TCN  system],  the 
CIR and the multiple-identity detector, as well as the Europol data and the Interpol 
databases,  shall  provide  the  data  that  they  contain  resulting  from  the  query  of  the 
ESP. 

When  querying  the  Interpol  databases,  the  design  of  the  ESP  shall  ensure  that  the 
data used by the user of the ESP to launch a query is not shared with the owners of 
Interpol data. 

The  reply  to  the  user  of  the  ESP  shall  be  unique  and  shall  contain  all  the  data  to 
which the user has access under Union law. Where necessary, the reply provided by 
the ESP shall indicate to which information system or database the data belongs. 

EN 

41 

  EN 

 
 
 
7. 

1. 

2. 

The Commission shall adopt a delegated act in accordance with Article 63 to specify 
the content and format of the ESP replies. 

Article 10 
Keeping of logs 

Without prejudice to [Article 39 of the Eurodac Regulation], [Articles 12 and 18 of 
the  Regulation  on  SIS  in  the  field  of  law  enforcement],  [Article  29  of  the  ECRIS-
TCN Regulation] and Article 40 of Regulation (EU) 2016/794, eu-LISA shall keep 
logs  of  all  data  processing  operations  within  the  ESP.  Those  logs  shall  include,  in 
particular, the following: 

(a) 

(b) 

(c) 

(d) 

the  Member  State  authority  and  the  individual user  of  the ESP,  including  the 
ESP profile used as referred to in Article 8; 

the date and time of the query; 

the EU information systems and the Europol data queried; 

in accordance with national rules or with Regulation (EU) 2016/794 or, when 
applicable, Regulation  (EU) 45/2001,  the identifying  mark  of the person who 
carried out the query. 

The  logs  may  be  used  only  for  data  protection  monitoring,  including  checking  the 
admissibility of a query and the lawfulness of data processing, and for ensuring data 
security  pursuant  to  Article  42.  Those  logs  shall  be  protected  by  appropriate 
measures against unauthorised access and erased one year after their creation, unless 
they are required for monitoring procedures that have already begun. 

Article 11 
Fall-back procedures in case of technical impossibility to use the European search portal 

1. 

2. 

3. 

Where  it  is  technically  impossible  to  use  the  ESP  to  query  one  or  several  EU 
information systems referred to in Article 9(1) or the CIR, because of a failure of the 
ESP, the users of the ESP shall be notified by eu-LISA.  

Where  it  is  technically  impossible  to  use  the  ESP  to  query  one  or  several  EU 
information systems referred to in Article 9(1) or the CIR, because of a failure of the 
national  infrastructure  in  a  Member  State,  that Member  State's  competent  authority 
shall notify eu-LISA and the Commission.  

In both scenarios, and until the technical failure is addressed, the obligation referred 
to  in  Article  7(2)  and  (4)  shall  not  apply  and  Member  States  may  access  the 
information  systems  referred  to  in  Article  9(1)  or  the  CIR  directly  using  their 
respective national uniform interfaces or national communication infrastructures. 

CHAPTER III 
Shared Biometric Matching Service 

Article 12 
Shared biometric matching service 

1. 

A shared biometric matching service (shared BMS) storing biometric templates and 
enabling  querying  with  biometric  data  across  several  EU  information  systems  is 

EN 

42 

  EN 

 
 
 
established for the purposes of supporting the CIR and the multiple-identity detector 
and  the  objectives  of  the  EES,  the  VIS,  Eurodac,  the  SIS  and  [the  ECRIS-TCN 
system]. 

2. 

The shared BMS shall be composed of: 

(a) 

(b) 

a  central  infrastructure,  including  a  search  engine  and  the  storage  of  the  data 
referred to in Article 13; 

a  secure  communication  infrastructure  between  the  shared  BMS,  Central-SIS 
and the CIR. 

3. 

eu-LISA shall develop the shared BMS and ensure its technical management. 

Article 13 
Data stored in the shared biometric matching service 

1. 

The  shared  BMS  shall  store  the  biometric  templates  that  it  shall  obtain  from  the 
following biometric data: 

(a) 

(b) 

(c) 

(d) 

(e) 

(f) 

(g) 

the  data  referred  to  in  Article  16(1)(d)  and  Article  17(1)(b)  and  (c)  of 
Regulation (EU) 2017/2226; 

the data referred to in Article 9(6) of Regulation (EC) No 767/2008; 

[the data referred to in Article 20(2)(w) and (x) of the Regulation on SIS in the 
field of border checks; 

the data referred to in Article 20(3)(w) and (x) of the Regulation on SIS in the 
field of law enforcement; 

the  data  referred  to  in  Article  4(3)(t)  and  (u)  of  the  Regulation  on  SIS  in  the 
field of illegal return]; 

[the data referred to in Article 13(a) of the Eurodac Regulation;] 

[the  data  referred  to  in  Article  5(1)(b)  and  Article  5(2)  of  the  ECRIS-TCN 
Regulation.] 

2. 

3. 

4. 

The  shared  BMS  shall  include  in  each  biometric  template  a  reference  to  the 
information systems in which the corresponding biometric data is stored. 

Biometric templates shall only be entered in the shared BMS following an automated 
quality  check  of  the  biometric  data  added  to  one  of  the  information  systems 
performed by the shared BMS to ascertain the fulfilment of a minimum data quality 
standard. 

The  storage  of  the  data  referred  to  in  paragraph  1  shall  meet  the  quality  standards 
referred to in Article 37(2). 

Article 14 
Searching biometric data with the shared biometric matching service 

In order to search the biometric data stored within the CIR and the SIS, the CIR and the SIS 
shall use the biometric templates stored in the shared BMS. Queries with biometric data shall 
take  place  in  accordance  with  the  purposes  provided  for  in  this  Regulation  and  in  the  EES 
Regulation,  the  VIS  Regulation,  the  Eurodac  Regulation,  the  [SIS  Regulations]  and  [the 
ECRIS-TCN Regulation]. 

EN 

43 

  EN 

 
 
Article 15 
Data retention in the shared biometric matching service 

The  data  referred  to  in  Article  13  shall  be  stored  in  the  shared  BMS  for  as  long  as  the 
corresponding biometric data is stored in the CIR or the SIS. 

Article 16 
Keeping of logs 

1. 

Without  prejudice  to  [Article  39  of  the  Eurodac  Regulation],  [Article  12  and  18  of 
the Regulation on SIS in the field of law enforcement] and [Article 29 of the ECRIS-
TCN Regulation], eu-LISA shall  keep  logs  of all  data processing  operations within 
the shared BMS. Those logs shall include, in particular, the following: 

(a) 

(b) 

(c) 

(d) 

(e) 

(f) 

(g) 

the history related to the creation and storage of biometric templates; 

a reference to the EU information systems queried with the biometric templates 
stored in the shared BMS; 

the date and time of the query; 

the type of biometric data used to launch the query; 

the length of the query; 

the results of the query and date and time of the result; 

in accordance with national rules or with Regulation (EU) 2016/794 or, when 
applicable, Regulation  (EU) 45/2001,  the identifying  mark  of the person who 
carried out the query. 

The  logs  may  be  used  only  for  data  protection  monitoring,  including  checking  the 
admissibility of a query and the lawfulness of data processing, and for ensuring data 
security  pursuant  to  Article  42.  Those  logs  shall  be  protected  by  appropriate 
measures against unauthorised access and erased one year after their creation, unless 
they  are  required  for  monitoring  procedures  that  have  already  begun.  The  logs 
referred to in paragraph 1(a) shall be erased once the data is erased. 

CHAPTER IV 
Common Identity Repository 

Article 17 
Common identity repository 

A common identity repository (CIR), creating an individual file for each person that 
is recorded in the EES, the VIS, [the ETIAS], Eurodac or [the ECRIS-TCN system] 
containing  the  data  referred  to  in  Article  18,  is  established  for  the  purpose  of 
facilitating and  assisting the correct identification of  persons  registered in  the EES, 
the VIS, [the ETIAS], the Eurodac and [the ECRIS-TCN system], of supporting  the 
functioning  of  the  multiple-identity  detector  and  of  facilitating  and  streamlining 
access by law enforcement authorities to non-law enforcement information systems 
at  EU  level,  where  necessary  for  the  prevention,  investigation,  detection  or 
prosecution of serious crime. 

2. 

1. 

2. 

The CIR shall be composed of: 

EN 

44 

  EN 

 
 
 
(a) 

(b) 

(c) 

a central infrastructure that shall replace the central systems of respectively the 
EES,  the  VIS,  [the  ETIAS],  Eurodac  and  [the  ECRIS-TCN  system]  to  the 
extent that it shall store the data referred to in Article 18; 

a  secure  communication  channel  between  the  CIR,  Member  States  and  EU 
bodies that are entitled to use the European search portal (ESP) in accordance 
with Union law; 

a  secure  communication  infrastructure  between  the  CIR  and  the  EES,  [the 
ETIAS],  the  VIS,  Eurodac  and  [the  ECRIS-TCN  system]  as  well  as  with  the 
central  infrastructures  of  the  ESP,  the  shared  BMS  and  the  multiple-identity 
detector. 

3. 

eu-LISA shall develop the CIR and ensure its technical management. 

Article 18 
The common identity repository data 

1. 

The  CIR  shall  store  the  following  data  –  logically  separated  –  according  to  the 
information system from which the data was originated: 

(a)  – (not applicable);  

(b)  – (not applicable); 

(c)  – (not applicable);  

(d) 

(e) 

[the  data  referred  to  in  Article  13(a)  to  (e),  (g)  and  (h)  of  the  [Eurodac 
Regulation;] 

[the  data  referred  to  in  Article  5(1)(b)  and  5(2)  and  the  following  data  of 
Article  5(1)(a)  of  the  ECRIS-TCN  Regulation:  surname  or  family  name;  first 
name(s)  (given  name(s));  sex;  date  of  birth;  place  and  country  of  birth; 
nationality  or  nationalities;  gender  and  where  applicable  previous  names, 
pseudonyms(s) and/or alias name(s).] 

For each set of data referred to in paragraph 1, the CIR shall include a reference to 
the information systems to which the data belongs. 

The  storage  of  the  data  referred  to  in  paragraph  1  shall  meet  the  quality  standards 
referred to in Article 37(2). 

Article 19 
Adding, amending and deleting data in the common identity repository 

Where  data  is  added,  amended  or  deleted  in  Eurodac  or  [the  ECRIS-TCN  system], 
the  data  referred  to  in  Article  18  stored  in  the  individual  file  of  the  CIR  shall  be 
added, amended or deleted accordingly in an automated manner. 

Where  the  multiple-identity  detector  creates  a white  or  red  link  in  accordance  with 
Articles 32 and 33 between the data of two or more of the EU information systems 
constituting the CIR, instead of creating a new individual file, the CIR shall add the 
new data to the individual file of the linked data. 

2. 

3. 

1. 

2. 

EN 

45 

  EN 

 
 
1. 

2. 

1. 

2. 

1. 

2. 

3. 

  Article 20 
Access to the common identity repository for identification  

Where  a  Member  State  police  authority  has  been  so  empowered  by  national 
legislative measures as referred to in paragraph 2, it may, solely for the purpose of 
identifying  a  person,  query  the  CIR  with  the  biometric  data  of  that  person  taken 
during an identity check.  

Where the query indicates that data on that person is stored in the CIR, the Member 
States authority shall have access to consult the data referred to in Article 18(1). 

Where the biometric data of the person cannot be used or where the query with that 
data  fails,  the  query  shall  be  carried  out  with  identity  data  of  the  person  in 
combination  with  travel  document  data,  or  with  the  identity  data  provided  by  that 
person. 

Member  States  wishing  to  avail  themselves  of  the  possibility  provided  for  in  this 
Article  shall  adopt  national  legislative  measures.  Such  legislative  measures  shall 
specify  the  precise  purposes  of  identity  checks  within  the  purposes  referred  to  in 
Article 2(1)(b) and (c). They shall designate the police authorities competent and lay 
down the procedures, conditions and criteria of such checks. 

Article 21 
Access to the common identity repository for the detection of multiple identities 

Where a query of the CIR results in a yellow link in accordance with Article 28(4), 
the  authority  responsible  for  the  verification  of  different  identities  determined  in 
accordance  with  Article  29  shall  have  access,  solely  for  the  purpose  of  that 
verification,  to  the  identity  data  stored  in  the  CIR  belonging  to  the  various 
information systems connected to a yellow link. 

Where  a  query  of  the  CIR  results  in  a  red  link  in  accordance  with  Article  32,  the 
authorities  referred  to  in  Article  26(2)  shall  have  access,  solely  for  the purposes  of 
fighting identity fraud, to the identity data stored in the CIR belonging to the various 
information systems connected to a red link. 

Article 22 
Querying the common identity repository for law enforcement purposes  

For the purposes of preventing, detecting and investigating terrorist offences or other 
serious  criminal  offences  in  a  specific  case  and  in  order  to  obtain  information  on 
whether data on a specific person is present in Eurodac, the Member State designated 
authorities and Europol may consult the CIR. 

Member State designated authorities and Europol shall not be entitled to consult data 
belonging  to  [the  ECRIS-TCN]  when  consulting  the  CIR  for  the  purposes  listed  in 
paragraph 1. 

Where, in reply to a query the CIR indicates data on that person is present in Eurodac 
the CIR shall provide to Member States' designated authorities and Europol a reply in 
the  form  of  a  reference indicating  which  of  the  information  systems  contains 
matching data referred to in Article 18(2). The CIR shall reply in such a way that the 
security of the data is not compromised. 

EN 

46 

  EN 

 
 
 
 
 
4. 

1. 

2. 

1. 

2. 

Full access to the data contained in the EU information systems for the purposes of 
preventing,  detecting  and  investigating  terrorist  offences  or  other  serious  criminal 
offences remains subject to the conditions and procedures laid down in the respective 
legislative instruments governing such access. 

Article 23 
Data retention in the common identity repository 

The  data  referred  to  in  Article  18(1)  and  (2)  shall  be  deleted  from  the  CIR  in 
accordance  with  the  data  retention  provisions  of  [the  Eurodac  Regulation]  and  [the 
ECRIS-TCN Regulation] respectively. 

The individual file shall be stored in the CIR for as long as the corresponding data is 
stored in at least one of the information systems whose data is contained in the CIR. 
The creation of a link shall not affect the retention period of each item of the linked 
data. 

Article 24 
Keeping of logs 

Without  prejudice  to  [Article  39  of  the  Eurodac  Regulation]  and  [Article  29  of  the 
ECRIS-TCN Regulation], eu-LISA shall keep logs of all data processing operations 
within the CIR in accordance with paragraphs 2, 3 and 4. 

Concerning any access to the CIR pursuant to Article 20, eu-LISA shall keep logs of 
all data processing operations within the CIR. Those logs shall include, in particular,  
the following: 

(a) 

(b) 

(c) 

(d) 

(e) 

the purpose of access of the user querying via the CIR; 

the date and time of the query; 

the type of data used to launch the query; 

the results of the query; 

in accordance with national rules or with Regulation (EU) 2016/794 or, when 
applicable, Regulation  (EU) 45/2001,  the identifying  mark  of the person who 
carried out the query. 

3. 

Concerning any access to the CIR pursuant to Article 21, eu-LISA shall keep logs of 
all data processing operations within the CIR. Those logs shall include, in particular, 
the following: 

(a) 

(b) 

the purpose of access of the user querying via the CIR; 

the date and time of the query; 

(c)  where relevant, the data used to launch the query; 

(d)  where relevant, the results of the query; 

(e) 

in accordance with national rules or with Regulation (EU) 2016/794 or, when 
applicable, Regulation  (EU) 45/2001,  the identifying  mark  of the person who 
carried out the query. 

4. 

Concerning any access to the CIR pursuant to Article 22, eu-LISA shall keep logs of 
all data processing operations within the CIR. Those logs shall include, in particular,  
the following: 

EN 

47 

  EN 

 
 
(a) 

(b) 

(c) 

(d) 

(e) 

(f) 

the national file reference; 

the date and time of the query; 

the type of data used to launch the query; 

the results of the query; 

the name of the authority consulting the CIR; 

in accordance with national rules or with Regulation (EU) 2016/794 or, when 
applicable, Regulation (EU) 45/2001, the identifying mark of the official who 
carried out the query and of the official who ordered the query. 

The  logs  of  such  access  shall  be  regularly  verified  by  the  competent  supervisory 
authority established in accordance with Article 51 of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 or 
in  accordance  with  Article 41 of Directive 2016/680,  at intervals  not  exceeding  six 
months, to  verify whether the procedures  and conditions set out  in  Article 22(1) to 
(3) are fulfilled. 

Each Member State shall keep logs of queries of the staff duly authorised to use the 
CIR pursuant to Articles 20, 21 and 22. 

The  logs  referred  to  in  paragraphs  1  and  5  may  be  used  only  for  data  protection 
monitoring, including  checking the admissibility of a  request and  the lawfulness  of 
data processing, and for ensuring data security pursuant to Article 42. They shall be 
protected  by  appropriate  measures  against  unauthorised  access  and  erased  one  year 
after  their  creation,  unless  they  are  required  for  monitoring  procedures  that  have 
already begun. 

eu-LISA shall keep the logs related to the history of the data stored in individual file, 
for purposes defined in paragraph 6. The logs related to the history of the data stored 
shall be erased once the data is erased. 

CHAPTER V 
Multiple-identity Detector 

Article 25 
Multiple-identity detector 

A multiple-identity detector (MID) creating and storing links between data in the EU 
information  systems  included  in  the common  identity  repository  (CIR)  and  the  SIS 
and  as  a  consequence  detecting  multiple  identities,  with  the  dual  purpose  of 
facilitating  identity  checks  and  combating  identity  fraud,  is  established  for  the 
purpose of supporting the functioning of the CIR and the objectives of the EES, the 
VIS, the ETIAS], Eurodac, the SIS and [the ECRIS-TCN system]. 

5. 

6. 

7. 

1. 

2. 

The MID shall be composed of: 

(a) 

(b) 

a central infrastructure, storing links and references to information systems; 

a secure communication infrastructure to connect the MID with the SIS and the 
central infrastructures of the European search portal and the CIR. 

3. 

eu-LISA shall develop the MID and ensure its technical management. 

EN 

48 

  EN 

 
 
 
Article 26 
Access to the multiple-identity detector 

1. 

For the purposes of the manual identity verification referred to in Article 29, access 
to the data referred to in Article 34 stored in the MID shall be granted to: 

(a)  – (not applicable); 

(b)  – (not applicable); 

(c)  – (not applicable); 

(d) 

(e) 

(f) 

the  authorities  competent  to  assess  a  request  for  international  protection 
provided  for  in  the  Eurodac  Regulation  when  assessing  a  new  request  for 
international protection; 

the SIRENE Bureaux of the Member State creating a [Regulation on SIS in the 
field of law enforcement or Regulation on SIS in the field of illegal return]; 

[the  central  authorities  of  the  convicting  Member  State  when  recording  or 
updating  data  in  the  ECRIS-TCN  system  in  accordance  with  Article  5  of  the 
ECRIS-TCN Regulation.] 

2. 

Member  State  authorities  and  EU  bodies  having  access  to  at  least  one  EU 
information  system  included  in  the  common  identity  repository  or  to  the  SIS  shall 
have access to the data referred to in Article 34(a) and (b) regarding any red links as 
referred to in Article 32. 

Article 27 
Multiple-identity detection 

1. 

A multiple-identity detection in the common identity repository and the SIS shall be 
launched where: 

(a)  – (not applicable); 

(b)  – (not applicable); 

(c)  – (not applicable); 

(d) 

(e) 

[an application for international protection is created or updated in Eurodac in 
accordance with Article 10 of the Eurodac Regulation]; 

[an  alert  on  a  person  is  created  or  updated  in  the  SIS  in  accordance  with 
Chapters  VI,  VII,  VIII  and  IX  of  the  Regulation  on  SIS  in  the  field  of  law 
enforcement  and  Article  3  of  the  Regulation  on  SIS  in  the  field  of  illegal 
return]; 

(f) 

[a data record is created or updated in the ECRIS-TCN system in accordance 
with Article 5 of the ECRIS-TCN Regulation.] 

Where the data contained within an information system as referred to in paragraph 1 
contains  biometric  data,  the  common  identity  repository  (CIR)  and  the  Central-SIS 
shall use the shared biometric matching service (shared BMS) in order to perform the 
multiple-identity detection. The shared BMS shall compare the biometric  templates 
obtained from any new biometric data to the biometric templates already contained 
in the shared BMS in order to verify whether or not data belonging to the same third-
country national is already stored in the CIR or in the Central SIS. 

2. 

EN 

49 

  EN 

 
3. 

In  addition  to  the  process  referred  to  in  paragraph  2,  the  CIR  and  the  Central-SIS 
shall  use  the  European  search  portal  to  search  the  data  stored  in  the  CIR  and  the 
Central-SIS using the following data: 

(a)  – (not applicable); 

(b)  – (not applicable); 

(c)  – (not applicable); 

(d) 

[surname(s); forename(s); name(s) at birth, previously used names and aliases; 
date of birth, place of birth, nationality(ies) and sex as referred to in Article 12 
of the Eurodac Regulation]; 

(e)  – (not applicable); 

(f) 

(g) 

(h) 

[surname(s); forename(s); name(s) at birth, previously used names and aliases; 
date  of  birth,  place  of  birth,  nationality(ies)  and  sex  as  referred  to  in  Article 
20(3) of the Regulation on SIS in the field of law enforcement;] 

[surname(s); forename(s); name(s) at birth, previously used names and aliases; 
date of birth, place of birth, nationality(ies) and sex as referred to in Article 4 
of the Regulation on SIS in the field of illegal return;] 

[surname  (family  name);  first  name(s)  (given  names);  date  of  birth,  place  of 
birth, nationality(ies) and gender as referred to in Article 5(1)(a) of the ECRIS-
TCN Regulation.] 

The  multiple-identity  detection  shall  only  be  launched  in  order  to  compare  data 
available in one information system with data available in other information systems. 

