Proposal for a REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL establishing the conditions for accessing the other EU information systems and amending Regulation (EU) 2018/1862 and Regulation (EU) yyyy/xxx [ECRIS-TCN]
Date: 2019-01-07
Institutions: Directorate-General for Migration and Home Affairs, European Commission
Subjects: EU police cooperation, Schengen Information System, criminal record, data protection, exchange of information, external border of the EU, foreign national, information system, judicial cooperation in criminal matters in the EU, personal data, travel

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   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 7.1.2019  COM(2019) 3 final 2019/0001 (COD)  Proposal for a REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL establishing the conditions for accessing the other EU information systems and amending Regulation (EU) 2018/1862 and Regulation (EU) yyyy/xxx [ECRIS-TCN]  
 
 
EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

1. 

• 

CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL 

Reasons for and objectives of the proposal 

In September 2018, the Council and the European Parliament adopted two legislative acts, a 
Regulation  establishing  the  European  Travel  Information  and  Authorisation  System 
(‘ETIAS’)1  and  an  amendment  of  the  Europol  Regulation  for  the  purpose  of  establishing 
ETIAS2. 

Establishing  ETIAS  is  among  efforts  undertaken  in  recent  years  at  EU  level  to  enhance  the 
security  of  citizens  and  prevent  irregular  migration  in  an  open  Europe,  securing  and 
continuing  to  strengthen  the  management  of  external  borders3,4.  The  context  and  the 
establishment of the system were announced in the 2016 State of the Union speech. President 
Juncker said: ‘We will defend our borders […] with strict controls […] on everyone crossing 
them. Every time someone enters or exits the EU, there will be a record of when, where and 
why. In November [2016] we will propose a European travel information and authorisation 
system – an automated system to determine who will be allowed to travel to Europe. That way 
we will know who is travelling to Europe before they even get here”. 

ETIAS  will  fill  the  information  gap  on  travellers  exempt  from  the  requirement  of  being  in 
possession of a visa when crossing the external borders. ETIAS will determine the eligibility 
of visa-exempt third-country nationals prior to their travel to the Schengen Area and whether 
such travel poses a security, irregular migration or high epidemic risk. ETIAS will also give 
travellers confidence that they would be able to cross the borders smoothly. If needed, ETIAS 
travel authorisation could be denied by ETIAS National Units. 

The assessment of such risks will involve automated processing of personal data provided in 
the applications for travel authorisation. The ETIAS Regulation establishes that personal data 
in the applications will be compared with the data present in records, files or alerts registered 
in  EU  information  systems  or  databases  (the  ETIAS  Central  System,  Schengen  Information 
System  (‘SIS’),  the  Visa  Information  System  (‘VIS’),  the  Entry/Exit  System  ‘(EES’)  or 
Eurodac),  in  Europol  data  or  in  the  Interpol  databases  (the  Interpol  Stolen  and  Lost  Travel 
Document  database  (‘SLTD’)  or  the  Interpol  Travel  Documents  Associated  with  Notices 
database (‘TDAWN’))5. 

While  the  Regulation  defines  in  its  Article  20  which  group  of  data  from  the  ETIAS 
application files can be used to consult the other systems, not all those data are collected or 
recorded in the same way in the other EU information systems and Europol data. For instance 
in one of the systems, ‘country of issue of the travel document’ is collected while in another 
the same data is recorded in another way, e.g. as ‘three letter code of the issuing country of 
the travel document’. In other instances, a category of data is collected in one system but not 
in the other. For instance, ‘first names of parents of applicants’ are collected by ETIAS, but 
not in most of the other systems to be queried by ETIAS. 

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Regulation  (EU)  2018/1240  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  12  September  2018 
establishing  a  European  Travel  Information  and  Authorisation  System  (ETIAS)  and  amending 
Regulations  (EU)  No  1077/2011,  (EU)  No  515/2014,  (EU)  2016/399,  (EU)  2016/1624  and  (EU) 
2017/2226 (OJ L 236, 19.9.2018, p. 1). 
Regulation  (EU)  2018/1241  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  12  September  2018 
amending Regulation (EU) 2016/794 for the purpose of establishing a European Travel Information and 
Authorisation System (ETIAS (OJ L 236, 19.9.2018, p. 72). 
COM(2016) 602 final. 
COM(2016) 205 final. 
Article 20(2) and Article 23(1) of Regulation (EU) 2018/1240 referred to in footnote (1). 

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Also at the time the ETIAS proposal6 was adopted, the situation as regards the different EU 
information systems to be queried by ETIAS was different from today. At the time the ETIAS 
proposal was adopted, two other new EU information technology systems had been proposed 
to  be  set  up:  discussions  were  ongoing  on  the  EES  Regulation7  while  the  Commission’s 
proposal  on  the  European  Criminal  Records  Information  System  –  Third  Country  Nationals 
(‘ECRIS-TCN’)8 was just about to be proposed. As regards existing information systems, the 
legal texts of the SIS were evolving due to the proposed revisions to the SIS legal framework 
in  December  2016,  finally  adopted  by  co-legislators  in  November  20189.  The  recast  of  the 
Eurodac Regulation10 had also been proposed by the Commission as part of the reform of the 
Common  European  Asylum  System,  but  had  not  yet  been  adopted  by  co-legislators11.  The 
recast Eurodac Regulation still remains to be adopted by co-legislators today. 

Based on these considerations, the ETIAS Regulation stipulates, in its Article 11(2) that: “The 
amendments to the legal acts establishing the EU information systems that are necessary for 
establishing  their  interoperability  with  ETIAS  as  well  as  the  addition  of  corresponding 
provisions in this Regulation shall be the subject of a separate legal instrument”. 

The present proposal therefore aims to set out the technical amendments necessary to fully set 
up the ETIAS system by amending the legal acts of the EU information technology systems 
ETIAS  queries.  The  present  proposal  also  sets  out  coresponding  provisions  and  amends  the 
ETIAS Regulation accordingly. 

First, the present initiative sets out amendments to the Regulation on ECRIS-TCN, on which 
recently,  an  ‘agreement  in  principle’  was  found  by the co-legislators. Thus,  in  line with  the 
intention expressed by co-legislators in the ETIAS Regulation12 it is now possible to include 
in ETIAS the necessary provisions on the relationship between ETIAS and ECRIS-TCN and 
to amend ECRIS-TCN accordingly. 

Secondly,  the  present  initiative  also  aims  to  establish  the  relations  between  ETIAS  and  the 
SIS.  The  revised  SIS  legal  framework  has  been  adopted  in  November  2018.  The  present 
proposal  includes  consequential  amendments  resulting  from  the  adoption  of  the  new  SIS 
Regulations. In line with the new SIS legal framework it is proposed to include the new alert 
category on inquiry checks13 for the assessment of applications. It is not proposed to include 

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COM(2016) 731 final. 
Regulation (EU) 2017/2226 establishing an Entry/Exit System (EES) of 9 December 2017, OJ L 327, p. 
20. 
COM(2017) 344 final. 
COM(2016) 883 final, COM(2016) 882 final, COM(2016) 881 final. 
Regulation (EU) No 603/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 June 2013 on the 
establishment of ‘Eurodac’ for the comparison of fingerprints for the effective application of Regulation 
(EU)  No  604/2013  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 and on requests for the comparison with Eurodac 
data  by  Member  States’  law  enforcement  authorities  and  Europol  for  law  enforcement  purposes,  and 
amending  Regulation  (EU)  No  1077/2011  establishing  a  European  Agency  for  the  operational 
management of large-scale IT systems in the area of freedom, security and justice (OJ L 180, 29.6.2013, 
p. 1). 
The  ETIAS  Regulation  has  maintained  references  to  Eurodac  which  were  part  of  the  Commission 
ETIAS  proposal,  while  specifying,  in  Article  97  of  the  ETIAS  Regulation  (EU)  2018/1240,  that 
provisions relating to the consultation of Eurodac will only apply once the recast of Eurodac will apply. 
Recital (58) of Regulation (EU) 2018/1240 referred to in footnote (1). 
Regulation (EU) 2018/1862 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 28 November 2018 on 
the  establishment,  operation  and  use  of  the  Schengen  Information  System  (SIS)  in  the  field  of  police 
cooperation  and  judicial  cooperation  in  criminal  matters,  amending  and  repealing  Council  Decision 
2007/533/JHA,  and  repealing  Regulation  (EC)  No  1986/2006  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the 
Council and Commission Decision 2010/261/EU. 