Article 28 
Results of the multiple-identity detection 

Where  the  queries  referred  to  in  Article  27(2)  and  (3)  do  not  report  any  hit,  the 
procedures  referred  to  in  Article  27(1)  shall  continue  in  accordance  with  the 
respective Regulations governing them. 

Where the query laid down in Article 27(2) and (3) reports one or several hit(s), the 
common identity repository and, where relevant, the SIS shall create a link between 
the data used to launch the query and the data triggering the hit.  

Where several hits are reported, a link shall be created between all data triggering the 
hit.  Where  data  was  already  linked,  the  existing  link  shall  be  extended  to  the  data 
used to launch the query. 

Where the query referred to in Article 27(2) or (3) reports one or several hit(s) and 
the identity data of the linked files is identical or similar, a white link shall be created 
in accordance with Article 33. 

Where the query referred to in Article 27(2) or (3) reports one or several hit(s) and 
the  identity  data  of  the  linked  files  cannot  be  considered  as  similar,  a  yellow  link 
shall be created in accordance with Article 30 and the procedure referred to in Article 
29 shall apply. 

The Commission shall lay down the procedures to determine the cases where identity 
data  can  be  considered  as  identical  or  similar  in  implementing  acts.  Those 
implementing  acts  shall  be  adopted  in  accordance  with  the  examination  procedure 
referred to in Article 64(2). 

4. 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

EN 

50 

  EN 

 
6. 

The links shall be stored in the identity confirmation file referred to in Article 34. 

The  Commission  shall  lay  down  the  technical  rules  for  linking  data  from  different 
information  systems  by  implementing  acts.  Those  implementing  acts  shall  be 
adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 64(2). 

Article 29 
Manual verification of different identities 

1. 

Without  prejudice  to  paragraph  2,  the  authority  responsible  for  verification  of 
different identities shall be: 

(a)  – (not applicable); 

(b)  – (not applicable); 

(c)  – (not applicable); 

(d) 

(e) 

(f) 

the authority assessing a request for international protection as provided for in 
the Eurodac Regulation for hits that occurred when assessing such request; 

the SIRENE Bureaux of the Member State for hits that occurred when creating 
a  SIS  alert  in  accordance  with  the  [Regulations  on  SIS  in  the  field  of  law 
enforcement and on SIS in the field of illegal return]; 

the  central  authorities  of  the  convicting  Member  State  for  hits  that  occurred 
when recording or updating data in the ECRIS-TCN system in accordance with 
Article 5 of the [ECRIS-TCN Regulation]. 

The  multiple-identity  detector  shall  indicate  the  authority  responsible  for  the 
verification of different identities in the identity verification file. 

2. 

The  authority  responsible  for  the  verification  of  different  identities  in  the  identity 
confirmation file shall be the SIRENE Bureau of the Member State that created the 
alert where a link is created to data contained: 

(a) 

(b) 

(c) 

(d) 

(e) 

(f) 

in an alert in respect of persons wanted for arrest or for surrender or extradition 
purposes as referred to in Article 26 of [the Regulation on SIS in the field of 
law enforcement]; 

in an alert on missing or vulnerable persons as referred to in Article 32 of [the 
Regulation on SIS in the field of law enforcement]; 

in an alert on persons sought to assist with a judicial procedure as referred to in 
Article 34 of [the Regulation on SIS in the field of law enforcement]; 

[in an alert on return in accordance with the Regulation on SIS in the field of 
illegal return]; 

in an alert on persons for discreet checks, inquiry checks or specific checks as 
referred  to  in  Article  36  of  [the  Regulation  on  SIS  in  the  field  of  law 
enforcement]; 

in an alert on unknown wanted persons for identification according to national 
law  and  search  with  biometric  data  as  referred  to  in  Article  40  of  [the 
Regulation on SIS in the field of law enforcement]. 

3. 

Without  prejudice  to  paragraph  4,  the  authority  responsible  for  verification  of 
different  identities  shall  have  access  to  the  related  data  contained  in  the  relevant 

EN 

51 

  EN 

 
 
identity  confirmation  file  and  to  the  identity  data  linked  in  the  common  identity 
repository and, where relevant, in the SIS, and shall assess the different identities and 
shall  update  the  link  in  accordance  with  Articles  31,  32  and  33  and  add  it  to  the 
identity confirmation file without delay. 

– (not applicable). 

Where more than one link is obtained, the authority responsible for the verification 
of different identities shall assess each link separately. 

Where  data  reporting  a  hit  was  already  linked,  the  authority  responsible  for  the 
verification  of  different  identities  shall  take  into  account  the  existing  links  when 
assessing the creation of new links. 

4. 

5. 

6. 

Article 30 
Yellow link 

1. 

A  link  between  data  from  two  or  more  information  systems  shall  be  classified  as 
yellow in any of the following cases: 

2. 

1. 

2. 

(a) 

(b) 

the  linked  data  shares  the  same  biometric  but  different  identity  data  and  no 
manual verification of different identity has taken place;  

the  linked  data  has  different  identity  data  and  no  manual  verification  of 
different identity has taken place. 

Where  a link is  classified as  yellow in  accordance  with  paragraph 1, the procedure 
laid down in Article 29 applies. 

Article 31 
Green link 

A  link  between  data  from  two  or  more  information  systems  shall  be  classified  as 
green where the linked data do not share the same biometric but have similar identity 
data  and  the  authority  responsible  for  the  verification  of  different  identities 
concluded it refers to two different persons. 

Where  the  common  identity  repository  (CIR)  or  the  SIS  are  queried  and  where  a 
green  link  exists  between  two  or  more  of  the  information  systems  constituting  the 
CIR or with the SIS, the multiple-identity detector shall indicate that the identity data 
of the linked data does not correspond to the same person. The queried information 
system shall reply indicating only the data of the person whose data was used for the 
query, without triggering a hit against the data that is subject to the green link. 

Article 32 
Red link 

1. 

A link between data from two or more information systems shall be classified as red 
in any of the following cases: 

(a) 

the  linked  data  shares  the  same  biometric  but  different  identity  data  and  the 
authority  responsible  for  the  verification  of  different  identities  concluded  it 
refers unlawfully to the same person;  

(b) 

the  linked  data  has  similar  identity  data  and  the  authority  responsible  for  the 

EN 

52 

  EN 

 
 
 
 
2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

verification  of  different  identities  concluded  it  refers  unlawfully  to  the  same 
person. 

Where  the  CIR  or  the  SIS  are  queried  and  where  a  red  link  exists  between  two  or 
more of the information systems constituting the CIR or with the SIS, the multiple-
identity detector shall reply indicating the data referred to in Article 34. Follow-up to 
a red link shall take place in accordance with Union and national law. 

Where  a  red  link  is  created  between  data  from  the  EES,  the  VIS,  [the  ETIAS], 
Eurodac or [the ECRIS-TCN System], the individual file stored in the CIR shall be 
updated in accordance with Article 19(1). 

Without  prejudice  to  the  provisions  related  to  the  handling  of  alerts  in  the  SIS 
referred  to  in  the  [Regulations  on  SIS  in  the  field  of  border  checks,  on  SIS  in  the 
field  of  law  enforcement  and  on  SIS  in  the  field  of  illegal  return],  and  without 
prejudice to limitations necessary to protect security and public order, prevent crime 
and  guarantee  that  any  national  investigation  will  not  be  jeopardised,  where  a  red 
link  is  created,  the  authority  responsible  for  verification  of  different  identities  shall 
inform the person of the presence of multiple unlawful identities. 

Where  a  red  link  is  created,  the  authority  responsible  for  verification  of  different 
identities shall provide a reference to the authorities responsible for the data linked. 

Article 33 
White link 

A  link  between  data  from  two  or  more  information  systems  shall  be  classified  as 
white in any of the following cases: 

(a) 

(b) 

(c) 

the linked data shares the same biometric and the same or similar identity data; 

the linked data shares the same or similar identity data and at least one of the 
information systems does not have biometric data on the person; 

the  linked  data  shares  the  same  biometric  but  different  identity  data  and  the 
authority  responsible  for  the  verification  of  different  identities  concluded  it 
refers to the same person legally having different identity data. 

Where the CIR or the SIS are queried and where a white link exists between one or 
more of the information systems constituting the CIR or with the SIS, the multiple-
identity detector shall indicate that the identity data of the linked data correspond to 
the  same  person.  The  queried  information  systems  shall  reply  indicating,  where 
relevant, all the linked data on the person, hence triggering a hit against the data that 
is  subject  to  the  white  link,  if  the  authority  launching  the  query  has  access  to  the 
linked data under Union or national law. 

Where  a  white  link  is  created  between  data  from  the  EES,  the  VIS,  [the  ETIAS], 
Eurodac or [the ECRIS-TCN system], the individual file stored in the CIR shall be 
updated in accordance with Article 19(1). 

Without  prejudice  to  the  provisions  related  to  the  handling  of  alerts  in  the  SIS 
referred  to  in  the  [Regulations  on  SIS  in  the  field  of  border  checks,  on  SIS  in  the 
field of law enforcement and on SIS in the field of illegal return], where a white link 
is  created  following  a  manual  verification  of  multiple  identities,  the  authority 
responsible  for  verification  of  different  identities  shall  inform  the  person  of  the 
presence of discrepancies between his or her personal data between systems and shall 
provide a reference to the authorities responsible for the data linked. 

EN 

53 

  EN 

 
The identity confirmation file shall contain the following data: 

Article 34 
Identity confirmation file 

(a) 

(b) 

(c) 

the  links,  including  their  description  in  form  of  colours,  as  referred  to  in 
Articles 30 to 33;  

a reference to the information systems whose data is linked; 

a  single  identification  number  allowing  to  retrieve  the  data  from  the 
information systems of corresponding linked files; 

(d)  where  relevant,  the  authority  responsible  for  the  verification  of  different 

identities. 

Article 35 
Data retention in the multiple-identity detector 

The identity confirmation files and its data, including the links, shall be stored in the multiple-
identity  detector  (MID)  only  for  as  long  as  the  linked  data  is  stored  in  two  or  more  EU 
information systems. 

Article 36 
Keeping of logs 

1. 

eu-LISA shall keep logs of all data processing operations within the MID. Those logs 
shall include, in particular, the following: 

(a) 

(b) 

(c) 

(d) 

(e) 

(f) 

the purpose of access of the user and his or her access rights; 

the date and time of the query; 

the type of data used to launch the query or queries; 

the reference to the data linked; 

the history of the identity confirmation file; 

the identifying mark of the person who carried out the query. 

2. 

3. 

Each Member State shall keep logs of the staff duly authorised to use the MID. 

The  logs  may  be  used  only  for  data  protection  monitoring,  including  checking  the 
admissibility  of  a  request  and  the  lawfulness  of  data  processing,  and  for  ensuring 
data  security  pursuant  to  Article  42.  The  logs  shall  be  protected  by  appropriate 
measures against unauthorised access and erased one year after their creation, unless 
they are required for monitoring procedures that have already begun. The logs related 
to  the  history  of  the  identity  confirmation  file  shall  be  erased  once  the  data  in  the 
identity confirmation file is erased. 

EN 

54 

  EN 

 
 
 
 
 
CHAPTER VI 
Measures supporting interoperability 

Article 37 
Data quality 

eu-LISA shall  establish automated data quality control mechanisms  and procedures 
on  the  data  stored  in  the  SIS,  Eurodac,  [the  ECRIS-TCN  system],  the  shared 
biometric matching service (shared BMS), the common identity repository (CIR) and 
the multiple-identity detector (MID). 

eu-LISA  shall  establish  common  data  quality  indicators  and  the  minimum  quality 
standards  to  store  data  in  the  SIS,  Eurodac,  [the  ECRIS-TCN  system],  the  shared 
BMS, the CIR and the MID. 

eu-LISA  shall  provide  regular  reports  on  the  automated  data  quality  control 
mechanisms and procedures and the common data quality indicators to the Member 
States. eu-LISA shall also provide a regular report to the Commission covering the 
issues encountered and the Member States concerned. 

The details of the automated data quality control mechanisms and procedures and the 
common data quality indicators and the minimum quality standards to store data in 
the SIS, Eurodac, [the ECRIS-TCN system], the shared BMS, the CIR and the MID, 
in  particular  regarding  biometric  data,  shall  be  laid  down  in  implementing  acts. 
Those  implementing  acts  shall  be  adopted  in  accordance  with  the  examination 
procedure referred to in Article 64(2). 

One  year after the establishment  of  the  automated  data  quality  control  mechanisms 
and  procedures  and  common  data  quality  indicators  and  every  year  thereafter,  the 
Commission  shall  evaluate  Member  State  implementation  of  data  quality  and  shall 
make  any  necessary  recommendations.  The  Member  States  shall  provide  the 
Commission  with  an  action  plan  to  remedy  any  deficiencies  identified  in  the 
evaluation report and shall report on any progress against this action plan until it is 
fully  implemented.  The  Commission  shall  transmit  the  evaluation  report  to  the 
European Parliament, to the Council, to the European Data Protection Supervisor and 
to  the  European Union  Agency  for  Fundamental  Rights  established  by  Council 
Regulation (EC) No 168/2007.63 

Article 38 
Universal Message Format 

The  Universal  Message  Format  (UMF)  standard  is  hereby  established.  The  UMF 
defines standards for certain content elements of cross-border information exchange 
between information systems, authorities and/or organisations in the field of Justice 
and Home affairs 

The UMF standard shall be used in the development of the [Eurodac], the [ECRIS-
TCN system], the European  search portal, the CIR, the MID and, if appropriate, in 
the  development  by  eu-LISA  or  any  other  EU  body  of  new  information  exchange 
models and information systems in the area of Justice and Home Affairs. 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

1. 

2. 

63  Council  Regulation  (EC)  No 168/2007  of  15 February  2007  establishing  a  European  Union  Agency  for 

Fundamental Rights (OJ L 53, 22.2.2007, p. 1). 

EN 

55 

  EN 

 
 
                                                 
3. 

4. 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

The implementation of the UMF standard may be considered in the SIS and in any 
existing or new cross-border information exchange models and information systems 
in the area of Justice and Home Affairs, developed by Member States or associated 
countries. 

The Commission shall adopt an implementing act to lay down and develop the UMF 
standard  referred  to  in  paragraph  1.  Those  implementing  acts  shall  be  adopted  in 
accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 64(2). 

Article 39 
Central repository for reporting and statistics 

A  central  repository  for  reporting  and  statistics  (CRRS)  is  established  for  the 
purposes  of  supporting  the  objectives  of  Eurodac,  the  SIS  and  [the  ECRIS-TCN 
system]  and  to  generate  cross-system  statistical  data  and  analytical  reporting  for 
policy, operational and data quality purposes. 

eu-LISA  shall  establish,  implement  and  host  the  CRRS  in  its  technical  sites 
containing the data referred to in  [Article 42(8) of the Eurodac Regulation], [Article 
71 of the Regulation on SIS in the field of law enforcement] and [Article 30 of the 
ECRIS-TCN Regulation] logically separated. The data contained in the CRRS shall 
not enable the identification of individuals. Access to the repository shall be granted 
by  means  of  secured  access  through  the  Trans-  European  Services  for  Telematics 
between  Administrations  (TESTA)  network  service  with  control  of  access  and 
specific  user  profiles,  solely  for  the  purpose  of  reporting  and  statistics,  to  the 
authorities referred to in [Article 42(8) of the Eurodac Regulation], [Article 71 of the 
Regulation  on  SIS  in  the  field  of  law  enforcement]  and  [Article  30  of  the  ECRIS-
TCN Regulation]. 

eu-LISA shall render the data anonymous and shall record such anonymous data in 
the CRRS. The process for rendering the data anonymous shall be automated.  

The CRRS shall be composed of: 

(a) 

(b) 

a  central infrastructure, consisting  of  a  data  repository  enabling  the  rendering 
of anonymous data; 

a  secure  communication  infrastructure  to  connect  the  CRRS  to  the  SIS, 
Eurodac  and  [the  ECRIS-TCN],  as  well  as  the  central  infrastructures  of  the 
shared BMS, the CIR and the MID. 

The  Commission  shall  lay  down  detailed  rules  on  the  operation  of  the  CRRS, 
including  specific  safeguards  for  processing  of  personal  data  referred  to  under 
paragraph  2  and  3  and  security  rules  applicable  to  the  repository  by  means  of 
implementing acts. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the 
examination procedure referred to in Article 64(2). 

EN 

56 

  EN 

 
 
 
CHAPTER VII 
Data protection 

Article 40 
Data controller 

1. 

2. 

In relation to the processing of data in the shared biometric matching service (shared 
BMS), the Member State authorities that are controllers for the Eurodac, SIS and [the 
ECRIS-TCN  system]  respectively,  shall  also  be  considered  as  controllers  in 
accordance  with  Article  4(7)  of  Regulation  (EU)  2016/679  in  relation  to  the 
biometric  templates  obtained  from  the  data referred  to  in  Article  13 that  they enter 
into  respective  systems  and  shall  have  responsibility  for  the  processing  of  the 
biometric templates in the shared BMS. 

In  relation  to  the  processing  of  data  in  the  common  identity  repository  (CIR),  the 
Member State authorities that are controllers for the Eurodac and [the ECRIS-TCN 
system]  respectively,  shall  also  be  considered  as  controllers  in  accordance  with 
Article 4(7) of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 in relation to data referred to in Article 18 
that  they  enter  into  respective  systems  and  shall  have  responsibility  for  the 
processing of that personal data in the CIR. 

3. 

In relation to the processing of data in the multiple-identity detector: 

(a) 

(b) 

the  European  Border  and  Coast  Guard  Agency  shall  be  considered  a  data 
controller in accordance with Article 2(b) of Regulation No 45/2001 in relation 
to processing of personal data by the ETIAS Central Unit; 

the  Member  State  authorities  adding  or  modifying  the  data  in  the  identity 
confirmation  file  are  also  to  be  considered  as  controllers  in  accordance  with 
Article 4(7) of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 and shall have responsibility for the 
processing of the personal data in the multiple-identity detector; 

Article 41 
Data processor 

In relation to the processing of personal data in the CIR, eu-LISA is to be considered the data 
processor in accordance with Article 2(e) of Regulation (EC) No 45/2001. 

Article 42 
Security of processing 

1. 

2. 

3. 

Both  eu-LISA  and  the  Member  State  authorities  shall  ensure  the  security  of  the 
processing  of  personal  data  that  takes  place  pursuant  to  the  application  of  this 
Regulation.  eu-LISA,  [the  ETIAS  Central  Unit]  and  the  Member  State  authorities 
shall cooperate on security-related tasks. 

Without prejudice to Article 22 of Regulation (EC) No 45/2001, eu-LISA shall take 
the necessary measures to ensure the security of the interoperability components and 
their related communication infrastructure. 

In particular,  eu-LISA shall adopt the necessary measures, including a security plan, 
a business continuity plan and a disaster recovery plan, in order to: 

(a)  physically  protect  data,  including  by  making  contingency  plans  for  the 

protection of critical infrastructure; 

EN 

57 

  EN 

 
(b)  prevent  the  unauthorised  reading,  copying,  modification  or  removal  of  data 

media; 

(c)  prevent  the  unauthorised  input  of  data  and  the  unauthorised  inspection, 

modification or deletion of recorded personal data; 

(d)  prevent  the  unauthorised  processing  of  data  and  any  unauthorised  copying, 

modification or deletion of data; 

(e) 

(f) 

(g) 

ensure that persons authorised to access the interoperability components have 
access  only  to  the  data  covered  by  their  access  authorisation,  by  means  of 
individual user identities and confidential access modes only; 

ensure that it is possible to verify and establish to which bodies personal data 
may be transmitted using data communication equipment; 

ensure that it is possible to verify and establish what data has been processed in 
the interoperability components, when, by whom and for what purpose; 

(h)  prevent the unauthorised reading, copying, modification or deletion of personal 
data  during  the  transmission  of  personal  data  to  or  from  the  interoperability 
components  or  during  the  transport  of  data  media,  in  particular  by  means  of 
appropriate encryption techniques; 

(i)  monitor the effectiveness of the security measures referred to in this paragraph 
and take the necessary organisational measures related to internal monitoring to 
ensure compliance with this Regulation. 

Member States shall take measures equivalent to those referred to in paragraph 3 as 
regards  security  in  respect  of  the  processing  of  personal  data  by  the  authorities 
having a right to access any of the interoperability components.  

Article 43 
Confidentiality of SIS data 

Each Member State shall apply its rules of professional secrecy or other equivalent 
duties  of  confidentiality  to  all  persons  and  bodies  required  to  work  with  SIS  data 
accessed  through  any  of  the  interoperability  components  in  accordance  with  its 
national  law.  That  obligation  shall  also  apply  after  those  persons  leave  office  or 
employment or after the termination of the activities of those bodies. 

Without  prejudice  to  Article  17  of  the  Staff  Regulations  of  officials  and  the 
Conditions of Employment of other servants of the European Union, eu-LISA shall 
apply  appropriate  rules  of  professional  secrecy  or  other  equivalent  duties  of 
confidentiality  of comparable standards to  those laid  down in paragraph 1 to  all its 
staff  required  to  work  with  SIS  data.  This  obligation  shall  also  apply  after  those 
persons leave office or employment or after the termination of their activities. 

Article 44 
Security incidents 

Any  event  that  has  or  may  have  an  impact  on  the  security  of  the  interoperability 
components  and  may  cause  damage  to  or  loss  of  data  stored  in  them  shall  be 
considered to be a security incident, in particular where unauthorised access to data 
may have occurred or where the availability, integrity and confidentiality of data has 
or may have been compromised. 

4. 

1. 

2. 

1. 

EN 

58 

  EN 

 
2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

Security  incidents  shall  be  managed  so  as  to  ensure  a  quick,  effective  and  proper 
response. 

Without  prejudice  to  the  notification  and  communication  of  a  personal  data  breach 
pursuant  to  Article 33  of  Regulation  (EU) 2016/679,  Article 30  of  Directive 
(EU) 2016/680,  or  both,  Member States  shall  notify  the  Commission,  eu-LISA  and 
the  European  Data  Protection  Supervisor  of  security  incidents.  In  the  event  of  a 
security  incident  in  relation  to  the  central  infrastructure  of  the  interoperability 
components, eu-LISA shall notify the Commission and the European Data Protection 
Supervisor. 

Information  regarding  a  security  incident  that  has  or  may  have  an  impact  on  the 
operation  of  the  interoperability  components  or  on  the  availability,  integrity  and 
confidentiality  of  the  data  shall  be  provided  to  the  Member States  and  reported  in 
compliance with the incident management plan to be provided by eu-LISA. 

The Member States concerned and eu-LISA shall cooperate in the event of a security 
incident.  The  Commission  shall  lay  down  the  specification  of  this  cooperation 
procedure by means of implementing acts. Those implementing acts shall be adopted 
in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 64(2). 

Article 45 
Self-monitoring 

Member States and the relevant EU bodies shall ensure that each authority entitled to access 
the interoperability components takes the measures necessary to monitor its compliance with 
this Regulation and cooperates, where necessary, with the supervisory authority. 

The data controllers as referred to in Article 40 shall take the necessary measures to monitor 
the  compliance  of  the  data  processing  pursuant  to  this  Regulation,  including  frequent 
verification of logs, and cooperate, where necessary, with the supervisory authorities referred 
to in Articles 49 and 50. 

Article 46 
Right of information 

1. 

Without  prejudice  to  the  right  of  information  referred  to  in  Articles  11  and  12  of 
Regulation  (EC)  45/2001  and  Articles  13  and  14  of  Regulation  (EU)  2016/679,  
persons whose data are stored in the shared biometric matching service, the common 
identity repository or the multiple-identity detector shall be informed by the authority 
collecting  their  data,  at  the  time  their  data  are  collected,  about  the  processing  of 
personal  data  for  the  purposes  of  this  Regulation,  including  about  identity  and 
contact  details  of  the  respective  data  controllers,  and  about  the  procedures  for 
exercising their rights of access, rectification and erasure, as well as about the contact 
details  of  the  European  Data  Protection  Supervisor  and  of  the  national  supervisory 
authority of the Member State responsible for the collection of the data. 

2. 

Persons  whose  data  is  recorded  in  Eurodac  or  [the  ECRIS-TCN  system]  shall  be 
informed  about  the  processing  of  data  for  the  purposes  of  this  Regulation  in 
accordance with paragraph 1 when:  

(a)  – (not applicable); 

(b)  – (not applicable); 

(c)  – (not applicable); 

EN 

59 

  EN 

 
(d) 

(e) 

[an application for international protection is created or updated in Eurodac in 
accordance with Article 10 of the Eurodac Regulation]; 

[a data record is created or updated in the ECRIS-TCN system in accordance 
with Article 5 of the ECRIS-TCN Regulation.] 

Article 47 
Right of access, correction and erasure 

In order to exercise their rights under Articles 13, 14, 15 and 16 of Regulation (EC) 
45/2001  and  Articles  15,  16,  17  and  18  of  Regulation  (EU)  2016/679,  any  person 
shall have the right to address him or herself to the Member State responsible for the 
manual verification of different identities or of any Member State, who shall examine 
and reply to the request. 

The  Member State  responsible  for  the  manual  verification  of  different  identities  as 
referred  to  in  Article  29  or  the  Member State  to  which  the  request  has  been  made 
shall reply to such requests within 45 days of receipt of the request. 

If  a  request  for  correction  or  erasure  of  personal  data  is  made  to  a  Member State 
other than the Member State responsible, the Member State to which the request has 
been made shall contact the authorities of the Member State responsible within seven 
days and the Member State responsible shall check the accuracy of the data and the 
lawfulness of the data processing within 30 days of such contact. 

Where,  following  an  examination,  it  is  found  that  the  data  stored  in  the  multiple-
identity  detector  (MID)  are  factually  inaccurate  or  have  been  recorded  unlawfully, 
the  Member  State  responsible  or,  where  applicable,  the  Member State to  which  the 
request has been made shall correct or delete these data. 

Where  data  in  the  MID  is  amended  by  the  responsible  Member  State  during  its 
validity  period,  the  responsible  Member  State  shall  carry  out  the  processing  laid 
down in Article 27 and, where relevant, Article 29 to determine whether the amended 
data  shall  be  linked.  Where  the  processing  does  not  report  any  hit,  the  responsible 
Member State or, where applicable, the Member State to which the request has been 
made shall delete the data from the identity confirmation file. Where  the automated 
processing reports one or several hit(s), the responsible Member State shall create or 
update the relevant link in accordance with the relevant provisions of this Regulation. 

Where  the  responsible  Member  State  or,  where  applicable,  the  Member State  to 
which  the  request  has  been  made  does  not  agree  that  data  stored  in  the  MID  are 
factually inaccurate or have been recorded unlawfully, that Member State shall adopt 
an  administrative  decision  explaining  in  writing  to  the  person  concerned  without 
delay why it is not prepared to correct or delete data relating to him or her. 

This  decision  shall  also  provide  the  person  concerned  with  information  explaining 
the  possibility  to  challenge  the  decision  taken  in  respect  of  the  request  referred  in 
paragraph  3  and,  where  relevant,  information  on  how  to  bring  an  action  or  a 
complaint  before  the  competent  authorities  or  courts,  and  any  assistance,  including 
from the competent national supervisory authorities. 

Any request made pursuant to paragraph 3 shall contain the necessary information to 
identify the person concerned. That information shall be used exclusively to enable 
the exercise of the rights referred to in paragraph 3 and shall be erased immediately 
afterwards.  

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

6. 

7. 

8. 

EN 

60 

  EN 

 
9. 

The responsible Member State or, where applicable, the Member State to which the 
request has been made shall keep a record in the form of a written document that a 
request  referred  to  in  paragraph  3  was  made  and  how  it  was  addressed,  and  shall 
make  that  document  available  to  competent  data  protection  national  supervisory 
authorities without delay. 

Article 48 
Communication of personal data to third countries, international organisations and private 
parties 

Personal data stored in or accessed by the interoperability components shall not be transferred 
or  made  available  to  any  third  country,  to  any  international  organisation  or  to  any  private 
party. 

Article 49 
Supervision by the national supervisory authority 

1. 

2. 

The  supervisory  authority  or  authorities  designated  pursuant  to  Article  49  of 
Regulation  (EU)  2016/679  shall  ensure  that  an  audit  of  the  data  processing 
operations  by  the  responsible  national  authorities  is  carried  out  in  accordance  with 
relevant international auditing standards at least every four years. 

Member States  shall ensure that their supervisory authority has  sufficient resources 
to fulfil the tasks entrusted to it under this Regulation. 

Article 50 
Supervision by the European Data Protection Supervisor 

The  European  Data  Protection  Supervisor  shall  ensure  that  an  audit  of  eu-LISA’s  personal 
data  processing  activities  is  carried  out  in  accordance  with  relevant  international  auditing 
standards  at  least  every  four  years.  A  report  of  that  audit  shall  be  sent  to  the  European 
Parliament, the Council, eu-LISA, the Commission and the Member States. eu-LISA shall be 
given an opportunity to make comments before the reports are adopted. 

Article 51 
Cooperation between national supervisory authorities and the European Data Protection 
Supervisor 

1. 

2. 

The European Data Protection Supervisor shall act in close cooperation with national 
supervisory authorities with respect to specific issues requiring national involvement, 
in  particular  if  the  European  Data  Protection  Supervisor  or  a  national  supervisory 
authority  finds  major  discrepancies  between  practices  of  Member  States  or  finds 
potentially  unlawful 
the 
interoperability  components,  or  in  the  context  of  questions  raised  by  one  or  more 
national  supervisory  authorities  on  the  implementation  and  interpretation  of  this 
Regulation. 

the  communication  channels  of 

transfers  using 

In  the cases referred to  in  paragraph 1, coordinated supervision shall  be ensured in 
accordance  with  Article  62  of  Regulation  (EU)  XXXX/2018  [revised  Regulation 
45/2001]. 

EN 

61 

  EN 

 
 
CHAPTER VIII 
Responsibilities 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

Article 52 
Responsibilities of eu-LISA during the design and development phase 

eu-LISA  shall  ensure  that  the  central  infrastructures  of  the  interoperability 
components are operated in accordance with this Regulation. 

The interoperability components shall be hosted by eu-LISA in its technical sites and 
shall provide the functionalities laid down in this Regulation in accordance with the 
conditions of security, availability, quality and speed referred to in Article 53(1). 

eu-LISA shall be responsible for the development of the interoperability components, 
for  any  adaptations  required  for  establishing  interoperability  between  the  central 
systems of the EES, VIS, [ETIAS], SIS, and Eurodac, and [the ECRIS-TCN system], 
and the European search portal, the shared biometric matching service, the common 
identity repository and the multiple-identity detector. 

eu-LISA  shall  define  the  design  of  the  physical  architecture  of  the  interoperability 
components  including  their  communication  infrastructures  and  the  technical 
specifications and their evolution as regards the central infrastructure and the secure 
communication  infrastructure,  which  shall  be  adopted  by  the  Management  Board, 
subject  to  a  favourable  opinion  of  the  Commission.  eu-LISA  shall  also  implement 
any  necessary  adaptations  to  the  SIS,  Eurodac  or  [ECRIS-TCN  system]  deriving 
from the establishment of interoperability and provided for by this Regulation.     

eu-LISA  shall  develop  and  implement  the  interoperability  components  as  soon  as 
possible  after  the  entry  into  force  of  this  Regulation  and  the  adoption  by  the 
Commission of the measures provided for in Articles 8(2), 9(7), 28(5) and (6), 37(4), 
38(4), 39(5) and 44(5). 

The development shall consist of the elaboration and implementation of the technical 
specifications, testing and overall project coordination. 

During  the  design  and  development  phase,  a  Programme  Management  Board 
composed of a maximum of 10 members shall be established. It shall be composed of 
seven  members  appointed  by  eu-LISA’s  Management  Board  from  among  its 
members or its alternates, the Chair of the Interoperability Advisory Group referred 
to in Article 65, a member representing eu-LISA appointed by its Executive Director, 
and  one  member  appointed  by  the  Commission.  The  members  appointed  by  eu-
LISA’s Management Board shall be elected only from those Member States that are 
fully  bound  under  Union  law  by  the  legislative  instruments  governing  the 
development,  establishment,  operation  and  use  of  all  the  large-scale  IT  systems 
managed by eu-LISA and which will participate in the interoperability components. 

5. 

The Programme Management Board shall meet regularly and at least three times per 
quarter.  It  shall  ensure  the  adequate  management  of  the  design  and  development 
phase of the interoperability components. 

The  Programme  Management  Board  shall  every  month  submit  to  the  Management 
Board written reports on progress of the project. The Programme Management Board 
shall have no decision-making power nor any mandate to represent the members of 
eu-LISA’s Management Board. 

EN 

62 

  EN 

 
6. 

eu-LISA’s  Management  Board  shall  establish  the  rules  of  procedure  of  the 
Programme Management Board, which shall include in particular rules on:  

(a) 

chairmanship;   

(b)  meeting venues; 

(c)  preparation of meetings; 

(d) 

(e) 

admission of experts to the meetings; 

communication  plans  ensuring  full  information  to  non-participating  Members 
of the Management Board. 

The chairmanship shall be held by a Member State that is fully bound under Union 
law  by  the  legislative  instruments  governing  the  development,  establishment, 
operation and use of all the large-scale IT systems managed by eu-LISA. 

All  travel  and  subsistence  expenses  incurred  by  the  members  of  the  Programme 
Management  Board  shall  be  paid  by  the  Agency,  and  Article  10  of  the  eu-LISA 
Rules  of  Procedure  shall  apply  mutatis  mutandis.  eu-LISA  shall  provide  the 
Programme Management Board with a secretariat. 

The  Interoperability  Advisory  Group  referred  to  in  Article  65  shall  meet  regularly 
until  the  start  of  operations  of  the  interoperability  components.  It  shall  report  after 
each  meeting  to  the  Programme  Management  Board.  It  shall  provide  the  technical 
expertise to support the tasks of the Programme Management Board and shall follow 
up on the state of preparation of the Member States. 

Article 53 
Responsibilities of eu-LISA following the entry into operations 

1. 

2. 

3. 

Following  the  entry  into  operations  of  each  interoperability  component,  eu-LISA 
shall  be  responsible  for  the  technical  management  of  the  central  infrastructure  and 
the  national  uniform  interfaces.  In  cooperation  with  the  Member  States,  it  shall 
ensure  at  all  times  the  best  available  technology,  subject  to  a  cost-benefit  analysis. 
eu-LISA  shall  also  be  responsible  for 
the 
communication infrastructure referred to in Articles 6, 12, 17, 25 and 39. 

technical  management  of 

the 

Technical  management  of  the  interoperability  components  shall  consist  of  all  the 
tasks necessary to keep the interoperability components functioning 24 hours a day, 7 
days a week in accordance with this Regulation, in particular the maintenance work 
and  technical  developments  necessary  to  ensure  that  the  components  function  at  a 
satisfactory level of technical quality, in  particular  as  regards the response  time for 
interrogation  of  the  central  infrastructures  in  accordance  with  the  technical 
specifications. 

Without prejudice to Article 17 of the Staff Regulations of Officials of the European 
Union,  eu-LISA  shall  apply  appropriate  rules  of  professional  secrecy  or  other 
equivalent  duties  of  confidentiality  to  its  entire  staff  required  to  work  with  data 
stored in the interoperability components. This obligation shall also apply after such 
staff leave office or employment or after the termination of their activities. 

eu-LISA  shall  develop  and  maintain  a  mechanism  and  procedures  for  carrying  out 
quality  checks  on  the  data  stored  in  the  shared  biometric  matching  service  and  the 
common identity repository in accordance with Article 37. 

EN 

63 

  EN 

 
4. 

eu-LISA shall also perform tasks related to providing training on the technical use of 
the interoperability components. 

 Article 54 
Responsibilities of Member States 

1. 

Each Member State shall be responsible for: 

(a) 

(b) 

(c) 

(d) 

(e) 

(f) 

(g) 

(h) 

the  connection  to  the  communication  infrastructure  of  the  European  search 
portal (ESP) and the common identity repository (CIR); 

the  integration  of  the  existing  national  systems  and  infrastructures  with  the 
ESP,  shared  biometric  matching  service,  the  CIR  and  the  multiple-identity 
detector; 

the  organisation,  management,  operation  and  maintenance  of  its  existing 
national infrastructure and of its connection to the interoperability components; 

the management of, and arrangements for, access by the duly authorised staff, 
and by the duly empowered staff, of the competent national authorities to the 
ESP,  the  CIR  and  the  multiple-identity  detector  in  accordance  with  this 
Regulation and the creation and regular update of a list of those staff and their 
profiles; 

the adoption of the legislative measures referred to in Article 20(3) in order to 
access the CIR for identification purposes; 

the manual verification of different identities referred to in Article 29; 

the implementation of data quality requirements in the EU information systems 
and in the interoperability components; 

remedying  any  deficiencies  identified  in  the  Commission's  evaluation  report 
concerning data quality referred to in Article 37(5). 

Each  Member State  shall  connect  their  designated  authorities  referred  to  in 
Article 4(24) to the CIR. 

Article 54a 
Responsibilities of Europol 

Europol  shall  ensure  processing  of  the  queries  by  the  ESP  to  the  Europol  data  and 
shall  accordingly  adapt  its  Querying  Europol  Systems  (QUEST)  interface  for  basic 
protection level (BPL) data. 

Europol shall be responsible for the management of, and arrangements for, its duly 
authorised  staff  to  use  and  access  respectively  the  ESP  and  the  CIR  in  accordance 
with this Regulation and the creation and regular update of a list of those staff and 
their profiles. 

2. 

1. 

2. 

Article 55 
Responsibilities of the ETIAS Central Unit 

The ETIAS Central Unit shall be responsible for: 

(a) 

(b) 

the manual verification of different identities referred to in Article 29; 

carrying  out  a  multiple-identity  detection  between  the  data  stored  in  the  VIS, 

EN 

64 

  EN 

 
Eurodac and the SIS referred to in Article 59. 

CHAPTER IX 
Final provisions 

Article 56 
Reporting and statistics 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

The  duly  authorised  staff  of  the  competent  authorities  of  Member  States,  the 
Commission and eu-LISA shall have access to consult the following data related to 
the European search portal (ESP), solely for the purposes of reporting and statistics 
without enabling individual identification: 

(a)  number of queries per user of the ESP profile; 

(b)  – (not applicable). 

The  duly  authorised  staff  of  the  competent  authorities  of  Member  States,  the 
Commission and eu-LISA shall have access to consult the following data related to 
the  common  identity  repository,  solely  for  the  purposes  of  reporting  and  statistics 
without enabling individual identification: 

(a)  number of queries for the purposes of Articles 20, 21 and 22; 

(b)  nationality, sex and year of birth of the person; 

(c) 

(d) 

the type of the travel document and the three-letter code of the issuing country; 

the number of searches conducted with and without biometric data. 

The  duly  authorised  staff  of  the  competent  authorities  of  Member  States,  the 
Commission and eu-LISA shall have access to consult the following data related to 
the  multiple-identity  detector,  solely  for  the  purposes  of  reporting  and  statistics 
without enabling individual identification: 

(a) 

(a) 

(b) 

(c) 

 nationality, sex and year of birth of the person; 

the type of the travel document and the three-letter code of the issuing country; 

the number of searches conducted with and without biometric data; 

the number of each type of link. 

The  duly  authorised  staff  of  the  European  Border  and  Coast  Guard  Agency 
established  by  Regulation  (EU)  2016/1624  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the 
Council64 shall have access to consult the data referred to in paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 for 
the purpose of carrying out risk analyses and vulnerability assessments as referred to 
in Articles 11 and 13 of that Regulation. 

For the purpose of paragraph 1 of this Article, eu-LISA shall store the data referred 
to in paragraph 1 of this Article in the central repository for reporting and statistics 
referred  to  in  Chapter  VII  of  this  Regulation.  The  data  included  in  the  repository 

64

  Regulation  (EU)  2016/1624  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  14 September  2016  on  the  European 
Border  and  Coast  Guard and  amending  Regulation  (EU)  2016/399  of  the European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  and 
repealing  Regulation  (EC)  No 863/2007  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council,  Council  Regulation  (EC) 
No 2007/2004 and Council Decision 2005/267/EC (OJ L 251, 16.9.2016, p. 1). 

EN 

65 

  EN 

 
 
 
 
                                                 
shall  not  enable  the  identification  of  individuals,  but  it  shall  allow  the  authorities 
listed  in  paragraph  1  of  this  Article  to  obtain  customisable  reports  and  statistics  to 
enhance  the  efficiency  of  border  checks,  to  help  authorities  processing  visa 
applications and to support evidence-based policymaking on migration and security 
in the Union. 

Article 57 
Transitional period for the use of the European search portal 

For  a  period  of  two  years  from  the  date  the  ESP  commences  operations,  the  obligations 
referred  to  in  Article  7(2)  and  (4)  shall  not  apply  and  the  utilisation  of  the  ESP  shall  be 
optional. 

Article 58 
Transitional period applicable to the provisions on access to the common identity repository 
for law enforcement purposes 

Article 22 shall apply from the date of the start of operations referred to in Article 62(1). 

Article 59 
Transitional period for the multiple-identity detection 

1. 

For a period of one year following the notification by eu-LISA of the completion of 
the test referred to in Article 62(1)(b) regarding the multiple-identity detector (MID) 
and before the start of operations of the MID, the ETIAS Central Unit as referred to 
in [Article 33(a) of Regulation (EU) 2016/1624] shall be responsible for carrying out 
a  multiple-identity  detection  between  the  data  stored  in  the  VIS,  Eurodac  and  the 
SIS. The multiple-identity detections shall be carried out using only biometric data in 
accordance with Article 27(2) of this Regulation. 

2. 

Where the query reports one or several hit(s) and the identity data of the linked files 
is identical or similar, a white link shall be created in accordance with Article 33. 

Where the query reports one or several hit(s) and the identity data of the linked files 
cannot  be  considered  as  similar,  a  yellow  link  shall  be  created  in  accordance  with 
Article 30 and the procedure referred to in Article 29 shall apply.  

Where  several  hits  are  reported,  a  link  shall  be  created  to  each  piece  of  data 
triggering the hit. 

Where a yellow link is created in accordance with paragraph 3, the MID shall grant 
access to the identity data present in the different information systems to the ETIAS 
Central Unit. 

Where a link is created to an alert in the SIS, other than a refusal of entry alert or an 
alert  on  a  travel  document  reported  lost,  stolen  or  invalidated  in  accordance  with 
Article 24 of the Regulation on SIS in the field of border checks and Article 38 of the 
Regulation on SIS in the field of law enforcement respectively, the MID shall grant 
access to the identity data present in the different information systems to the SIRENE 
Bureau of the Member State that created the alert. 

The ETIAS Central Unit or the SIRENE Bureau of the Member State that created the 
alert shall have access to the data contained in the identity confirmation file and shall 
assess  the  different  identities  and  shall  update  the  link  in  accordance  with  Articles 
31, 32 and 33 and add it to the identity confirmation file. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

EN 

66 

  EN 

 
6. 

1. 

2. 

3. 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

1. 

eu-LISA  shall  assist  where  necessary  the  ETIAS  Central  Unit  in  carrying  out  the 
multiple-identity detection referred to in this Article. 

Article 60 
Costs 

The  costs  incurred  in  connection  with  the  establishment  and  operation  of  the  ESP, 
the shared biometric matching service, the common identity repository (CIR) and the 
MID shall be borne by the general budget of the Union. 