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the alert category on return decisions as such alerts are erased at the moment a return decision 
is implemented. This means that persons that apply for an ETIAS authorisation after having 
left  the  EU  will  –  by  definition  –  not  have  a  return  record  in  the  SIS.  Thirdly,  the  present 
initiative  seeks  to  amend  the  EES  Regulation  to  establish  technically  its  relationship  with 
ETIAS. 

Fourthly,  the  initiative  also  aims  at  amending  the  VIS  Regulation  in  order  to  allow  VIS  to 
receive,  process  and  answer  ETIAS  queries.  Although  in  May  2018,  the  Commission 
presented  a  proposal  to  amend  the  VIS  Regulation  in  order  to  upgrade  that  database,  the 
present  initiative  puts  forward  amendments  to  the  VIS  Regulation  currently  in  force,  as  the 
negotiations on the proposal for the upgraded VIS are not sufficiently advanced. However, if 
the proposal to amend the VIS Regulation were to be adopted first, it could become necessary 
to  introduce  some  technical  changes  in  the  present  proposal  to  align  it  with  the  amended 
version of the VIS Regulation. If the present proposal is adopted first, some technical changes 
could be required in the proposal amending the VIS Regulation before its adoption. 

In addition, following the adoption of both the EES Regulation and ETIAS Regulation, it is 
now required to align the way EES and ETIAS are working together on the way EES and VIS 
are integrated for the purpose of border control process and registration of border crossings in 
EES. This will rationalise and simplify the work of border guards through the implementation 
of  a  more  uniform  border  control  process  for  all  third-country  national  entering  for  a  short 
stay. 

The present initiative however does not include the amendments related to Eurodac, the EU 
asylum and irregular migration database, given that discussions have not yet been concluded 
on the May 2016 legislative proposal to strengthen Eurodac14. Furthermore, the data available 
in the current Eurodac are not sufficient for ETIAS purposes, given that the existing Eurodac 
only stores biometric data and a reference number, but no other personal data (e.g. name(s), 
age,  date  of  birth)  that  would  allow  for  contributing  to  the  objectives  of  ETIAS.  The  May 
2016 legislative proposal for a recast Eurodac Regulation seeks to extend the purpose of the 
database to the identification of illegally staying third-country nationals and those who have 
entered the EU irregularly. In particular, it provides for the storage of personal data such as 
the  name(s),  age,  date  of  birth,  nationality,  and  identity  documents.  These  identity  data  are 
essential to ensure that Eurodac will be able to contribute to the objectives of ETIAS. 

Once the co-legislators reach political agreement on the recast Eurodac Regulation, the recast 
Eurodac Regulation will need to be supplemented with the necessary amendments to connect 
Eurodac to  ETIAS.  Additionally, once the co-legislators adopt  the Commission’s  legislative 
proposals15 for the interoperability of information systems for security, border and migration 
management,  and  following  political  agreement  on  the  proposal  for  a  recast  Eurodac 
Regulation,  the  Commission  will  apply  the  same  approach  with  regards  to  the  necessary 
amendments to make Eurodac part of the interoperability of information systems. 

Finally,  in  line  with  the  April  2016  Communication  on  "Smarter  Information  Systems  for 
borders  and  security",  ETIAS  is  to  be  built  based  on  a  re-use  of  hardware  and  software 
components  developed  for  the  EES16.  This  is  also  the  approach  followed  by  the  legislative 
proposals on the interoperability of information systems17. The technical development of the 
common  identity  repository  and  the  European  search  portal  as  foreseen  by  the  legislative 

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COM(2016) 272 final. 
COM(2018) 478 final and COM(2018) 480 final. 
Regulation (EU) 2226/2017 establishing an Entry/Exit System (EES) of 9 December 2017, OJ L 327, p. 
20. 
COM(2018) 478 final and COM(2018) 480 final. 

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proposals on the interoperability of information systems would be developed on the basis of 
the EES/ETIAS components. 