Costs  incurred  in  connection  with  the  integration  of  the  existing  national 
infrastructures  and  their  connection  to  the  national  uniform  interfaces  as  well  as  in 
connection with hosting the national uniform interfaces shall be borne by the general 
budget of the Union. 

The following costs shall be excluded: 

(a)  Member States’ project management office (meetings, missions, offices); 

(b)  hosting of national IT systems (space, implementation, electricity, cooling); 

(c)  operation of national IT systems (operators and support contracts); 

(d)  design,  development,  implementation,  operation  and  maintenance  of  national 

communication networks. 

The costs incurred by the designated authorities referred to in Article 4(24) shall be 
borne, respectively, by each Member State and Europol. The costs for the connection 
of  the  designated  authorities  to  the  CIR  shall  be  borne  by  each  Member State  and 
Europol, respectively. 

Article 61 
Notifications 

The Member States shall notify eu-LISA of the authorities referred to in Articles 7, 
20,  21  and  26  that  may  use  or  have  access  to  the  ESP,  the  CIR  and  the  MID 
respectively. 

A consolidated list of those authorities shall be published in the  Official Journal of 
the  European  Union  within  a  period  of  three  months  from  the  date  on  which  each 
interoperability  component  commenced  operations  in  accordance  with  Article  62. 
Where  there  are  amendments  to  the  list,  eu-LISA  shall  publish  an  updated 
consolidated list once a year. 

eu-LISA  shall  notify  the  Commission  of  the  successful  completion  of  the  test 
referred to in Article 62(1)(b). 

The ETIAS Central Unit shall notify the Commission of the successful completion of 
the transitional measure laid down in Article 59. 

The  Commission  shall  make  available  to  the  Member  States  and  the  public,  by  a 
constantly updated public website, the information notified pursuant to paragraph 1. 

Article 62 
Start of operations 

The Commission shall decide the date from which each interoperability component is 
to start operations, after the following conditions are met: 

EN 

67 

  EN 

 
(a) 

(b) 

(c) 

(d) 

(e) 

the  measures  referred  to  in  Articles  8(2),  9(7),  28(5)  and  (6),  37(4),  38(4), 
39(5) and 44(5) have been adopted; 

eu-LISA has declared the successful completion of a comprehensive test of the 
relevant  interoperability  component,  which  is  to  be  conducted  by  eu-LISA  in 
cooperation with the Member States; 

eu-LISA  has  validated  the  technical  and  legal  arrangements  to  collect  and 
transmit  the  data  referred  to  in  Articles  8(1),  13,  19, 34  and  39  and  have 
notified them to the Commission; 

the  Member States  have  notified 
Article 61(1); 

the  Commission  as  referred 

to 

in 

for  the  multiple-identity  detector,  the  ETIAS  Central  Unit  has  notified  the 
Commission as referred to in Article 61(3). 

The Commission shall inform the European Parliament and the Council of the results 
of the test carried out pursuant to paragraph 1(b). 

The Commission decision referred to in paragraph 1 shall be published in the Official 
Journal of the European Union. 

The  Member States  and  Europol  shall  start  using  the  interoperability  components 
from the date determined by the Commission in accordance with paragraph 1. 

Article 63 
Exercise of the delegation 

The  power  to  adopt  delegated  acts  is  conferred  on  the  Commission  subject  to  the 
conditions laid down in this Article. 

The  power  to  adopt  delegated  acts  referred  to  in  Articles  8(2)  and  9(7)  shall  be 
conferred on the Commission for an indeterminate period of time from [the date of 
entry into force of this Regulation]. 

The delegation of power referred to in Articles 8(2) and 9(7) may be revoked at any 
time by the European Parliament or by the Council. A decision to revoke shall put an 
end to the delegation of the power specified in that decision. It shall take effect the 
day following the publication of the decision in the Official Journal of the European 
Union  or  at  a  later  date  specified  therein.  It  shall  not  affect  the  validity  of  any 
delegated acts already in force. 

Before adopting a delegated act, the Commission shall consult experts designated by 
each  Member  State 
the 
in  accordance  with 
Interinstitutional Agreement on Better Law-Making of 13 April 2016. 

the  principles 

laid  down 

in 

As soon as it adopts a delegated act, the Commission shall notify it simultaneously to 
the European Parliament and to the Council. 

A delegated act adopted pursuant to Articles 8(2) and 9(7) shall enter into force only 
if no objection has been expressed either by the European Parliament or the Council 
within a period of [two months] of notification of that act to the European Parliament 
and the Council or if, before the expiry of that period, the European Parliament and 
the  Council  have  both  informed  the Commission  that  they  will  not  object.  That 
period shall be extended by [two months] at the initiative of the European Parliament 
or of the Council. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

6. 

EN 

68 

  EN 

 
Article 64 
Committee procedure 

1. 

2. 

The  Commission  shall  be  assisted  by  a  committee.  That  committee  shall  be  a 
committee within the meaning of Regulation (EU) No 182/2011. 

Where  reference  is  made  to  this  paragraph,  Article  5  of  Regulation  (EU) 
No 182/2011 shall apply. 

Article 65 
Advisory group 

An Advisory Group shall be established by eu-LISA in order to provide it with the expertise 
related  to  interoperability,  in  particular  in  the  context  of  the  preparation  of  its  annual  work 
programme  and  its  annual  activity  report.  During  the  design  and  development  phase  of  the 
interoperability instruments, Article 52(4) to (6) shall apply. 

Article 66 
Training 

eu-LISA  shall  perform  tasks  related  to  the  provision  of  training  on  the  technical  use  of  the 
interoperability components in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 1077/2011. 

Article 67 
Practical handbook 

The  Commission  shall,  in  close  cooperation  with  the  Member States,  eu-LISA  and  other 
relevant  agencies,  make  available  a  practical  handbook  for  the  implementation  and 
management  of  the  interoperability  components.  The  practical  handbook  shall  provide 
technical  and  operational  guidelines,  recommendations  and  best  practices.  The  Commission 
shall adopt the practical handbook in the form of a recommendation. 

Article 68 
Monitoring and evaluation 

1. 

2. 

3. 

eu-LISA shall ensure that procedures are in place to monitor the development of the 
interoperability components in light of objectives relating to planning and costs and 
to  monitor  the  functioning  of  the  interoperability  components  in  light  of  objectives 
relating to the technical output, cost-effectiveness, security and quality of service. 

By  [Six  months  after  the  entry  into  force  of  this  Regulation  —  OPOCE,  please 
replace with the actual date] and every six months thereafter during the development 
phase  of  the  interoperability  components,  eu-LISA  shall  submit  a  report  to  the 
European Parliament and the Council on the state of play of the development of the 
interoperability  components.  Once  the  development  is  finalised,  a  report  shall  be 
submitted to the European Parliament and the Council explaining in detail how the 
objectives,  in  particular  relating  to  planning  and  costs,  were  achieved  as  well  as 
justifying any divergences. 

For  the  purposes  of  technical  maintenance,  eu-LISA  shall  have  access  to  the 
necessary  information  relating  to  the  data  processing  operations  performed  in  the 
interoperability components. 

EN 

69 

  EN 

 
4. 

5. 

6. 

7. 

8. 

Four years after the start of operations of each interoperability component and every 
four years thereafter, eu-LISA shall submit to the European Parliament, the Council 
and  the  Commission  a  report  on  the  technical  functioning  of  the  interoperability 
components, including the security thereof.  

In addition, one year after each report from eu-LISA, the Commission shall produce 
an overall evaluation of the components, including: 

(a) 

(b) 

(c) 

(d) 

(e) 

an assessment of the application of this Regulation; 

an  examination  of  the  results  achieved  against  objectives  and  the  impact  on 
fundamental rights; 

an  assessment  of  the  continuing  validity  of  the  underlying  rationale  of  the 
interoperability components; 

an assessment of the security of the interoperability components; 

an  assessment  of  any  implications,  including  any  disproportionate  impact  on 
the flow of traffic at border crossing points and those with a budgetary impact 
on the Union budget. 

The  evaluations  shall  include  any  necessary  recommendations.  The  Commission 
shall transmit the evaluation report to the European Parliament, to the Council, to the 
European  Data  Protection  Supervisor  and  to  the  European Union  Agency  for 
Fundamental Rights established by Council Regulation (EC) No 168/2007.65 

The Member States and Europol shall provide eu-LISA and the Commission with the 
information  necessary  to  draft  the  reports  referred  to  in  paragraphs  4  and  5.  This 
information shall not jeopardise working methods or include information that reveals 
sources, staff members or investigations of the designated authorities. 

eu-LISA  shall  provide  the  Commission  with  the  information  necessary  to  produce 
the evaluations referred to in paragraph 5. 

While  respecting  the  provisions  of  national  law  on  the  publication  of  sensitive 
information,  each  Member  State  and  Europol  shall  prepare  annual  reports  on  the 
effectiveness  of  access  to  data  stored  in  the  common  identity  repository  for  law 
enforcement purposes, containing information and statistics on: 

(a) 

(b) 

(c) 

(d) 

(e) 

the exact purpose of the consultation including the type of terrorist or serious 
criminal offence; 

reasonable  grounds  given  for  the  substantiated  suspicion  that  the  suspect, 
perpetrator or victim is covered by the Eurodac Regulation; 

the  number  of  requests  for  access  to  the  common  identity  repository  for  law 
enforcement purposes; 

the number and type of cases that have ended in successful identifications; 

the need and use made of the exceptional case of urgency including those cases 
where that urgency was not accepted by the ex post verification carried out by 
the central access point. 

Member State and Europol annual reports shall be transmitted to the Commission by 
30 June of the subsequent year. 

65  Council  Regulation  (EC)  No 168/2007  of  15 February  2007  establishing  a  European  Union  Agency  for 

Fundamental Rights (OJ L 53, 22.2.2007, p. 1). 

EN 

70 

  EN 

 
                                                 
Article 69 
Entry into force and applicability 

This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in 
the Official Journal of the European Union. 

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in the Member States in 
accordance with the Treaties. 

Done at Brussels, 

For the European Parliament 
The President 

For the Council 
The President 

EN 

71 

  EN 

 
 
LEGISLATIVE FINANCIAL STATEMENT 

1. 

FRAMEWORK OF THE PROPOSAL/INITIATIVE 

1.1.  Title of the proposal/initiative  

1.2.  Policy area(s) concerned 

1.3.  Nature of the proposal/initiative  

1.4.  Objective(s)  

1.5.  Grounds for the proposal/initiative  

1.6.  Duration and financial impact  

1.7.  Management mode(s) planned  

2. 

MANAGEMENT MEASURES  

2.1.  Monitoring and reporting rules  

2.2.  Management and control system  

2.3.  Measures to prevent fraud and irregularities  

3. 

ESTIMATED FINANCIAL IMPACT OF THE PROPOSAL/INITIATIVE  

3.1.  Heading(s)  of  the  multiannual  financial  framework  and  expenditure  budget 
line(s) affected  

3.2.  Estimated impact on expenditure  

3.2.1. Summary of estimated impact on expenditure  

3.2.2. Estimated impact on operational appropriations  

3.2.3. Estimated impact on appropriations of an administrative nature 

3.2.4. Compatibility with the current multiannual financial framework 

3.2.5. Third-party contributions  

3.3.  Estimated impact on revenue 

EN 

72 

  EN 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
LEGISLATIVE FINANCIAL STATEMENT 

1. 

FRAMEWORK OF THE PROPOSAL/INITIATIVE  

1.1. 

Title of the proposal/initiative  

Proposal  for  a  Regulation  of  the  European  Parliament  and  the  Council  establishing 
interoperability  between  European  Union  information  systems  for  security,  border 
and migration management. 

1.2. 

Policy area(s) concerned  

Home Affairs (title 18) 

1.3. 

Nature of the proposal/initiative  

X The proposal/initiative relates to a new action  

  The  proposal/initiative 
project/preparatory action66  

relates 

to  a  new  action 

following  a  pilot 

 The proposal/initiative relates to the extension of an existing action  

 The proposal/initiative relates to an action redirected towards a new action  

1.4. 

Objective(s) 

1.4.1.  The  Commission's  multiannual 

strategic  objective(s) 

targeted  by 

the 

proposal/initiative  

Border management – saving lives and securing external borders 

The  interoperability  components  create  the  opportunity  for  a  better  use  of  the 
information contained in the existing EU systems for security, border and migration 
management.  These  measures  mainly  avoid  that  the  same  person  is  recorded  in 
different  systems  with  different  identities.  Currently,  the  unique  identification  of  a 
person  is  possible  within  a  given  system  but  not  across  systems.  This  can  lead  to 
erroneous decisions by the authorities or conversely be used by male fide travellers 
to hide their real identity. 

Better information exchange 

The proposed measures also provide a streamlined but still delimited access of law 
enforcement  services  to  these  data.  But,  unlike  today,  there  is  one  single  set  of 
conditions rather than a different set for accessing each data collection. 

1.4.2. 

Specific objective(s) and Specific objective No [ ]  

The  establishment  of  the  interoperability  components  has  the  following  general 
objectives: 

(a) 

(b) 

to improve the management of the external borders; 

to contribute to preventing and combating irregular migration; and 

66 

As referred to in Article 54(2)(a) or (b) of the Financial Regulation. 

EN 

73 

  EN 

 
 
                                                 
(c) 

to contribute to a high level of security within the area of freedom, security and 
justice  of  the  Union  including  the  maintenance  of  public  security  and  public 
policy and safeguarding the security in the territories of the Member States. 

The objectives of ensuring interoperability shall be achieved by: 

(a) 

(b) 

ensuring the correct identification of persons; 

contributing to fighting identity fraud; 

improving  and  harmonising  data  quality  requirements  of  the  respective  EU 

(c) 
information systems; 

facilitating the technical and operational implementation by Member States of 

(d) 
existing and future EU information systems; 

strengthening and simplifying and making more uniform the data security and 

(e) 
data protection conditions that govern the respective EU information systems; 

simplifying  and  making  more  uniform  the  conditions  for  law  enforcement 

(f) 
access to the EES, the VIS, the ETIAS and Eurodac; 

supporting the purposes of the EES, the VIS, the ETIAS, Eurodac, the SIS and 

(g) 
the ECRIS-TCN System 

ABM/ABB activity(ies) concerned 

Chapter Security and Safeguarding Liberties: Internal Security 

EN 

74 

  EN 

 
 
1.4.3.  Expected result(s) and impact 

Specify the effects which the proposal/initiative should have on the beneficiaries/groups targeted. 

The general objectives of this initiative result from the two Treaty-based goals: 

1. To improve the management of the Schengen external borders, building on 
the  European  Agenda  on  Migration  and  subsequent  communications,  including  the 
Communication on preserving and strengthening Schengen area. 

2. To contribute to the internal security of the European Union, building on the 
European Agenda on Security and the Commission's work towards an effective and 
genuine Security Union. 

The specific policy objectives of this interoperability initiative are: 

The specific objectives of this proposal are to: 

1. 
ensure  that  end-users,  particularly  border  guards,  law  enforcement  officers, 
immigration  officials  and  judicial  authorities  have  fast,  seamless,  systematic  and 
controlled access to the information that they need to perform their tasks; 

2. 
provide  a  solution  to  detect  multiple  identities  linked  to  the  same  set  of 
biometric  data,  with  the  dual  purpose  of  ensuring  the  correct identification  of  bona 
fide persons and combating identity fraud; 

facilitate  identity  checks  of  third-country  nationals,  on  the  territory  of  a 

3. 
Member State, by police authorities; and 

facilitate  and  streamline  access  by  law  enforcement  authorities  to  non-law 
4. 
enforcement  information  systems  at  EU  level,  where  necessary  for  the  prevention, 
investigation, detection or prosecution of serious crime and terrorism. 

To meet the specific objective 1, the European search portal (ESP) will be developed. 

To meet the specific objective 2, the multiple identity detector (MID) will be put in 
place, supported by the common identity repository (CIR) and the shared biometric 
matching service (shared BMS). 

To  meet  the  specific  objective  3,  authorised  officials  will  be  granted  access  to  the  
CIR for the purpose of identification.   

To meet objective 4 the CIR will contain a hit-flag functionality which will allow for 
a two-step approach for law enforcement access to border management systems. 

In  addition  to  these  four  interoperability  components  the  objectives  described  in 
section 1.4.2 will be furthermore be supported by the establishment and governance 
of the Universal Message Format (UMF) as an EU standard for the development of 
information systems in the area of justice and home affairs, and by the establishment 
of a common repository for reporting and statistics (CRRS). 

1.4.4. 

Indicators of results and impact  

Specify the indicators for monitoring implementation of the proposal/initiative. 

Each  of  the  measures  proposed  requires  the  development,  followed  by  the 
maintenance and operations, of that component. 

During the development 

EN 

75 

  EN 

 
 
 
 
The development of each component will be done once the prerequisites are fulfilled 
i.e. the legal proposal is adopted by the co-legislators and the technical prerequisites 
fulfilled, as some components can only be built once another one is available. 

Specific objective: ready for operations by the target due date 

By the end of 2017, the proposal is sent to the co-legislators for their adoption. The 
assumption  is  made  that  the  adoption  process  will  be  completed  during  2018  by 
analogy with the time taken for other proposals. 

Under that assumption, the start of the development period is set at the beginning of 
2019 (= T0) in order to have a reference point from where durations are counted and 
not  absolute  dates.  If  adoption  by  co-legislators  occurs  at  a  later  date,  the  whole 
schedule shifts accordingly. On the other hand, the shared BMS needs to be available 
before  the  CIR  and  the  MID  can  be  completed.  The  durations  of  development  are 
indicated on the chart below: 

(Block in yellow relates to a specific Eurodac-related task.) 

- Common repository for reporting and statistics (CRRS): due date: T0 + 12 months 
(2019-2020) 

- European search portal (ESP): due date: T0+36 months (2019-2021) 

- Shared biometric matching service (shared BMS) is first created for delivering the 
Entry/Exit System (EES).  When this milestone is achieved, the applications that will 
use the shared BMS need to be updated and the data contained in the SIS automated 
fingerprint identification system (AFIS), the Eurodac AFIS and the data of ECRIS-
TCN migrated into the shared BMS. The due date for completion is end-2023. 

- The common identity repository (CIR) is first created during the implementation of 
EES.  When  the  EES  is  completed,  the  data  from  Eurodac  and  ECRIS  are 
incorporated into the CIR. The due date for completion is end-2022 (availability of 
shared BMS + 12 months).   

-  The  multiple  identity  detector  (MID)  is  created  after  the  CIR  is  operational.  The 
due date for completion is  end-2022 (availability  of shared BMS + 24 months)  but 
there is a very resource-consuming period of validating links between identities that 
are  proposed  by  the  MID.  Each  of  the  estimated  links  needs  to  be  manually 
validated. This takes till the end of 2023. 

The  period  of  operations  starts  once  the  development  period  indicated  above  is 
completed. 

Operations 

Indicators related to each specific objective mentioned under 1.4.3 are as follows:  

EN 

76 

  EN 

201920202021202220232024202520262027Legal proposal adoptedJan 2021 EES BMS available  Programme mgtCRRS ESP (European Search Portal)Shared BMS migration of Eurodac, SIS, ECRISCIR (Common Identity Repository)incorporate Eurodac,ECRIS in CIRMID (Multiple Identity Detector)manual validation of links 
 
1. Specific objective: Fast, seamless and systematic access to authorised data sources 

-  The  number  of  use  cases  executed  (=  number  of  searches  that  can  be  handled  by 
ESP) per time period. 

- Number of searches handled by ESP compared with total number of searches (via 
ESP and systems directly) per time period. 

2. Specific objective: Detect multiple identities 

- The number of identities linked to the same set of biometric data compared with the 
number of identities with biographical information per time period. 

- The number of detected cases of identity fraud compared with the number of linked 
identities and total number of identities per time period. 

3. Specific objective: Facilitate identifications of third-country nationals 

-  The  number  of  identification  checks  performed  compared  with  total  number  of 
transactions per time period. 

4. Specific objective: Simplify access to authorised data sources for law enforcement 
purposes 

-  The  number  of  'step  1'  (=  a  data  presence  check)  accesses  for  law  enforcement 
purposes per time period. 

- Number of 'step 2' (= the actual consultation of data from the EU systems within the 
scope) accesses for law enforcement purposes per time period. 

5.  Cross-cutting,  additional  objective:  Improving  the  quality  of  data  and  the  use  of 
data for better policymaking 

- The regular issuance of data quality monitoring reports. 

- The number of ad hoc requests for statistical information per time period. 

1.5. 

Grounds for the proposal/initiative  

1.5.1.  Requirement(s) to be met in the short or long term  

As demonstrated in  the  impact assessment that  accompanies  this  legal  proposal  the 
respective proposed components are necessary to achieve interoperability: 

• 
To  meet  the  objective  of  providing  authorised  users  with  fast,  seamless, 
systematic and controlled access to relevant information systems, a European search 
portal (ESP) should be created, built on a shared BMS to address all databases. 

• 
To meet the objective of facilitating identity checks of third-country nationals, 
on  the  territory  of  a  Member  State,  by  authorised  officers,  a  common  identity 
repository  (CIR)  should  be  created,  containing  the  minimum  set  of  identification 
data, and built on the same shared BMS. 

• 
To meet the objective of detecting multiple identities linked to the same set of 
biometric  data,  with  the  dual  purpose  of  facilitating  identity  checks  for  bona  fide 
travellers and combating identity fraud, a multiple identity detector (MID) should be 
built, containing links between multiple identities across systems. 

To  meet  the  objective  of  facilitating  and  streamlining  access  by  law 
• 
enforcement authorities to non-law enforcement information systems, for the purpose 

EN 

77 

  EN 

 
 
of preventing, investigating, detecting or prosecuting serious crime and terrorism, a 
‘hit-flagging’  functionality  should  be  included  in  the  common  identity  repository 
(CIR). 

Since all objectives  must  be  met, the complete solution is the combination of ESP, 
CIR (with hit flagging) and MID, all relying on the shared BMS. 

1.5.2.  Added  value  of  Union  involvement  (it  may  result  from  different  factors,  e.g. 
coordination gains, legal certainty, greater effectiveness or complementarities). For 
the purposes of this point, 'added value of Union involvement' is the value resulting 
from  Union  intervention  that  is  additional  to  the  value  that  would  have  been 
otherwise created by Member States alone. 

Action is required at the European level because the systems that are proposed to be 
made interoperable are systems used by multiple Member States: either all Member 
States  (in  the  case  of  Eurodac)  or  all  Member  States  that  are  part  of  the  Schengen 
area (for EES, VIS, ETIAS and SIS).  By definition, action simply cannot be taken at 
another level. 

The  main expected added value is to eliminate the cases of identity fraud,  map  the 
cases  where  a  person  has  used  different  identities  to  enter  the  EU,  and  avoid  that 
bona  fide  persons  are  confused  with  mala  fide  persons  with  the  same  name.  An 
additional  added  value  is  that  the  interoperability  proposed  here  allows  an  easier 
implementation and maintenance of EU large-scale IT systems. For law enforcement 
services,  the  measures  proposed  should  result  in  a  more  frequent  and  successful 
access to specific data within EU large-scale IT systems. At an operational level, the 
quality of data can only be maintained and improved if it is monitored. Further, for 
policymaking and decision-making, there is a need to make it possible to undertake 
ad hoc queries of anonymised data. 

A  cost-benefit  analysis  is  part  of  the  impact  assessment  and  taking  only  those 
benefits that can be quantified, the expected benefits can reasonably be estimated at 
about  € 77.5 million  per  year  and  accrue  mainly  to  Member  States.  These  benefits 
stem essentially from: 

Reduced  cost  of  changes  to  national  applications  when  the  central  system  is 

- 
operational (estimated at €6m per year for Member State IT departments); 

- 
Cost saving of having one central shared BMS rather than one BMS per central 
system  containing  biometrics  (estimated  at  €1.5m  per  year  and  a  one-off  saving  of 
€8m for eu-LISA. 

Saved cost of identification of multiple identities compared with the situation 
- 
where  the  same  result  would  be  achieved  without  the  proposed  means.  This  would 
represent a cost saving of at least €50m per year for Member State administrations 
for border management, migration and law enforcement. 

- 
Saved  training  costs  for  a  large  end-user  group  compared  with  a  situation 
where  training  is  required  on  a  recurrent  basis,  estimated  at  €20m  per  year  for 
law 
Member  State  administrations  for  border  management,  migration  and 
enforcement. 

1.5.3.  Lessons learned from similar experiences in the past 

Experience with the development of the second generation Schengen (SIS II) and of 
the Visa Information System (VIS) showed the following lessons: 

EN 

78 

  EN 

 
1. As a possible safeguard against cost overruns and delays resulting from changing 
requirements,  any  new  information  system  in  the  area  of  freedom,  security  and 
justice,  particularly  if  it  involves  a  large-scale  IT  system,  should  not  be  developed 
before the underlying legal instruments setting out its purpose, scope, functions and 
technical details have been definitively adopted. 

2. For SIS II and VIS, national development in Member States could be co-financed 
under the External Borders Fund (EBF) but this was not compulsory. Hence it was 
not possible to have an overview of the level of advancement in those Member States 
that had not provided for the respective activities in their multiannual programming 
or  lacked  precision  in  their  programming.  Therefore,  it  is  now  proposed  that  the 
Commission reimburses all integration costs incurred by Member States, so as to be 
able to monitor the advancement of these developments. 

3. With a view to facilitating the general coordination of the implementation, all the 
proposed  message  exchanges  between  national  and  central  systems  will  reuse 
existing networks and the national uniform interface. 

1.5.4.  Compatibility and possible synergy with other appropriate instruments 

Compatibility with the current MFF 

The  ISF  Borders  Regulation  is  the  financial  instrument  where  the  budget  for 
implementation of the interoperability initiative has been included. 

It  provides  in  Article  5(b)  that  EUR  791  million  is  to  be  implemented  through  a 
programme  for  developing  IT  systems  based  on  existing  and/or  new  IT  systems, 
supporting the management of migration flows across the external borders subject to 
the adoption of the relevant Union legislative acts and under the conditions laid down 
in  Article  15.  Of  this  EUR  791  million,  EUR  480.2  million  is  reserved  for  the 
development of the EES, EUR 210 million for ETIAS and EUR 67.9 million for the 
revision of SIS II. The remainder (EUR 32.9 million) is to be reallocated using ISF-B 
mechanisms.  The  current  proposal  requires  EUR  32.1  million  for  the  current 
multiannual financial framework period which fits with the remaining budget. 

The current proposal requires EUR 424.7 million budget in total (heading 5 included) 
over  the  period  from  2019  till  2027.  The  current  MFF  only  covers  the  two-year 
period for 2019 and 2020. Costs have however been estimated till 2027 included to 
give  an  informed  view  on  the  financial  consequences  of  this  proposal  and  without 
prejudging the next multiannual financial framework. 

The  budget  requested  over  nine  years  amounts  to  €  424.7  million  as  the  following 
items are also covered: 

(1)  EUR  136.3  million  for  Member  States  to  cover  the  changes  to  their  national 
systems  in  order  to  use  the  interoperability  components,  the  NUI  delivered  by  eu-
LISA and a budget for the training of the substantial end-user community. There is 
no impact on current MFF as financing is provided from 2021 onwards. 

(2)  EUR 4.8 million for the EBCG Agency for hosting a team of specialists who 
during one year (2023) will validate the links between identities at the moment the 
MID  goes  live.  The  activities  of  the  team  can  be  associated  with  identity 
disambiguation as attributed to the EBCG Agency under the ETIAS proposal. There 
is no impact on current MFF as financing is provided from 2021 onwards. 

EN 

79 

  EN 

 
(3)  EUR 48.9 million for Europol to cover the upgrade of Europol's IT systems to 
the  volume  of  messages  to  be  handled  and  the  increased  performance  levels.  The 
interoperability components will be used by ETIAS in order to consult the Europol 
data. However the current information handling capacity of Europol is not compliant 
with  the  substantial  volumes  (average  of  100,000  queries  per  day)  and  shortened 
response time. EUR 9,1 million is spent on current MFF. 

(4)  EUR 2.0 million for CEPOL to cover the preparation and delivery of training 
to operational staff. EUR 0,1 million is scheduled in 2020.   

(5)  EUR  225.0  million  for  eu-LISA  which  covers  the  total  cost  for  the 
development  of  the  programme  delivering  the  five  interoperability  components  (  € 
68.3  million),  the  maintenance  cost from  the  moment  components  are  delivered  up 
until 2027 (€ 56.1 million), a specific budget of € 25.0 million for the migration of 
data from existing systems to the shared BMS and the additional costs for the NUI 
update,  network,  training  and  meetings.  A  specific  budget  of  €  18.7  million  covers 
the  cost  of  upgrading  and  operating  ECRIS-TCN  in  high-availability  mode  from 
2022. Out of the total amount, EUR 23.0 million is spent during the current MFF. 

(6)  EUR  7.7  million  for  DG  HOME  in  order  to  cover  a  limited  increase  of  staff 
and related costs during the development period of the different components, as the 
Commission  will  also  take  the  responsibility  for  the  committee  dealing  with  UMF 
(Uniform  Message  Format).  This  budget  which  falls  under  heading  5  is  not  to  be 
covered by the ISF budget. For information EUR 2,0 million are due over the period 
2019-2020. 

Compatibility with previous initiatives 

This initiative is compatible with the following: 

In April 2016, the Commission presented a Communication Stronger and smarter 
information  systems  for  borders  and  security  to  address  a  number  of  structural 
shortcomings related to information systems. Three actions arose from this: 

First,  the  Commission  took  action  to  strengthen  and  maximise  the  benefits  of 
existing  information  systems.  In  December  2016,  the  Commission  adopted 
proposals for the further reinforcement of the existing Schengen Information System 
(SIS).  In  the  meantime,  following  the  Commission's  proposal  of  May  2016, 
negotiations  were  accelerated  on  the  revised  legal  basis  for  Eurodac  —  the  EU 
asylum  fingerprint  database.  A  proposal  for  a  new  legal  basis  for  the  Visa 
Information  System  (VIS)  is  also  under  preparation,  and  will  be  submitted  in  the 
second quarter of 2018. 

Second,  the  Commission  proposed  additional  information  systems  to  address 
identified  gaps  in  the  EU's  data  management  architecture.  Negotiations  on  the 
Commission's April 2016 proposal to establish an Entry/Exit System (EES)67 — to 
improve border check procedures for non-EU nationals travelling to the EU — were 
concluded  as  early  as  July  2017,  when  the  co-legislators  reached  a  political 
agreement,  confirmed  by  the  European  Parliament  in  October  2017  and  formally 
adopted by the Council in November 2017. In November 2016, the Commission also 
presented  a  proposal  for  the  establishment  of  a  European  Travel  Information  and 
Authorisation  System  (ETIAS)68.  This  proposal  aims  to  strengthen  security  checks 

67 
68 

COM(2016)194 of 6 April 2016 
COM(2016)731 of 16 November 2016 

EN 

80 

  EN 

 
                                                 
on visa-free travellers by enabling advance irregular migration and security checks. It 
is  currently  under  negotiation  by  the  co-legislators.  In  June  2017,  the  European 
Criminal  Record  Information  System  for  third-country  nationals  (ECRIS-TCN 
system)69 was also proposed to address the gap identified with regards to exchange of 
information between Member States on convicted non-EU nationals 

Third,  the  Commission  worked  towards  the  interoperability  of  information 
systems, focusing on the four options presented in the April 2016 Communication70 
to achieve interoperability. Three of the four options are precisely the ESP, the CIR 
and  the  shared  BMS.  It  became  clear  afterwards  a  distinction  had  to  be  made 
between  the  CIR  as  the  database  of  identities  and  a  new  component  that  identifies 
multiple  identities  linked  to  a  same  biometric  identifier  (MID).   So  the  four 
components are now: the ESP, the CIR, the MID and the shared BMS. 

Synergy 

Synergy is understood here as the benefit realised by reusing existing solutions and 
avoiding new investments all the way around. 

A major synergy exists between these initiatives and the development of the EES and 
ETIAS. 

For  the  functioning  of  the  EES,  an  individual  file  is  created  for  all  third-country 
nationals  entering  the  Schengen  area  for  a  short  stay.  For  this  purpose,  the  current 
biometric matching system used for VIS, containing the fingerprint templates for all 
visa-required  travellers,  will  be  extended  to  also  include  the  biometrics  from  visa-
exempt  travellers.  The  shared  BMS  is  thus  conceptually  a  further  generalisation  of 
the biometrics matcher that will be built as part of the EES. The biometric templates 
contained in the biometric matcher of SIS and Eurodac will then be migrated (this is 
the technical term when data are moved from one system to another) to that shared 
BMS. According to supplier data, the storage in separate databases costs on average 
1 euro per biometric set (there are potentially 200 million data sets in total) while the 
average cost drops to €0.35 per biometric set when a shared BMS solution is created. 
The  higher costs  on  the  hardware  required  for a  high  volume  of  data  partly  offsets 
these benefits but in the end the cost of a shared BMS is estimated to be 30% lower 
than when the same data are stored in multiple smaller BMS systems. 

For the functioning of ETIAS, a component needs to be available for querying a set 
of EU systems. Either the ESP is used or a specific component is built as part of the 
ESP proposal. The interoperability proposal enables the building of one component 
rather than two. 

There  is  also  a  synergy  achieved  by  reusing  the  same  national  uniform  interface 
(NUI)  that  is  used  for  EES  and  ETIAS.  The  NUI  will  need  to  be  updated  but  will 
continue to be used. 

69 
70 

COM(2017)344 of 29 June 2017 
COM(2016)205 of 6 April 2016 

EN 

81 

  EN 

 
 
                                                 
1.6. 

Duration and financial impact  

 Proposal/initiative of limited duration  

–    Proposal/initiative in effect from [DD/MM]YYYY to [DD/MM]YYYY  

–    Financial impact from YYYY to YYYY  

 Proposal/initiative of unlimited duration 

–  Development  period  from  2019  to  2023  included,  followed  by  full-scale 

operations. 

–  Duration of the financial impact is therefore provided for 2019 to 2027. 

1.7.  Management mode(s) planned71  

 Direct management by the Commission 

–  X by its departments, including by its staff in the Union delegations;  

–    by the executive agencies  

 Shared management with the Member States  

 Indirect management by entrusting budget implementation tasks to: 

–   third countries or the bodies they have designated; 

–   international organisations and their agencies (to be specified); 

–  the EIB and the European Investment Fund; 

–   bodies referred to in Articles 208 and 209 of the Financial Regulation; 

–   public law bodies; 

–   bodies governed by private law with a public service mission to the extent that 

they provide adequate financial guarantees; 

–   bodies governed by the private law of a Member State that are entrusted with 
the  implementation  of  a  public-private  partnership  and  that  provide  adequate 
financial guarantees; 

–    persons  entrusted  with  the  implementation  of  specific  actions  in  the  CFSP 

pursuant to Title V of the TEU, and identified in the relevant basic act. 

– 

If more than one management mode is indicated, please provide details in the ‘Comments’ section. 

Comments  

Blocks 

Development 
phase 

Operations 
phase 

Management 
mode 

Actor 

Development and 
maintenance (of 
interoperability components 
for the central systems, 
system training) 

X 

X 

Indirect 

eu-LISA 
Europol 
CEPOL 

71 

Details of management modes and references to the Financial Regulation may be found on the 
BudgWeb site: 
https://myintracomm.ec.europa.eu/budgweb/EN/man/budgmanag/Pages/budgmanag.aspx.  

EN 

82 

  EN 

 
 
                                                 
Blocks 

Development 
phase 

Operations 
phase 

Management 
mode 

Actor 

Data migration (migration of 
biometric templates to a 
shared BMS), network costs, 
NUI update, meetings and 
training  

Validation of links when 
creating MID 

Customisation of NUI,  
integration of national 
systems and end-user training 

X 

X 

X 

X 

Indirect 

eu-LISA 

- 

X  

Indirect 

EBCG 

Shared 
 (or direct) 
(1) 

COM 
+  
Member 
States 

(1) There are no amounts for the operations phase included in this instrument. 

The  development  period  starts  from  2019  and  lasts  till  the  delivery  of  each  component, 
running from 2019 to 2023 (see Section 1.4.4). 

1. Direct management by DG HOME: During the development period, if necessary, actions 
may  also  be  implemented  directly  by  the  Commission.  This  could  include,  in  particular, 
Union  financial  support  for  activities  in  the  form  of  grants  (including  to  Member  State 
national authorities), public procurement contracts and/or reimbursement of costs incurred by 
external experts. 

2.  Shared  management:  During  the  development  phase,  Member  States  will  be  required  to 
adapt their national systems in order to access the ESP rather than individual systems (this is 
for the outgoing messages from Member States) and for changes to the answers of their search 
requests  (the  incoming  messages  towards  Member  States).  An  update  of  the  existing  NUI 
implemented for EES and ETIAS will also be performed.   

3.  Indirect  management:  eu-LISA  will  cover  the  development  part  of  all  IT  strands  of  the 
project,  i.e.  the  interoperability  components,  the  update  of  the  national  uniform  interface 
(NUI)  in  each  Member  State,  the  update  of  the  communication  infrastructure  between  the 
central systems and the national uniform interfaces, the migration of biometric templates from 
the existing biometric matching systems of SIS and Eurodac to the shared BMS and the data 
cleansing activity that goes with this.  

During  the  period  of  operations,  eu-LISA  will  execute  all  technical  activities  linked  to  the 
maintenance of the components. 

The European Border and Coast Guard (EBCG) Agency will incorporate an additional team 
dedicated to the validation of links once the MID is put into operation. This is a task limited 
in duration.  

Europol will cover the development and maintenance of its systems to ensure interoperability 
with ESP and ETIAS. 

CEPOL prepares and delivers the training to operational services following a train-the-trainers 
approach. 

EN 

83 

  EN 

 
 
2. 

MANAGEMENT MEASURES  

2.1.  Monitoring and reporting rules  

Specify frequency and conditions. 

The  monitoring  and  reporting  rules  for  the  development  and  maintenance  of  other 
systems: 

1. eu-LISA shall ensure that procedures are in place to monitor the development of 
the interoperability components in light of objectives relating to planning and costs 
and to monitor the functioning of the components in light of objectives relating to the 
technical output, cost-effectiveness, security and quality of service. 

2.  Within  six  months  after  the  entry  into  force  of  this  Regulation  and  every  six 
months  thereafter  during  the  development  phase  of  the  components,  eu-LISA  shall 
submit a report to the European Parliament and the Council on the state of play of the 
development of each component. Once the development is finalised, a report shall be 
submitted to the European Parliament and the Council explaining in detail how the 
objectives,  in  particular  relating  to  planning  and  costs,  were  achieved,  as  well  as 
justifying any divergences. 

3.  For  the  purposes  of  technical  maintenance,  eu-LISA  shall  have  access  to  the 
necessary  information  relating  to  the  data  processing  operations  performed  in  the 
components. 

4.  Four  years  after  the  start  of  operations  of  the  last  component  implemented  and 
every  four  years  thereafter,  eu-LISA  shall  submit  to  the  European  Parliament,  the 
Council  and  the  Commission  a  report  on  the  technical  functioning  of  the 
components. 

5.  Five  years  after  the  start  of  operations  of  the  last  component  implemented  and 
every four years thereafter, the Commission shall produce an overall evaluation and 
make  any  necessary  recommendations.  This  overall  evaluation  shall  include:  the 
its  objectives  of 
the  components  having  regard 
results  achieved  by 
interoperability,  maintainability,  performance  and  financial  implications,  and  the 
impact on fundamental rights. 

to 

The Commission shall transmit the evaluation report to the European Parliament and 
the Council. 

6. The Member States and Europol shall provide eu-LISA and the Commission with 
the  information  necessary  to  draft  the  reports  referred  to  in  paragraphs  4  and  5 
according  to  the  quantitative  indicators  predefined  by  the  Commission  and/or  eu-
LISA. This information shall not jeopardise working methods or include information 
that  reveals  sources,  identities  of  staff  members  or  investigations  of  the  designated 
authorities. 

7. eu-LISA shall provide the Commission with the information necessary to produce 
the overall evaluations referred to in paragraph 5. 

8.  While  respecting  the  provisions  of  national  law  on  the  publication  of  sensitive 
information,  each  Member  State  and  Europol  shall  prepare  annual  reports  on  the 
effectiveness  of  access  to  EU  systems  for  law  enforcement  purposes  containing 
information and statistics on: 

EN 

84 

  EN 

 
-  the  exact  purpose  of  the  consultation  including  the  type  of  terrorist  or  serious 
criminal offence; 

-  reasonable  grounds  given  for  the  substantiated  suspicion  that  the  suspect, 
perpetrator or victim is covered by this Regulation; 

- the number of requests for access to the components for law enforcement purposes; 

- the number and type of cases that have ended in successful identifications; 

-  the  need  and  use  made  of  the  exceptional  case  of  urgency  including  those  cases 
where  that  urgency  was  not  accepted  by  the  ex  post  verification  carried  out  by  the 
central access point. 

Member State and Europol’s annual reports shall be transmitted to the Commission 
by 30 June of the subsequent year. 

2.2.  Management and control system  

2.2.1.  Risk(s) identified  

The  risks  are  the  ones  related  to  an  IT  development  of  five  components  by  an 
external contractor managed by eu-LISA. These are typical project risks: 

1. The risk of not completing the project on time; 

2. The risk of not completing the project within budget; 

3. The risk of not delivering the full scope of the project. 

The first risk is the most important one as an overrun in time leads to higher costs as 
most costs have a relationship to duration: staff costs, licence costs paid per year, etc. 

These risks can be mitigated by applying project management techniques, including 
contingency in development projects and staffing sufficiently in order to be able to 
absorb  peaks  of  work.  Estimation  of  effort  is  indeed  usually  done  by  assuming  an 
even workload spread over time while the reality of projects is of uneven workloads 
that are absorbed by higher resource allocations. 

There  are  several  risks  related  to  the  use  of  an  external  contractor  for  this 
development work: 

1. in particular, the risk that the contractor fails to allocate sufficient resources to the 
project or that it designs and develops a system that is not state of the art; 

2.  the  risk  that  administrative  techniques  and  methods  to  handle  large-scale  IT 
projects are not fully respected as a way of reducing costs by the contractor; 

3. finally, the risk of the contractor facing financial difficulties for reasons external to 
this project cannot be entirely excluded. 

These  risks  are  mitigated  by  awarding  contracts  on  the  basis  of  strong  quality 
criteria, checking references of contractors and maintaining a strong relationship with 
them. Finally, as a last resort, strong penalty and termination clauses can be included 
and applied when required.  

2.2.2. 

Information concerning the internal control system set up 

eu-LISA  is  meant  to  be  a  centre  of  excellence  in  the  field  of  development  and 
management  of  large-scale  IT  systems.  It  shall  execute  the  activities  linked  to  the 

EN 

85 

  EN 

 
development  and  the  operations  of  the  different  interoperability  components 
including the maintenance of the national uniform interface in the Member States. 

During  the  development  phase,  all  development  activities  will  be  executed  by  eu-
LISA.  This  will  cover  the  development  part  of  all  strands  of  the  project.  The  costs 
related  to  the  integration  of  systems  in  Member  States  during  development  will  be 
managed by the Commission via shared management or grants. 

During  the  operational  phase,  eu-LISA  will  be  responsible  for  the  technical  and 
financial  management  of  the  components  used  centrally,  notably  the  award  and 
management of contracts. The Commission will manage the funds to Member States 
for the expenses for national units via the ISF/Borders (national programmes). 

In  order  to  avoid  delays  at  national  level,  an  efficient  governance  between  all 
stakeholders is to be planned prior to the start of the development. The Commission 
assumes an interoperable architecture to be defined at the beginning of the project in 
order to be applied in the EES and ETIAS projects, as these projects deliver and use 
the shared BMS, the common identity repository and the European search portal. A 
member  of  the  project  management  team  of  the  interoperability  project  should  be 
part of the project governance structure of EES and ETIAS. 