This  proposal  therefore  presents  amendments  to  the  ETIAS  Regulation  to  specify  that  the 
ETIAS  Central  System  would  build  upon  the  EES  Central  System’s  hardware  and  software 
components  in  order  to  establish  a  shared  identity  repository  for  the  storage  of  the  identity 
alphanumeric  data  of  both  ETIAS  applicants  and  third-country  nationals  registered  in  EES. 
This  shared  identity  repository  would  be  the  basis  for  the  implementation  of  the  common 
identity  repository  once 
the 
interoperability  of  information  systems.  Moreover,  during  a  transitional  period,  before  the 
European search portal  is  available, the  automated processing of ETIAS  applications would 
rely on a tool, which would be used as the basis for the development and implementation of 
the European search portal. 

legislative  proposals  on 

the  co-legislators  adopt 

the 

Due  to  the  variable  geometry  in  Member  States'  participation  in  EU  policies  in  the  area  of 
freedom,  security  and  justice,  it  is  necessary  to  adopt  two  separate  legal  instruments  which 
will nonetheless work seamlessly together to enable the comprehensive operation and use of 
the system. 

Existing provisions in the area of the proposal 

• 
ETIAS  was  established  by  Regulation  (EU)  2018/124018.  The  Regulation  specifies  the 
objectives  of  ETIAS,  defines  its  technical  and  organisational  architecture,  lays  down  rules 
concerning the operation and the use of the data to be entered into the system by the applicant 
and rules on the issue or refusal of the travel authorisations, lays down the purposes for which 
the  data  are  to  be  processed,  identifies  the  authorities  authorised  to  access  the  data  and 
specifies rules to ensure the protection of personal data. 

In  line  with  the  ETIAS  Regulation,  this  proposal  introduces  amendments  to  the  legal  acts 
establishing the EU information systems that are necessary for establishing their relation with 
ETIAS. It also adds corresponding provisions in the ETIAS Regulation itself. 

This  proposal  is  without prejudice to  Directive 2004/38/EC19. The proposal  does not  in  any 
respect amend Directive 2004/38/EC. 

• 

Consistency with other Union policies 

This  proposal  is  consistent  with  the  European  Agenda  on  Migration  and  subsequent 
communications, including the Communication of 14 September 2016 ‘Enhancing security in 
a  world  of  mobility:  improved  information  exchange  in  the  fight  against  terrorism  and 
stronger  external  borders’,  as  well  as  the  European  Agenda  on  Security20  and  the 
Commission’s work and progress reports towards an effective and genuine Security Union21. 

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See footnote (1). 
Directive 2004/38/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29  April 2004 on the right of 
citizens  of  the  Union  and  their  family  members  to  move  and  reside  freely  within  the  territory  of  the 
Member  States  amending  Regulation  (EEC)  No  1612/68  and  repealing  Directives  64/221/EEC, 
68/360/EEC,  72/194/EEC,  73/148/EEC,  75/34/EEC,  75/35/EEC,  90/364/EEC,  90/365/EEC  and 
93/96/EEC (OJ L 158, 30.4.2004, p. 77). 
COM(2015) 185 final. 
COM(2018) 470 final. 

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2. 

• 

LEGAL BASIS, SUBSIDIARITY AND PROPORTIONALITY 

Legal basis 

The legal basis for this proposal is composed of Article 82(1)(d) and Article 87(2)(a) of the 
Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). 

Article 82(1)(d) TFEU allows the European Parliament and the Council to adopt measures to 
facilitate  cooperation  between  judicial  or  equivalent  authorities  of  the  Member  States  in 
relation to proceedings in criminal matters and the enforcement of decisions. 

Article  87(2)(a)  TFEU  allows  the  European  Parliament  and  the  Council  to  adopt  measures 
concerning  the  collection,  storage,  processing,  analysis  and  exchange  of  information  that  is 
relevant  to  police  cooperation  in  relation  to  the  prevention,  detection  and  investigation  of 
criminal offences. 

Those  two  treaty  provisions  served  as  legal  basis  for  the  adoption  of  the  Regulation  (EU) 
2018/1862  establishing  the  Schengen  Information  System  (SIS)  in  the  field  of  police 
cooperation  and  judicial  cooperation  in  criminal  matters.  They  also  serve  as  legal  basis  for 
this proposal to amend that regulation. 

Article  82(1)(d)  TFEU  on  judicial  cooperation  in  criminal  matters  and  the  enforcement  of 
decisions is also foreseen as legal basis for the proposal on ECRIS-TCN on which a political 
agreement has been reached between the co-legislators. It is therefore also the legal basis for 
this proposal to amend the ECRIS-TCN regulation assuming that the latter will be adopted. 