2.2.3.  Estimate of the costs and benefits of the controls and assessment of the expected level 

of risk of error  

There  is  no  estimate  provided,  as  the  control  and  mitigation  of  risks  is  an  inherent 
task of the project governance structure. 

2.3.  Measures to prevent fraud and irregularities  

Specify existing or envisaged prevention and protection measures. 

The measures envisaged to combat fraud are laid down in Article 35 of Regulation 
(EU) 1077/2011, which provides as follows: 

1. In order to combat fraud, corruption and other unlawful activities, Regulation (EC) 
No 1073/1999 shall apply. 

2. The Agencies shall accede to the Interinstitutional Agreement concerning internal 
investigations  by  the  European  Anti-Fraud  Office  (OLAF)  and  shall  issue,  without 
delay, the appropriate provisions applicable to all the employees of the Agencies. 

3.  The  decisions  concerning  funding  and  the  implementing  agreements  and 
instruments resulting from them shall explicitly stipulate that the Court of Auditors 
and OLAF  may carry  out,  if necessary, on-the-spot checks among the recipients of 
the Agencies' funding and the agents responsible for allocating it. 

In  accordance  with  this  provision,  the  decision  of  the  Management  Board  of  the 
European  Agency  for  the  operational  management  of  large-scale  IT  systems  in  the 
area of freedom, security and justice concerning the terms and conditions for internal 
investigations  in  relation  to  the  prevention  of  fraud,  corruption  and  any  illegal 
activity detrimental to the Union's interests was adopted on 28 June 2012. 

DG HOME's fraud prevention and detection strategy will apply. 

EN 

86 

  EN 

 
3. 

ESTIMATED FINANCIAL IMPACT OF THE PROPOSAL/INITIATIVE  

THE ESTIMATED IMPACT ON EXPENDITURE AND STAFFING FOR THE 
YEARS 2021 AND BEYOND IN THIS LEGISLATIVE FINANCIAL STATEMENT 
IS ADDED FOR ILLUSTRATIVE PURPOSES AND DOES NOT PREJUDGE THE 
NEXT MULTIANNUAL FINANCIAL FRAMEWORK 

3.1. 

Heading(s)  of  the  multiannual  financial  framework  and  expenditure  budget 
line(s) affected  

  Existing budget lines  

In order of multiannual financial framework headings and budget lines. 

Budget line 

Type of  
expenditure 

Contribution  

Heading of 
multiannual 
financial 
framework 

Number  
[Heading………………………...……………
] 

Diff./Non-
diff.72 

from 
EFTA 
countries
73 

from 
candidate 
countries74 

from third 
countries 

within the 
meaning of 
Article 21(2)(b) of 
the Financial 
Regulation  

3 

3 

3 

3 

3 

18.02.01.03 – Smart Borders 

18.02.03  –  European  Border  and  Coast 
Guard Agency (Frontex) 

18.02.04 – EUROPOL 

18.02.05 - CEPOL 

18.02.07  –  European  Agency  for  the 
operational management of large-scale 
IT  systems  in  the  area  of  freedom, 
security and justice (eu-LISA) 

Diff 

Diff 

Diff 

Non-diff 

Diff 

No  

No 

No 

No 

No 

No  

No 

No 

No 

No 

Yes  

Yes 

No 

No 

Yes  

No 

No 

No 

No 

No 

72 
73 
74 

Diff. = Differentiated appropriations / Non-diff. = Non-differentiated appropriations. 
EFTA: European Free Trade Association.  
Candidate countries and, where applicable, potential candidates from the Western Balkans. 

EN 

87 

  EN 

 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
3.2. 

Estimated impact on expenditure  

[This section should be filled in using the spreadsheet on budget data of an administrative nature (second document in annex to this 
financial statement) and uploaded to DECIDE for interservice consultation purposes.] 

3.2.1. 

Summary of estimated impact on expenditure  

EUR million (to three decimal places) 

Heading of multiannual financial  
framework  

3 

Security and Citizenship 

DG Home 

 Operational appropriations  

18.02.01.03 – Smart Borders 

Commitments 

(1) 

Payments 

(2. 

Appropriations of an administrative nature financed from the 
envelope of specific programmes75  

Number of budget line 

TOTAL appropriations for DG Home 

Commitments 

Payments  

(3) 

=1+1a 
+3) 

=2+2a 
+3 

The expenditures will cover costs related to: 

Year 
2019 

Year 
2020 

Year 
2021 

Year 
2022 

Year 
2023 

Year 
2024 

Year 
2025 

Year 
2026 

Year 
2027 

Year 
2028 

TO 
TAL 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

43,150 

48,150 

45,000 

0 

34,520 

47,150 

45,630 

9,000 

43,150 

48,150 

45,000 

0 

34,520 

47,150 

45,630 

9,000 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

136,300 

136,300 

0 

0 

136,300 

136,300 

75 

EN 

Technical and/or administrative assistance and expenditure in support of the implementation of EU programmes and/or actions (former ‘BA’ lines), indirect research, 
direct research. 

88 

EN 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
–  The cost for adapting the NUI (national uniform interface) whose development is financed under the EES proposal, a budgeted amount for the 
changes to the systems in the Member States in order to take into account the modifications of the central systems and a budgeted amount for 
end-user training. 

18.0203 – EBCG 

Title 1: Staff expenditures 

Title 2: Infrastructure and 
Operating expenditure 

Title 3: Operational 
expenditure 

TOTAL appropriations 
for Europol 

Commitments 
Payments 

Commitments 

Payments 

Commitments 

Payments 

(Total 
commitments = 
Total 
payments) 

(1) 

(2) 

(1a) 

(2a) 

(3a) 

(3b) 

=1+1a 
+3a 

Year 
2019 

Year 
2020 

Year 
2021 

Year 
2022 

Year 
2023 

Year 
2024 

Year 
2025 

Year 
2026 

Year 
2027 

TOTAL 

0 
0 
0 
0  

0  

0 

0  

0 
0 
0  
0  

0  

0 

0  

0 
0 
0  
0  

0  

0 

0  

0,488 
0,488 
0,105  
0,105  

2,154 
2,154 
0,390  
0,390  

0,337 
0,337 
0,065  
0,065  

0,183  

2,200  

0,183 

2,200 

0  

0 

0,776  

4,744  

0,402  

0 
0 
0 
0 

0  

0 

0  

0 
0 
0  
0  

0  

0 

0  

0 
0 
0  
0  

0  

0 

0  

2,979 
2,979 
0,560  
0,560  

2,383  

2,383 

5,923  

–  The  budget  for  the  EBCG  covers  the  expenditures  of  a  team  dedicated  for  the  validation  of  links  generated  by  the  MID  (multiple  identity 
detector) on the legacy data (something like 14 million records).  The volume of links to be validated manually is estimated around 550.000. 
The dedicated team set up for this purpose is added to the EBCG team set up for ETIAS because this is functionally close and avoids the set-
up costs of a new team. The work is expected to take place in 2023. The contract agents are therefore recruited up to 3 months in advance and 
their contract stopped up to  2  months after the end of the  migration  activity. Another part of the required resources are not assumed to  be 
recruited as contract agents and will be hired in as consultants. This explains the costs under Title 3 for 2023. They are assumed to be hired 
one month in advance. Further details on staff levels are provided later. 

–  Title 1 includes therefore the cost of 20 internal staff, and the provisions for a strengthening of the management and support staff.  

–  Title 2 includes the additional cost for hosting the 10 additional contractor's staff.   

–  Title 3 includes the fee for the additional 10 contractor's staff. There are no other types of cost included. 

EN 

89 

EN 

 
 
 
 
 
 
18.0204 - Europol 

Title 1: Staff expenditures 

Title 2: Infrastructure and 
Operating expenditure 

Title 3: Operational 
expenditure 

TOTAL appropriations 
for Europol 

Commitments 
Payments 

Commitments 

Payments 

Commitments 

Payments 

(Total 
commitments = 
Total 
payments) 

(1) 

(2) 

(1a) 

(2a) 

(3a) 

(3b) 

=1+1a 
+3a 

Year 
2019 

Year 
2020 

Year 
2021 

Year 
2022 

Year 
2023 

Year 
2024 

Year 
2025 

Year 
2026 

Year 
2027 

TOTAL 

0,690  
0,690  
0 
0 

2,002 
2,002 
0 
0 

2,002 
2,002 
0 
0 

1,181  
1,181  
0 
0 

1,181  
1,181  
0 
0 

0,974  
0,974  
0 
0 

0,974 
0,974 
0 
0 

0,974 
0,974 
0 
0 

0,974 
0,974 
0 
0 

0 

0 

6,380  

6,380  

2,408  

2,408  

7,758  

7,758  

7,758 

2,408  

6,380  

6,380  

2,408  

2,408  

7,758  

7,758  

7,758 

2,408  

0,690 

8,382  

8,382 

3,589  

3,589  

3,382  

8,732  

8,732  

3,382 

10,952 
10,952 
0 
0  

37,908 

37,908 

48,860 

Europol's expenditures will cover the upgrade of Europol's ICT systems capabilities to deal with the volume of messages to be handled, and the 
required increased performance levels (response time).  

Title 1 Staff expenditure covers the costs related to additional ICT staff to be recruited to reinforce Europol information systems for the reasons 
described above. Further details regarding the division of posts between temporary agents and contract agents, and their expertise are provided 
below. 

Title 3 includes costs for the hardware and software needed to reinforce Europol information systems. At present, Europol's IT systems serve a 
limited designated community of Europol, Europol Liaison Officers and investigators in the Member States who use these systems for analytical 
and investigative purposes. With the implementation  of QUEST (the system interface  that will allow the ESP to  query Europol data)  at  basic 
protection  level  (currently  Europol  information  systems  are  accredited  up  to  EU  restricted  and  EU  confidential  level),  Europol  information 
systems  will  be  made  available  to  a  much  larger  authorised  law  enforcement  community.  In  addition  to  these  increases,  ESP  will  be  used  by 
ETIAS to automatically query Europol data to process travel authorisations. This will increase the volume of queries against Europol data from 
approximately 107 000 queries per month at present, to more than 100 000 queries per day, and will also require 24/7 availability of Europol 
information systems and very short response times to  meet the requirements imposed by the ETIAS Regulation. The majority of the costs are 
limited to the  period before the interoperability components become operable, but some ongoing  commitments are needed to ensure high and 
continuous availability of Europol information systems. Also, some development works are needed to implement interoperability components by 
Europol as a user.  

EN 

90 

EN 

 
 
 
 
 
18.0205 - CEPOL 

Title 1: Staff expenditures 

Title 2: Infrastructure and 
Operating expenditure 

Title 3: Operational 
expenditure 

TOTAL appropriations 
for CEPOL 

Commitments 

Payments 

Commitments 

Payments 

Commitments 

Payments 

(1) 

(2) 

(1a) 

(2a) 

(3a) 

(3b) 

(Total 
commitments = 
Total 
payments) 

=1+1a 
+3a 

Year 
2019 

0 
0 
0 
0 

0 

0 
0 

Year 
2020 

0,104 
0,104 
0 
0 

Year 
2021 

Year 
2022 

Year 
2023 

Year 
2024 

Year 
2025 

Year 
2026 

Year 
2027 

TOTAL 

0,208  
0,208  
0 
0 

0,208  
0,208  
0 
0 

0,138  
0,138  
0 
0 

0,138  
0,138  
0 
0 

0,138  
0,138  
0 
0 

0,138   0,138  
0,138   0,138  
0 
0 

0 
0 

0,040  

0,176  

0,274  

0,070  

0,070  

0,070  

0,070   0,070  

0,040  

0,176  

0,274  

0,070  

0,070  

0,070  

0,070   0,070  

0,144 

0.384, 

0,482  

0,208  

0,208  

0,208  

0,208   0,208  

1,210 
1,210 
0 
0 

0,840  

0,840  

2,050 

Centrally  coordinated  EU  level  training  improves  coherent  implementation  of  training  courses  at  national  level  and  as  a  consequence  ensures 
correct and successful implementation and use of interoperability components. CEPOL — as the EU Agency for Law Enforcement Training — is 
well-positioned to deliver central EU level training. These expenditures cover the preparation of the 'training for Member State trainers' required 
to  use  the  central  systems  once  they  are  made  interoperable.  The  costs  include  those  related  to  a  small  personnel  increase  for  CEPOL  to 
coordinate, manage, organise and update the courses and the cost for delivering a number of training sessions per year and preparing the online 
course. Details of these costs are explained below. The training effort is concentrated on the periods immediately preceding go-live. A continuous 
effort remains necessary beyond the go-live as the interoperable components are maintained and the trainers do not permanently remain the same 
persons, based on the experience of delivering existing training on Schengen information system.  

18.0207 - eu-LISA 

Title 1: Staff expenditures 

Commitments 

Payments 

(1) 

(2) 

Year 
2019 

Year 
2020 

Year 
2021 

Year 
2022 

Year 
2023 

Year 
2024 

Year 
2025 

Year 
2026 

Year 
2027 

TOTAL 

2,876  

4,850  

6,202  

6,902  

6,624  

5,482  

5,136  

5,136  

5,136  

48,344  

2,876  

4,850  

6,202  

6,902  

6,624  

5,482  

5,136  

5,136  

5,136  

48,344  

EN 

91 

EN 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Title 2: Infrastructure and 
Operating expenditure 

Title 3: Operational 
expenditure 

TOTAL appropriations 
for eu-LISA 

Commitments 

Payments 

Commitments 

Payments 

(Total 
commitments = 
Total 
payments) 

(1a) 

(2a) 

(3a) 

(3b) 

=1+1a +3a 

These expenditures will cover: 

0,136  

0,227  

0,292  

0,343  

0,328  

0,277  

0,262  

0,262  

0,262  

2,389  

0,136  

0,227  

0,292  

0,343  

0,328  

0,277  

0,262  

0,262  

0,262  

2,389  

2,818  

11,954  

45,249  

37,504  

22,701  

14,611  

13,211  

13,131  

13,131  

174,309  

2,818  

11,954  

45,249  

37,504  

22,701  

14,611  

13,211  

13,131  

13,131  

174,309  

5,830   17,031   51,743   44,749   29,653   20,370   18,609   18,529   18,529   225,041  

–  The development and maintenance of the four interoperability components (European search portal (ESP), shared biometric matching service 
(shared  BMS),  common  identity  repository  (CIR),  and  multiple  identity  detector  (MID)  included  in  the  legal  proposal  plus  the  common 
repository for reporting and statistics (CRRS).  eu-LISA will act as the representative of the project owner and use its own staff for drafting 
specifications, selecting contractors, directing its work, submitting results to a set of tests and accepting the work done. 

–  The costs involved with the data migration of legacy systems to the new components. eu-LISA has no direct role however in the initial data 
load for the MID (the validation of links) because this is an action on the data content itself. The migration of biometric data of legacy systems 
deals with the format and the label of data and not the data content. 

–  The costs for upgrading and operating ECRIS-TCN to a high availability system from 2022. ECRIS-TCN is the central system containing the 
criminal records of third-country nationals. The system is planned to become available by 2020. The interoperability components are expected 
to also access that system which should therefore also become a high availability system. The operational expenditures include the additional 
cost for achieving that high availability.  There is a significant development cost in 2021 followed by an on-going maintenance and operations 
cost.    These  costs  are  not  included  in  the  Legislative  Financial  Sheet  of  the  revision  of  the  founding  regulation  of  eu-LISA76  which  only 
includes budgets from 2018 till 2020 and therefore does not overlap with this budget request. 

76 

EN 

COM 2017/0145 (COD) Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the European Agency for the operational management of large-
scale  IT  systems  in  the  area  of  freedom,  security  and  justice,  and  amending  Regulation  (EC)  1987/2006  and  Council  Decision  2007/533/JHA  and  repealing 
Regulation (EU) 1077/2011 

92 

EN 

 
 
 
                                                 
–  The  pattern  of  expenditure  is  the  result  of  the  project  sequencing.  As  the  different  components  are  not  independent  from  one  another,  the 
development  period  spans  from  2019  to  2023.  However  from  2020,  maintenance  and  operations  on  the  first  available  components  already 
start. This explains why expenditures start slowly, increase and then diminish to a constant value. 

–  The  expenditures  under  title  1  (staff  expenditure)  follow  the  project  sequencing:  more  staff  are  required  to  deliver  the  project  with  the 
contractor  (whose  expenses  are  under  title  3).  When  the  project  is  delivered,  part  of  the  delivery  team  is  assigned  to  evolution  and 
maintenance work. At the same time, staff for operating the newly delivered systems increases. 

–  The expenditure  under title 2 (infrastructure and operating expenditure)  covers the additional office space for the temporary hosting of the 
contractor teams in charge of the development, maintenance and operations tasks. The pattern over time of the expenditure is  therefore also 
following the evolution of staff levels. The costs for hosting additional equipment have already been included in the eu-LISA budget. There 
are also no additional costs for hosting eu-LISA staff as this is included in the standard staff cost.  

–  The  expenditure  under title  3  (operational  expenditure)  includes  the  cost  for  the  contractor  for  developing  and  maintaining  the  system,  the 

acquisition of the specific hardware and software. 
The contractor costs start initially with the studies for specifying the components and the development only starting for one component (the 
CRRS). Over the period 2020-2022, costs then increase as more components are being developed in parallel. The costs do not decrease after 
the peak because the data migration tasks are particularly heavy in this project portfolio. The contractor costs then decrease as components are 
delivered and enter operations mode, which requires a stable resource pattern.   
Simultaneously with the expenses under title 3, expenditure in 2020 increases strongly compared with the previous year because of the initial 
investment for hardware and software necessary during development. The expenses under title 3 (operational expenses) have an upsurge in 
2021 and 2022 because the hardware and software investment costs for the operational IT environments (production and pre-production both 
for central unit and back-up central unit) are incurred in the year before go-live, respectively for interoperability components (the CIR and the 
MID) with high requirements on software and hardware. Once in operation, costs for hardware and software are essentially maintenance costs.  

–  More details are given further. 

EN 

93 

EN 

 
 
 
Heading of multiannual financial  
framework  

5 

‘Administrative expenditure’ 

  Year 
2019 

Year 
2020 

Year 
2021 

Year 
2022 

Year 
2023 

Year 
2024 

Year 
2025 

Year 
2026 

Year 
2027 

TOTAL 

EUR million (to three decimal places) 

DG HOME 

 Human resources  
Number of budget line 18.01 
Other administrative costs (meetings, etc.) 

TOTAL DG HOME 

Appropriations  

0,690  

0,690  

0,690   0,690   0,690   0,690   0,276  

0,276   0,276  

4,968  

0,323   0,323  
1,013  
1,013  

0,323   0,323   0,323   0,323   0,263  
1,013   1,013   1,013   1,013   0,539  

0,263   0,263  
0,539   0,539  

2,727  
7,695  

TOTAL appropriations 
under HEADING 5 
of the multiannual financial framework  

(Total  commitments 
= Total payments) 

1,013  

1,013  

1,013  

1,013  

1,013  

1,013  

0,539  

0,539  

0,539  

7,695  

TOTAL appropriations  
under HEADINGS 1 to 5 
of the multiannual financial framework  

Commitments 

Payments 

  Year 
2019 

Year 
2020 

Year 
2021 

Year 
2022 

Year 
2023 

Year 
2024 

Year 
2025 

Year 
2026 

Year 
2027 

Year 
2028 

TOTAL 

7,533   26,569   104,672   98,591   83,363   25,256   28,088  

28,008   22,658  

0 

424,738  

EUR million (to three decimal places) 

7,533   26,569  

96,042   97,591   83,993   34,256   28,088  

28,008   22,658  

0  

424,738  

EN 

94 

EN 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
3.2.2.  Estimated impact on operational appropriations  

3.2.2.1.  Estimated impact on EBCG Agency's appropriations 

–    The proposal/initiative does not require the use of operational appropriations  

–   The proposal/initiative requires the use of operational appropriations, as explained below: 

Year 
2019 

Year 
2020 

Year 
2021 

Year 
2022 

Year 
2023 

Year 
2024 

Year 
2025 

Year 
2026 

Year 
2027 

TOTAL 

Commitment appropriations in EUR million (to three decimal places) 

o
N

Cost  N

o

Cost  N

o

Cost 

o
N

Cost 

o
N

Cost  N

o

Cost  N

o

Cost  N

o

Cost  N

o

Cost 

o
N

l
a
t
o
T

Total cost 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0.8 

0,183 

10 

2,200  0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

2,383 

Indicate 
objectives and 
outputs  

EBCG 
Agency 

 

Type
77

Avera
ge 
cost 

SPECIFIC OBJECTIVE No 1

78

Validation of links  

Nbr of staff 
recruited as 
experts to 
validate links 

Contractor 
costs 

Subtotal for specific objective No 1  0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0.8 

0,183 

10 

2,200 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

2,383 

These expenditures will cover: 

- The recruitment of a sufficient additional manpower (estimate of about 10 experts) to the existing internal staff (estimated at about 20 persons) 
who will be  hosted in  the  EBCG in order  to  validate links. There is  only one  month  of recruitment before the start date planned to reach  the 
required staffing levels. 

77 
78 

Outputs are products and services to be supplied (e.g.: number of student exchanges financed, number of km of roads built, etc.). 
As described in point 1.4.2. ‘Specific objective(s)…’  

EN 

95 

EN 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
- There are no other contractor costs estimated. The software required is part  of the shared BMS licence costs. There is no specific hardware 
processing capacity. The contractor personnel are assumed to be hosted by EBCG. It is therefore that, under Title 2 expenses, the annual cost of 
12 square metres is added on average per person.   

EN 

96 

EN 

 
 
 
 
3.2.2.2.  Estimated impact on Europol's appropriations 

–    The proposal/initiative does not require the use of operational appropriations  

–   The proposal/initiative requires the use of operational appropriations, as explained below: 

Year 
2019 

Year 
2020 

Year 
2021 

Year 
2022 

Year 
2023 

Year 
2024 

Year 
2025 

Year 
2026 

Year 
2027 

TOTAL 

Commitment appropriations in EUR million (to three decimal places) 

o
N

Cost  N

o

Cost  N

o

Cost  N

o

Cost  N

o

Cost  N

o

Cost  N

o

Cost  N

o

Cost  N

o

Cost 

o
N

l
a
t
o
T

Total cost 

Indicate 
objectives and 
outputs  

Europol 

 

Type
79

Avera
ge 
cost 

SPECIFIC OBJECTIVE No 1

80

Development and Maintenance of 
(Europol) systems 

IT environment 

Infrastructure 

1,840 

1,840 

0,736 

0,736 

0,736 

0,736 

0,736 

0,736 

8,096 

IT environment 

Hardware 

3,510 

3,510 

1,404 

1,404 

1,404 

5,754 

5,754 

1,404 

26,144 

IT environment 

Software 

0,670 

0,670 

0,268 

0,268 

0,268 

0,268 

0,268 

0,268 

2,948 

79 
80 

Outputs are products and services to be supplied (e.g.: number of student exchanges financed, number of km of roads built, etc.). 
As described in point 1.4.2. ‘Specific objective(s)…’  

EN 

97 

EN 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
Development 
works 

Contractor 

0,360 

0,360 

0,720 

Subtotal  

0 

6,380 

6,380 

2,408 

  2,408 

2,408 

7,758 

7,758 

2,408 

37,908 

These  expenditures  will  cover  the  need  to  reinforce  Europol  information  systems  and  infrastructure  to  accommodate  the  increase  of  queries. 
These costs include: 

– 

upgrading  the  security  and  network  infrastructure,  hardware  (servers,  storage)  and  software  (licences).  These  upgrades  need  to  be 
finalised before the European search portal and ETIAS become operable in 2021, the costs have been distributed equally between 2020 
and 2021. As from 2022, the annual maintenance rate 20% has been taken as basis to calculate the maintenance costs. In addition, the 
standard five-year cycle to replace outdated hardware and infrastructure has been taken into account.  

– 

Contractor costs for development works to implement QUEST in basic protection level.  

EN 

98 

EN 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
3.2.2.3.  Estimated impact on CEPOL's appropriations 

–    The proposal/initiative does not require the use of operational appropriations  

–   The proposal/initiative requires the use of operational appropriations, as explained below: 

Commitment appropriations in EUR million (to three decimal places) 

Indicate 
objectives and 
outputs  

CEPOL 

 

Type
81

Avera
ge 
cost 

SPECIFIC OBJECTIVE No 1

82

Development and delivery of 
training courses 

Number of 
residential 
courses 

0,34 per 
course  

Online training 

0,02  

Subtotal  

Year 
2019 

Year 
2020 

Year 
2021 

Year 
2022 

Year 
2023 

Year 
2024 

Year 
2025 

Year 
2026 

Year 
2027 

TOTAL 

o
N

Cost  N

o

Cost  N

o

Cost  N

o

Cost  N

o

Cost  N

o

Cost  N

o

Cost  N

o

Cost  N

o

Cost 

o
N

l
a
t
o
T

Total cost 

0 

1 

0,040 

4 

0,136 

8 

0,272 

2  0,068 

2 

0,068 

2 

0,068 

2 

0,068 

2 

0,068 

0,788  

0 

0 

0,040 

0,002 

0,002 

0,002 

0,002 

0,002 

0,002 

0,052 

0,040 

0,176 

0,274 

0,070 

0,070 

0,070 

0,070 

0,070 

0,840 

81 
82 

Outputs are products and services to be supplied (e.g.: number of student exchanges financed, number of km of roads built, etc.). 
As described in point 1.4.2. ‘Specific objective(s)…’  

EN 

99 

EN 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
To ensure uniform implementation and use of the interoperability solutions, the training will be organised both centrally at EU level by CEPOL 
and by Member States. The expenditure for training at EU level includes: 

– 

– 

– 

development of common curriculum to be used by Member States when implementing national training; 

residential  activities  to  train  the  trainers.  In  the  two  years,  immediately  after  the  interoperability  solutions  become  operational,  the 
training is expected to be implemented on a larger scale and later maintained by two residential training courses per year. 

online course to complement the residential activities at EU level and in Member States. 

EN 

100 

EN 

 
 
 
 
 
3.2.2.4.  Estimated impact on eu-LISA's appropriations 

–    The proposal/initiative does not require the use of operational appropriations  

–   The proposal/initiative requires the use of operational appropriations, as explained below: 

Year 
2019 

Year 
2020 

Year 
2021 

Year 
2022 

Year 
2023 

Year 
2024 

Year 
2025 

Year 
2026 

Year 
2027 

TOTAL 

Commitment appropriations in EUR million (to three decimal places) 

o
N

Cost  N

o

Cost  N

o

Cost  N

o

Cost  N

o

Cost  N

o

Cost  N

o

Cost  N

o

Cost  N

o

Cost 

o
N

l
a
t
o
T

Total 
cost 

1,800  

4,930  

8,324  

  4,340 

1,073 

1,000 

0,100 

0,020 

0,020 

21,607  

0,320  

3,868  

15,029  

8,857  

3,068 

0,265 

0,265 

0,265 

0,265 

32,202  

0,250  

2,324  

5,496  

2,904  

2,660 

0,500 

0 

0 

0 

14,133 

0,020  

0,030  

0,030  

0,030  

0,030 

0,050 

0,050 

0,050 

0,050 

0,340   

Indicate 
objectives and 
outputs  

Eu-LISA 

 

Type
83

Avera
ge 
cost 

SPECIFIC OBJECTIVE No 1

84

Development of Interoperability 
Components 

Systems built 

Contractor  

Software 
products 

Hardware 
products  

IT training 

Software  

Hardware  

Training & 
other  

Subtotal for specific objective No 1 

2,390  

  11,151  

28,879 

  16,131 

  6,830 

1,815 

0,415 

0,335 

0,335 

  68,281 

83 
84 

Outputs are products and services to be supplied (e.g.: number of student exchanges financed, number of km of roads built, etc.). 
As described in point 1.4.2. ‘Specific objective(s)…’  

EN 

101 

EN 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
–  This objective only includes the costs for delivering the four interoperability components and the CRRS. 

–  The costs for the shared BMS have been estimated taking into account the assumption that the EES that is about to be developed will serve as 

the core system for the development. Therefore, it is planned to reuse the biometric software licences (€36 million) included for EES. 

–  In this budget, the shared BMS is budget-wise treated as a further extension of the BMS for the EES. Therefore the current financial sheet 
includes the marginal cost for software licences (€ 6,8 million) for adding the approximately 20 million biometric data sets  contained in the 
SIS  AFIS  (AFIS  is  the  automated  fingerprint  identification  system  =  the  'BMS'  of  SIS),  the  Eurodac  AFIS  and  the  future  ECRIS-TCN 
(European  Criminal  Records  Information  System  for  third-country  nationals)  to  the  BMS  delivered  for  EES.  The  costs  for  integrating  the 
different systems (SIS, Eurodac, ECRIS-TCN) to the shared BMS are included in this financial sheet.   

–  As part of the work over 2019 and 2020, eu-LISA will be asked to work out the precise technical solution that cannot be defined at the time of 
submitting  the  legal  proposal  and  to  estimate  the  cost  consequences  for  implementing  the  preferred  technical  solution.  This  may  require  a 
change to the cost estimate provided here. 

–  All components are delivered by the end of 2023, which explains why the contractor expenses reduce to close to zero by that time. Only a 

residual amount for recurrent update of the CRSS remains. 

–  Over  the  period  2019  to  2021,  the  expenses  on  software  increase  substantially  as  the  software  licence  costs  are  incurred  for  the  different 
environments needed for production, pre-production and testing and this both on central site and the back-up site. In addition, some specific 
and indispensable software components are priced according to the number 'referenced objects' (say the volume of data). As the database will 
ultimately contain about 220 million identities, the software price is proportionate to this value. 

EN 

102 

EN 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Indicate 
objectives and 
outputs  

Eu-LISA 

 

Type
85

Avera
ge 
cost 

SPECIFIC OBJECTIVE No 2 
Maintenance and operations of 
Interoperability Components 

Systems kept 
operational 

Contractor 

Software 
products 

Hardware 
products  

Software 

Hardware 

IT training 

Training  

Subtotal for specific objective No 2 

Year 
2019 

Year 
2020 

Year 
2021 

Year 
2022 

Year 
2023 

Year 
2024 

Year 
2025 

Year 
2026 

Year 
2027 

TOTAL 

o
N

Cost  N

o

Cost  N

o

Cost  N

o

Cost  N

o

Cost  N

o

Cost  N

o

Cost  N

o

Cost  N

o

Cost 

o
N

l
a
t
o
T

Total 
cost 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

1,430 

2,919 

2,788 

2,788 

2,788 

2,788 

15,501 

0,265 

0,265 

1,541 

5,344 

5,904 

5,904 

5,904 

5,904 

31,032 

0,060 

0,060 

0,596 

1,741 

1,741 

1,741 

1,741 

1,741 

9,423 

0 

0 

0 

0,030 

0,030 

0,030 

0,030 

0,030 

0,150 

0,325 

0,325 

3,567 

10,034 

10,464 

10,464 

10,464 

10,464 

56,105 

–  Maintenance starts as soon as some components are delivered. Therefore the budget for a maintenance contractor is included from the moment 
the ESP is delivered (in 2021). The maintenance budget increases as more components are delivered and then reaches a more or less constant 
value representing a percentage (between 15 and 22%) of the initial investment  

–  Maintenance for hardware and software starts from the year of entry into operations: the evolution of the costs is similar to that for contractor 

costs. 

85 

Outputs are products and services to be supplied (e.g.: number of student exchanges financed, number of km of roads built, etc.). 

EN 

103 

EN 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
Indicate 
objectives and 
outputs  

Eu-LISA 

 

Type
86

Avera
ge 
cost 

SPECIFIC OBJECTIVE No 3

87

Data migration 

BMS legacy 
data migrated 

EDAC legacy 
data enabled for 
migration 

To shared BMS 

EDAC redesign 
and rebuild 

Subtotal for specific objective No 3 

Year 
2019 

Year 
2020 

Year 
2021 

Year 
2022 

Year 
2023 

Year 
2024 

Year 
2025 

Year 
2026 

Year 
2027 

TOTAL 

o
N

Cost  N

o

Cost  N

o

Cost  N

o

Cost  N

o

Cost  N

o

Cost  N

o

Cost  N

o

Cost  N

o

Cost 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

7,000 

3,000 

7,500 

7,500 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

7,500 

14,500 

3,000 

o
N

l
a
t
o
T

Total cost 

10,000 

15,000 

25,000 

–  In the case of the shared BMS project, data need to be migrated from the other biometric engines to the shared BMS as this common system is 
operationally  more  effective  and  also  gives  a  financial  advantage  compared  with  a  situation  where  multiple  smaller  BMS  systems  would 
continue to be maintained. 

–  The current business logic of Eurodac is not clearly separated from the biometrics matching mechanism as is the case with the BMS operating 
with  VIS. The internal functioning of Eurodac and the mechanism with  which the business services call the underlying biometric matching 
services is a black box for the outside viewer and is based on proprietary technology. It will not be possible to simply migrate the data to a 
shared  BMS  and  keep  the  existing  business  layer.  Therefore  the  migration  of  data  is  accompanied  by  significant  costs  for  changing  the 
exchanging mechanisms with the Eurodac central application. 

86 
87 

Outputs are products and services to be supplied (e.g.: number of student exchanges financed, number of km of roads built, etc.). 
As described in point 1.4.2. ‘Specific objective(s)…’  

EN 

104 

EN 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
Indicate 
objectives and 
outputs  

Eu-LISA 

 

Type
88

Avera
ge 
cost 

SPECIFIC OBJECTIVE No 4

89

Network 

Network 
connections 

Network set-up 

Network traffic 
handled 

Network 
operations 

Subtotal for specific objective No 4 

Year 
2019 

Year 
2020 

Year 
2021 

Year 
2022 

Year 
2023 

Year 
2024 

Year 
2025 

Year 
2026 

Year 
2027 

TOTAL 

o
N

Cost  N

o

Cost  N

o

Cost  N

o

Cost  N

o

Cost  N

o

Cost  N

o

Cost  N

o

Cost  N

o

Cost 

o
N

l
a
t
o
T

Total cost 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0,505 

0 

0,505 

0,246 

0,246 

0,246 

0,246 

0,246 

1,230 

0 

0,505 

0,246 

0,246 

0,246 

0,246 

0,246 

1,735 

–  The interoperability components only have a marginal effect on network traffic. In terms of data, only links between existing data are created 
which is a low-volume item. The cost included here is only the marginal increase of budget required on top of EES and ETIAS budgets for 
network set-up and traffic. 

Indicate 
objectives and 
outputs  

Year 
2019 

Year 
2020 

Year 
2021 

Year 
2022 

Year 
2023 

Year 
2024 

Year 
2025 

Year 
2026 

Year 
2027 

TOTAL 

88 
89 

Outputs are products and services to be supplied (e.g.: number of student exchanges financed, number of km of roads built, etc.). 
As described in point 1.4.2. ‘Specific objective(s)…’  

EN 

105 

EN 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
Eu-LISA 

 

Type
90

Avera
ge 
cost 

SPECIFIC OBJECTIVE No 5

91

Update NUI 

NUI updated  

Contractor 

Subtotal for specific objective No 5 

o
N

Cost  N

o

Cost  N

o

Cost  N

o

Cost  N

o

Cost  N

o

Cost  N

o

Cost  N

o

Cost  N

o

Cost 

o
N

l
a
t
o
T

Total cost 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0,505 

0,505 

0,505 

0,505 

0 

1,010 

1,010 

–  The EES proposal introduced  the concept of the national uniform interface (NUI)  to  be developed and  maintained by eu-LISA.  The table 
above contains the budget for updating the NUI for an additional type of information exchange. There is no additional cost on the operations 
of the NUI, which were already budgeted under the EES proposal. 

Year 
2019 

Year 
2020 

Year 
2021 

Year 
2022 

Year 
2023 

Year 
2024 

Year 
2025 

Year 
2026 

Year 
2027 

TOTAL 

o
N

Cost 

o
N

Cost 

o
N

Cost 

o
N

Cost 

o
N

Cost 

o
N

Cost  N

o

Cost  N

o

Cost  N

o

Cost 

o
N

l
a
t
o
T

Total cost 

Indicate 
objectives 
and outputs  

Eu-LISA 

 

Typ
92
e

Ave
rage 
cost 

SPECIFIC OBJECTIVE No 
6: Meetings and training 

90 
91 
92 

Outputs are products and services to be supplied (e.g.: number of student exchanges financed, number of km of roads built, etc.). 
As described in point 1.4.2. ‘Specific objective(s)…’  
Outputs are products and services to be supplied (e.g.: number of student exchanges financed, number of km of roads built, etc.). 

EN 

106 

EN 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
Monthly 
Progress 
meetings  

(Develop-
ment) 

Quarterly 
meetings 
(operations) 

0,021 per 
meeting x 10 
per year 

0,021 x 4 
per year  

Advisory 
Groups 

0,021 x 4 
per years 

MS Training 

0,025 per 
training 

Subtotal for specific objective 
No 6 

10 

0,210 

10 

0,210 

10 

0,210 

10 

0,210 

40 

0,840 

4 

0,084 

4 

0,084 

4 

0,084 

4 

0,084 

4 

0,084 

4 

0,084 

4 

0,084 

4 

0,084 

4 

0,084 

36 

0,756 

4 

2 

0,084 

0,050 

4 

4 

0,084 

0,100 

4 

4 

0,084 

0,100 

4 

6 

0,084 

0,150 

4 

6 

0,084 

4 

0,084 

4 

0,084 

4 

0,084 

4 

0,084 

36 

0,756 

0,150 

6 

0,150 

6 

0,150 

6 

0,150 

6 

0,150 

24 

1,150 

20 

0,428 

22 

0,478 

22 

0,478 

24 

0,528 

14 

0,318 

14 

0,318 

1
4 

0,318 

1
4 

0,318 

1
4 

0,318 

3,502 

–  The subtotal 6 includes the costs for organising meetings by the Management Authority (in this case  eu-LISA) for the project governance. 

These are the costs for additional meetings for the delivery of the interoperability components. 

–  The subtotal 6 includes the costs for meetings of eu-LISA with Member State staff dealing with the development, maintenance and operations 

of the interoperability components and with organising and delivering training for Member State IT staff. 

–  During development, the budget includes 10 project meetings per year.  Once operations are being prepared (and this is the case from 2019 
onwards), four meetings are organised per year.  At a more senior level, an Advisory Group is set up from the beginning to implement the 
Commission's  implementing  decisions.    There  are  four  meetings  per  year  planned,  as  for  the  existing  Advisory  Groups.  Further,  eu-LISA 
prepares and delivers training for the IT staff in Member States. This is training on technical aspects of the interoperability components. 

EN 

107 

EN 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Indicate 
objectives and 
outputs  

Eu-LISA 

 

Type
93

Avera
ge 
cost 

SPECIFIC OBJECTIVE No 7

94

High availability of ECRIS-TCN 

High available 
system 

High availability 
operations 

System set-up 

System 
maintained and 
operated  

Subtotal for specific objective No 4 

Year 
2019 

Year 
2020 

Year 
2021 

Year 
2022 

Year 
2023 

Year 
2024 

Year 
2025 

Year 
2026 

Year 
2027 

TOTAL 

o
N

Cost  N

o

Cost  N

o

Cost  N

o

Cost  N

o

Cost  N

o

Cost  N

o

Cost  N

o

Cost  N

o

Cost 

o
N

l
a
t
o
T

Total cost 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

8,067 

0 

8,067 

0 

1,768 

1,768 

1,768 

1,768 

1,768 

1,768 

10,608 

8,067 

1,768 

1,768 

1,768 

1,768 

1,768 

1,768 

18,675 

–  The objective 7 is to move ECRIS-TCN from a system with a 'standard' availability to a high availability system. In 2021, ECRIS-TCN would 
undergo  that  upgrade  which  requires  the  acquisition  of  additional  hardware  essentially.  Since  ECRIS-TCN  is  planned  to  be  completed  in 
2020,  it  is  tempting  to  build  that  system  as  a  high-available  system  from  the  start  and  integrated  with  the  interoperability  components. 
However  given  that  many  projects  become  dependent  from  one  another  it  is  cautious  not  making  this  assumption  and  budgeting  separate 
actions.  This budget is an additional budget to the cost for developing, maintaining or operating ECRIS-TCN in 2019 and 2020. 

93 
94 

Outputs are products and services to be supplied (e.g.: number of student exchanges financed, number of km of roads built, etc.). 
As described in point 1.4.2. ‘Specific objective(s)…’  

EN 

108 

EN 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
3.2.2.5.  Estimated impact on DG Home's appropriations 

–    The proposal/initiative does not require the use of operational appropriations  

–   The proposal/initiative requires the use of operational appropriations, as explained below: 

Commitment appropriations in EUR million (to three decimal places) 

Indicate 
objectives and 
outputs  

DG Home 

 

Type
95

Avera
ge 
cost 

SPECIFIC OBJECTIVE No 1: 
Integration of (Member State) 
national systems 

NUI ready for 
use  

Customisation 
NUI - 
developments 

MS 
adapted 
interoperability 

systems 
for 

Integration 
costs 

End-users 
trained  

10.000 end—
user sessions in 
total @ €1000 
per session 

Year 
2019 

Year 
2020 

Year 
2021 

Year 
2022 

Year 
2023 

Year 
2024 

Year 
2025 

Year 
2026 

Year 
2027 

TOTAL 

o
N

Cost  N

o

Cost  N

o

Cost 

o
N

Cost 

o
N

Cost  N

o

Cost  N

o

Cost  N

o

Cost  N

o

Cost 

o
N

l
a
t
o
T

Total cost 

30 

3,150 

30 

3,150 

30 

6,300 

30 

40,000 

30 

40,000 

30 

40,000 

30 

120,000 

5000 

5,000 

5000 

5,000 

10.00
0 

10,000 

95 

Outputs are products and services to be supplied (e.g.: number of student exchanges financed, number of km of roads built, etc.). 

EN 

109 

EN 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
Subtotal for specific objective No 1 

43,150 

48,150 

45,000 

136,300 

–  Specific Objective 1 deals with the funds made available to Member States in order to take the benefit of interoperable central systems. The 
NUI is customised both when ESP is implemented and when MID becomes operational. Each Member State then has a relatively moderate 
change  (estimated  at  150  man-days)  to  perform  in  order  to  adapt  to  these  updated  message  exchanges  with  the  central  systems.  More 
substantial is the change to the contents of the data that interoperability will introduce and which is covered under the 'integration cost'. These 
funds deal with changes to the sort of messages sent to the central system and for handling the returned  answer. For estimating the costs of 
these changes, a budget of €4 million is allocated per Member State.  This amount is the same as for the EES as there is a comparable amount 
of work required to adapt integration of national systems with NUI. 

–  The end-users need to be trained for the systems. This training for a very large end-user population is to be financed on the basis of €1,000 per 

session of 10 to 20 end-users for the estimated 10.000 sessions to be organised by all Member States in their own premises. 

EN 

110 

EN 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
3.2.3.  Estimated impact on human resources 

3.2.3.1.  EBCG Agency Summary 

The proposal/initiative does not require the use of appropriations of an administrative 

 
nature  

The proposal/initiative requires the use of appropriations of an administrative nature, 

 
as explained below: 

EUR million (to three decimal places) 

Year 
2019 

Year 
2020 

Year 
2021 

Year 
2022 

Year 
2023 

Year 
2024 

Year 
2025 

Year 
2026 

Year 
2027 

TOTAL 

Officials (AD 
Grades) 

Officials 
(AST grades) 

Contract staff 

Temporary staff  

Seconded 
National Experts 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0  0,350  1,400  0,233 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

1,983 

0 

TOTAL 

0,0 

0,0 

0,0 

0,350 

1,400 

0,233 

0,0 

0,0 

0,0 

1,983 

The expected work to be carried out by these additional staff to the EBCG is limited 
in  time  (2023),  more  precisely  starting  24  months  after  the  availability  date  of  the 
biometric engine for EES is available). However staff need to be recruited in advance 
(an  average  of  three  months  is  calculated)  which  explains  the  value  in  2022.  The 
work  done  is  followed  by  wrap-up/termination  tasks  during  two  months,  which 
explains the staff level in 2024. 

The staff level itself is based on 20 persons required for the work to be done (plus 10 
persons provided by a contractor and which is reflected in Title 3). The tasks are also 
assumed  to  happen  over  extended  working  hours  and  not  being  limited  to  standard 
business hours.  Support and managerial staff are assumed to be provided relying on 
the resources of the Agency. 

The  staff  number  is  based  on  the  assumption  that  about  550.000  fingerprints  will 
have  to  be  assessed  taking  on  average  5  to  10  minutes  per  case  (17.000  prints  per 
year checked).96 

96 

Staff in 2020 and later years is indicative and will need to be assessed whether it is additional to the 
forecast of EBCG staff set out in COM(2015)671 or not 

EN 

111 

  EN 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
. 

3.2.3.2.  Europol summary 

The proposal/initiative does not require the use of appropriations of an administrative 

 
nature  

The proposal/initiative requires the use of appropriations of an administrative nature, 

 
as explained below: 

EUR million (to three decimal places) 

Year 
2019 

Year 
2020 

Year 
2021 

Year 
2022 

Year 
2023 

Year 
2024 

Year 
2025 

Year 
2026 

Year 
2027 

TOTAL 

Officials (AD 
Grades) 

Officials 
(AST grades) 

Contract staff 

0 

0,000  0,070  0,070  0,560  0,560  0,560  0,560  0,560 

0,560 

Temporary staff   0,690  1,932  1,932  0,621  0,621  0,414  0,414  0,414 

0,414 

Seconded 
National Experts 

3,500 

7,452 

TOTAL 

0,690  2,002  2,002  1,181  1,181  0,974  0,974  0,974 

0,974 

10,952 

These costs are estimated on the basis of the following staff levels: 

Number  of  FTEs 
for ICT 

Contract Staff  

Temporary staff  
Total Staff (FTEs) 

2019  2020  2021  2022  2023  2024  2025  2026  2027 
8,0 
8,0 

8,0 

0,0 

1,0 

1,0 

8,0 

8,0 

8,0 

total 
50,0 

5,0 

5,0 

14,0 

14,0 

4,5 

4,5 

3,0 

3,0 

3,0 

3,0 

54,0 

15,0 

15,0 

12,5 

12,5 

11,0 

11,0 

11,0 

11,0 

104,0 

EN 

112 

  EN 

Number of staff201920202021202220232024202520262027TotalStaff for processing links and decisions manually0,00,00,05,020,03,30,00,00,028,3Total Title 1 - CA 0,00,00,05,020,03,30,00,00,028,3Total Title 1 - TA0,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,0Total  Title 10,00,00,05,020,03,30,00,00,028,3 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Additional  ICT  staff  for  Europol  is  envisaged  to  reinforce  Europol  information  systems  in 
order  to  accommodate  the  increased  number  of  queries  from  ESP  and  ETIAS  and  later  to 
maintain the systems 24/7. 

–  For  the  ESP  implementation  phase  (in  2020  and  2021)  there  is  an  additional  need  for 
technical experts (architects, engineers, developers, testers). Reduced number of technical 
experts will be needed for the years 2022 onwards to implement the rest of interoperability 
components and maintain the systems.  

–  As  from  second  half  of  2021,  24/7  ICT  system  monitoring  needs  to  be  implemented  to 
ensure service levels of ESP and ETIAS. This will be done by 2 contract agents, working 
in 4 shifts 24/7.  

–  To  the  extent  possible,  the  profiles  have  been  divided  between  temporary  agents  and 
contract agents. It has to be noted though that due to high security requirements, in several 
posts it is possible to use temporary agents only.  The request for Temporary Agents will 
take into account the results of the conciliation on the 2018 budget procedure. 

3.2.3.3.  CEPOL summary 

The proposal/initiative does not require the use of appropriations of an administrative 

 
nature  

The proposal/initiative requires the use of appropriations of an administrative nature, 

 
as explained below: 

EUR million (to three decimal places) 

Year 
2019 

Year 
2020 

Year 
2021 

Year 
2022 

Year 
2023 

Year 
2024 

Year 
2025 

Year 
2026 

Year 
2027 

TOTAL 

Officials (AD 
Grades) 

Officials 
(AST grades) 

Contract staff 

Temporary staff  

Seconded 
National Experts 

  0,070  0,070 

0,140 

  0,104  0,138   0,138   0,138   0,138   0,138   0,138  

0,138  

1,070 

TOTAL 

  0,104  0,208  0,208  0,138   0,138   0,138   0,138  

0,138  

1,210  

Additional  staff is  required as  the training  for Member State trainers needs to  be developed 
specifically in view of using the interoperability components in operational circumstances.  

- The development of curriculum and training modules should start at least 8 months before 
the system is operational. In the first two years after becoming operational, the training is at 

EN 

113 

  EN 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
its  most  intense.  However,  it  needs to  be  maintained  for  a  longer  period  to  ensure  coherent 
implementation, based on the experience with the Schengen information system.  

-  The  additional  staff  is  needed  to  prepare,  coordinate  and  implement  the  curriculum, 
residential courses and online course. These courses can only be implemented in addition to 
CEPOL's existing training catalogue, and therefore additional staff are needed. 

-  It is  planned  to  have  one  course  manager  as  temporary  agent  throughout  the  development 
and  maintenance  period  who  will  be  supported  by  one  contract  agent  in  the  most  intense 
training organisation period.  

3.2.3.4.  Eu-LISA summary 

The proposal/initiative does not require the use of appropriations of an administrative 

 
nature  

The proposal/initiative requires the use of appropriations of an administrative nature, 

 
as explained below: 

EUR million (to three decimal places) 

Year 
2019 

Year 
2020 

Year 
2021 

Year 
2022 

Year 
2023 

Year 
2024 

Year 
2025 

Year 
2026 

Year 
2027 

TOTAL 

Officials (AD 
Grades) 

Officials 
(AST grades) 

Contract staff 

0,875  1,400  1,855  2,555  2,415  2,170  2,100  2,100 

2,100 

Temporary staff   2,001  3,450  4,347  4,347  4,209  3,312  3,036  3,036 

3,036 

Seconded 
National Experts 

17,570 

30,774 

TOTAL 

2,876  4,850  6,202  6,902  6,624  5,482  5,136  5,136 

5,136 

48,344 

–  The staff requirements take into account that the four components and the CRRS constitute 
a portfolio of projects with dependencies (i.e. a programme). To manage the dependencies 
between  projects,  a  programme  management  team  is  created  comprising  the  programme 
and project managers and the profiles (often referred to as architects) that need to define 
the  common  elements  between  them.  The  programme/project  realisation  also  requires 
profiles for programme and project support. 

–  The staff requirements per project have been estimated by analogy with previous projects 
(Visa  Information  System)  and  distinguishing  the  project  completion  phase  and  the 
operational phase. 

EN 

114 

  EN 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
–  The  profiles  that  need  to  stay  on  during  the  operations  phase  are  recruited  as  temporary 
agents. The profiles required during programme/project execution are recruited as contract 
agents. To ensure the expected continuity of tasks and for keeping knowledge within the 
Agency,  the  number  of  posts  is  spread  almost  50/50  over  temporary  agents  and  contract 
agents. 

–  The assumption is made that there would be no additional staff  required to undertake the 
ECRIS-TCN  high  availability  project  and  that  eu-LISA  project  staffing  is  done  re-using 
existing staff from projects that come to completion in that period of time. 

These estimates are based on the following staffing levels: 

For contract staff: 

EN 

115 

  EN 

3.2.1. outputs EU-LISA(is equal to T1) in number of persons201920202021202220232024202520262027Total (formula)Contract Staff-                          Programme/project mgt4,05,05,55,54,53,03,03,03,036,5CRRS PM1,00,50,00,00,00,00,00,00,01,5MID0,00,50,50,50,50,00,00,00,02,0Programme/project office2,02,02,02,02,01,01,01,01,014,0Quality Assurance1,02,03,03,02,02,02,02,02,019,0Financial and Procurement0,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,0Financial mgt0,0Budgetary planning and control0,0Procurement/contract mgt0,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,0Technical experts 7,07,07,07,06,05,05,05,05,054,0CRRS3,03,03,03,02,02,02,02,02,022,0ESP4,04,04,04,04,03,03,03,03,032,0Shared BMS 0,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,0CIR0,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,0CIR0,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,0Testing1,53,04,04,04,03,02,02,02,025,5CRRS1,01,01,00,50,50,50,50,50,56,0ESP0,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,0Shared BMS 0,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,0CIR0,51,02,02,52,51,51,01,01,013,0MID0,01,01,01,01,01,00,50,50,56,5System monitoring0,05,010,020,020,020,020,020,020,0135,0Common (24:7)0,05,010,020,020,020,020,020,020,0135,0General Coordination0,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,0Human resources0,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,0HR0,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,0Sub- total Contract Staff12,520,026,536,534,531,030,030,030,0251,0 
 
 
 
 
 
For Temporary Agents: 

EN 

116 

  EN 

Temporary staffProgramme/project mgt3,04,05,55,55,54,54,04,04,040,0Programme mgr1,01,01,01,01,01,01,01,01,09,0Project mgt0,00,01,01,02,02,02,02,02,012,0Programme/project office1,01,01,01,01,01,01,01,01,09,0ESP0,51,01,00,50,00,00,00,00,03,0Shared BMS 0,50,50,51,01,00,50,00,00,04,0CIR0,00,51,01,00,50,00,00,00,03,0MID0,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,0Financial and Procurement3,03,04,04,04,04,04,04,04,034,0Financial mgt0,00,01,01,01,01,01,01,01,07,0Budgetary planning and control1,01,01,01,01,01,01,01,01,09,0Procurement/contract mgt2,02,02,02,02,02,02,02,02,018,0Technical experts 6,014,017,017,015,011,010,010,010,0110,0CRRS0,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,0ESP0,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,0Shared BMS 2,03,05,05,05,03,03,03,03,032,0CIR2,05,05,05,03,03,03,03,03,032,0Security1,02,02,02,02,02,02,02,02,017,0MID0,02,02,02,02,01,01,01,01,012,0Architects1,02,03,03,03,02,01,01,01,017,0Testing2,53,04,04,04,02,52,02,02,026,0CRRS0,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,0ESP0,51,01,01,01,00,50,50,50,56,5Shared BMS 2,02,03,03,03,02,01,51,51,519,5CIR0,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,0MID0,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,0System monitoring0,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,0CRRS0,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,0ESP0,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,0Shared BMS 0,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,0CIR0,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,0MID0,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,0Training0,01,01,01,01,01,01,01,01,08,0Training0,01,01,01,01,01,01,01,01,08,0Human resources0,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,0HR0,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,0Other0,00,00,00,01,01,01,01,01,05,0Data protection specialist0,00,00,00,01,01,01,01,01,05,0Sub-total Temporary Agents14,525,031,531,530,524,022,022,022,0223,0Total27,045,058,068,065,055,052,052,052,0474,0 
 
 
 
 
 
 
3.2.4.  Estimated impact on appropriations of an administrative nature 

3.2.4.1.  DG Home: Summary 

–    The  proposal/initiative  does  not  require  the  use  of  appropriations  of  an 

administrative nature  

–   The proposal/initiative requires the use of appropriations of an administrative 

nature, as explained below: 

EUR million (to three decimal places) 

Year 
2019 

Year 
2020 

Year 
2021 

Year 
2022 

Year 
2023 

Year 
2024 

Year 
2025 

Year 
2026 

Year 
2027 

TOTAL 

HEADING 5 
of the multiannual 
financial framework 

Human resources DG 
HOME 

Other administrative 
expenditure 

Subtotal HEADING 5 
of the multiannual 
financial framework  

0,690  

0,690  

0,690   0,690   0,690   0,690  

0,276  

0,276  

0,276  

4,968  

0,323  

0,323  

0,323   0,323   0,323   0,323  

0,263  

0,263  

0,263  

2,727  

1,013  

1,013  

1,013  

1,013   1,013   1,013  

0,539  

0,539  

0,539  

7,695  

5

Outside HEADING 
97 
of the multiannual 
financial framework  

(not 
used ) 

Human resources  

Other expenditure  
of an administrative 
nature 

Subtotal  
outside HEADING 5 
of the multiannual 
financial framework  

TOTAL 

.

97 

1,013  

1,013  

1,013   1,013   1,013  

1,013  

0,539  

0,539  

0,539  

7,695  

Technical  and/or  administrative  assistance  and  expenditure  in  support  of  the  implementation  of 
EU programmes and/or actions (former ‘BA’ lines), indirect research, direct research. 

EN 

117 

  EN 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
3.2.4.2.  Estimated requirements of human resources 

–    The proposal/initiative does not require the use of human resources.  

–   The  proposal/initiative  requires  the  use  of  human  resources,  as  explained 

below: 

Estimate to be expressed in full time equivalent units 

Year 
2019 

Year 
2020 

Year 
2021 

Year 
2022 

Year 
2023 

Year 
2024 

Year 
2025 

Year 
2026 

Year 
2027 

TOTAL 

 Establishment plan posts (officials and temporary staff) 

5,0  

5,0  

5,0  

5,0  

5,0   5,0   2,0   2,0  

2,0  

36,0  

18 01 01 01 (Headquarters and 
Commission’s Representation 
Offices) DG HOME 

XX 01 01 02 (Delegations) 

XX 01 05 01 (Indirect research) 

10 01 05 01 (Direct research) 

 External staff (in Full Time Equivalent unit: FTE)

98

XX 01 02 02 (AC, AL, END, INT 
and JED in the delegations)  

XX 01 04 yy 
99

- at 
Headquarters 

- in 
Delegations  

XX 01 05 02 (AC, END, INT - 
Indirect research) 

10 01 05 02 (AC, END, INT - 
Direct research) 

Other budget lines (specify) 

TOTAL 

5,0  

5,0  

5,0  

5,0  

5,0   5,0   2,0   2,0  

2,0  

36,0  

18 is the policy area or budget title concerned. 

The human resources required will be met by staff from the DG who are already assigned to 
management of the action and/or have been redeployed within the DG, together if necessary 
with any additional allocation which may be granted to the managing DG under the annual 
allocation procedure and in the light of budgetary constraints. 

Description of tasks to be carried out:: 

Project  monitoring  and  follow-up.  Three  officials  for  the  follow-up.  The  staff  deal  with  taking  up  the 
Commission's  duties  in  the  delivery  of  the  programme:  checking  compliance  with  legal  proposal,  addressing 
compliance issues, preparing reports to European Parliament and Council, assessing Member State progress. As 
the  programme  is  an  additional  activity  compared  with  existing  workloads,  additional  staff  are  required.  This 
staff increase is limited in terms of duration and covers only the development period. 

Management of UMF 

The  Commission  will  manage  the  UMF  standard  on  a  day-to-day  basis.  Two  officials  are  required  for  this 
purpose: one person as law enforcement expert and another person with sound knowledge of business modelling 
as well as ICT knowledge. 

The Universal Message Format (UMF) establishes a standard for structured, cross-border information exchange 
between  information  systems,  authorities  and/or  organisations  in  the  field  of  Justice  and  Home  affairs.  UMF 
defines a common vocabulary and logical structures for commonly exchanged information with the objective to 

98 

99 

AC=  Contract  Staff;  AL  =  Local  Staff;  END=  Seconded  National  Expert;  INT  =  agency  staff; 
JED= Junior Experts in Delegations.  
Sub-ceiling for external staff covered by operational appropriations (former ‘BA’ lines). 

EN 

118 

  EN 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
facilitate interoperability by enabling the creation and reading of the contents of the exchange in a consistent and 
semantically equivalent manner. 

In order to ensure  uniform conditions for the implementation of the Universal Message Format, implementing 
powers  are  proposed  to  be  conferred  on  the  Commission.  Those  powers  are  proposed  to  be  exercised  in 
accordance with Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 February 
2011 laying down the rules and general principles concerning mechanisms for control by Member States of the 
Commission’s exercise of implementing powers 

EN 

119 

  EN 

 
 
 
3.2.5.  Compatibility with the current multiannual financial framework  

–    The  proposal/initiative  is  compatible  the  current  multiannual  financial 

framework. 

–   The proposal/initiative will entail reprogramming of the relevant heading in the 

multiannual financial framework. 

Explain what reprogramming is required, specifying the budget lines concerned and the corresponding 
amounts. 

The  ISF  Borders  Regulation  is  the  financial  instrument  where  the  budget  for  the 
implementation of the interoperability initiative has been included. 

It  provides  in  Article  5(b)  that  EUR 791 million  is  to  be  implemented  through  a 
programme  for  developing  IT  systems  based  on  existing  and/or  new  IT  systems, 
supporting the management of migration flows across the external borders subject to 
the adoption of the relevant Union legislative acts and under the conditions laid down 
in  Article  15.  Of  this  EUR 791 million,  EUR 480.2 million  is  reserved  for  the 
development of the EES, EUR 210 million for ETIAS and EUR 67.9 million for the 
revision of SIS II. The remainder (EUR 32.9 million) is to be reallocated using ISF-B 
mechanisms.  The  current  proposal  requires  EUR 32.1  million  for  the  current 
MFF period which fits with the remaining budget. 

The conclusion in the box above on the amount required of EUR 32.1 million is the result of 
the following computation sheet: 

EN 

120 

  EN 

 
–    The  proposal/initiative  requires  application  of  the  flexibility  instrument  or 

revision of the multiannual financial framework. 

3.2.6.  Third-party contributions  

–  The proposal/initiative does not provide for co-financing by third parties.  

EN 

121 

  EN 

 3.2. Estimated impact on expenditureDG HOME 201920202021202220232024202520262027Total  (horiz)18 02 01  03 - Smart Borders (covers the support to MS)0043,15048,15045,0000000136,300Total (1)0043,15048,15045,0000000136,300 18.0207-3.2. eu-LISA 201920202021202220232024202520262027Total (formula)T1: Staff expenditures 2,8764,8506,2026,9026,6245,4825,1365,1365,13648,344T2: Infrastructure and Operating Expenditure0,1360,2270,2920,3430,3280,2770,2620,2620,2622,389T3: Operational Expenditure 2,81811,95445,24937,50422,70114,61113,21113,13113,131174,309Total (2)5,83017,03151,74344,74929,65320,37018,60918,52918,529225,041225,041 18.02.04-3.2. Europol 201920202021202220232024202520262027Total(formula)T1: Staff expenditures 0,6902,0022,0021,1811,1810,9740,9740,9740,97410,952T2: Infrastructure and Operating Expenditure0000000000T3: Operational Expenditure06,3806,3802,4082,4082,4087,7587,7582,40837,908Total (3)0,6908,3828,3823,5893,5893,3828,7328,7323,38248,86048,860 18.02.05-3.2. CEPOL 201920202021202220232024202520262027Total(formula)T1: Staff expenditures 00,1040,2080,2080,1380,1380,1380,1380,1381,210T2: Infrastructure and Operating Expenditure0000000000T3: Operational Expenditure00,0400,1760,2740,0700,0700,0700,0700,0700,840Total (4)00,1440,3840,4820,2080,2080,2080,2080,2082,0502,050 18.02.0-3.2. Frontex - EBCG 201920202021202220232024202520262027Total(formula)T1: Staff expenditures 0000,3501,4000,2330001,983T2: Infrastructure and Operating Expenditure0000,0750,3000,0500000,425T3: Operational Expenditure0000,1832,20000002,383Total (5)0000,6083,9000,2830004,7924,792TOTAL (1)+(2)+(3) +(4) +(5)6,52025,556103,65997,57882,35024,24327,54927,46922,119417,0433.2. DG HOME Heading 5 'Administrative expenditure'201920202021202220232024202520262027TotalTotal (6)1,0131,0131,0131,0131,0131,0130,5390,5390,5397,695TOTAL (1)+(2)+(3)+(4)+(5)+(6)7,53326,569104,67298,59183,36325,25628,08828,00822,658424,738COMMITMENTS32,076 384,966 22,861202,1819,07239,7880,1441,90604,792 
 
 
3.3. 

Estimated impact on revenue  

–    The proposal/initiative has no financial impact on revenue. 

–   The proposal/initiative has the following financial impact: 

– 

– 

 

 

on own resources  

on miscellaneous revenue  

EUR million (to three decimal places) 

Impact of the 
proposal/initiative100 

Budget 
revenue 
line: 

Appropriations 
available for the 
current financial 
year 

Year 
2019 

Year 
2020 

Year 
2021 

Year 
2022 

Year 
2023 

Year 
 2024 

Year 
2025 

Year 
2026 

Year 
2027 

Article  
6313 

- 

Contrib
ution 
Schenge
n 
associat
ed 
countrie
s (CH, 
NO, LI, 
IS)……
……. 

pm 

pm 

pm 

pm 

pm 

pm 

pm 

pm 

pm 

For miscellaneous ‘assigned’ revenue, specify the budget expenditure line(s) affected. 

18.0207 

Specify the method for calculating the impact on revenue. 

The  budget  shall  include  a  contribution  from  countries  associated  with  the 
implementation,  application  and  development  of  the  Schengen  acquis  and  the 
Eurodac related measures as laid down in the respective agreements. 

100 

As regards traditional own resources (customs duties, sugar levies), the amounts indicated must be net 
amounts, i.e. gross amounts after deduction of 25 % for collection costs. 

EN 

122 

  EN