• 

Subsidiarity  

The Proposal contains amendments of Regulations setting up EU-wide information systems to 
manage the external borders and the security of an area without controls at internal borders. 
Such information technology systems can, by their nature, only be set up at EU level, and not 
by the Member States acting alone. 

• 

Proportionality 

This  proposal  elaborates  further  on  principles  already  established  by  the  legislator  in  the 
ETIAS Regulation. 

This becomes apparent from the following elements. 

The  specifications  as  regards  exchanges  of  data  between  ETIAS  and  each  of  the  other  EU 
information systems are in line with the exchanges of data provided by Articles 20 and 23 of 
the ETIAS Regulation. 

The granting of access rights to identity data in the EU information systems (EES, VIS, SIS, 
ECRIS-TCN) by the ETIAS Central Unit falls within the scope of responsibilities assigned to 
the ETIAS Central Unit pursuant to Articles 7, 22 and 75 of the ETIAS Regulation. 

The granting of access rights to the other EU information systems for the manual processing 
of application by the ETIAS National Units falls within the scope of responsibilities assigned 
to the ETIAS National Units pursuant to Article 8 and Chapter IV of the ETIAS Regulation. 

Including  in  this  proposal  the  inclusion  of  alerts  concerning  an  inquiry  check  are  coherent 
with the provisions on the support of objectives of SIS in Article 23 ETIAS Regulation. 

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This proposal is proportionate in that it does not go further than what is required in terms of 
action at EU level to reach the objectives. 

• 

Choice of the instrument 

A  regulation  of  the  European  Parliament  and  the  Council  is  proposed.  The  proposed 
legislation addresses the operation of central EU information systems for borders and security, 
all  of  which  have  been  -  or  are  proposed  to  be  -  established  under  regulations.  As  a 
consequence, only a regulation can be chosen as a legal instrument. 

3. 

• 

RESULTS 
CONSULTATIONS AND IMPACT ASSESSMENTS 

EX-POST 

EVALUATIONS, 

OF 

STAKEHOLDER 

Stakeholder consultations 

The ETIAS proposal was developed on the basis of a feasibility study. As part of this study, 
the Commission collected the views of Member State experts on border control and security. 
In addition, the main elements of the ETIAS proposal were discussed in the framework of the 
High-Level  Expert  Group  on  Interoperability  that  was  set  up  as  a  follow-up  of  the 
Communication  on  Stronger  and  Smarter  Borders  of  6  April  2016.  Consultation  took  also 
place with  representatives of the air, sea and rail carriers, as  well as with representatives of 
EU Member States with external land borders. As part of the feasibility study, a consultation 
of the Fundamental Rights Agency was also undertaken. 

This proposal only introduces limited technical changes, mirroring provisions that are already 
established  in  the  ETIAS  Regulation.  These  limited  technical  adjustments  do  not  justify 
having separate stakeholder consultations. 

• 

Impact assessment 

This  proposal  is  not  supported  by  an  impact  assessment.  The  proposal  is  coherent  with  the 
ETIAS  Regulation,  the  proposal  of  which  was  based  on  the  results  of  the  feasibility  study 
conducted from June until October 2016. 

As  this  proposal  does  not  contains  new  political  elements  but  merely  introduces  limited 
technical changes, mirroring provisions that are already established in the ETIAS Regulation, 
a impact assessment is not necessary. 

Fundamental rights 

As compared to the ETIAS Regulation, this proposal only specifies in more details which data 
is to be compared to which data in the other EU information systems and provides with the 
necessary  amendments  as  regards  granting  access  rights  to  those  other  systems  to  ETIAS 
Central  and  National  Units.  Therefore,  this  proposal  complies  with  the  Charter  of 
Fundamental Rights of the European Union, in particular as regards the right to the protection 
of personal data, and is also in line with Article 16 TFEU which guarantees everyone the right 
to protection of personal data concerning them. 

4. 

BUDGETARY IMPLICATIONS 

The proposal does not have budgetary implications. 

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5. 

• 

OTHER ELEMENTS 

Participation  

 To  the  extent  that  it  aims  to  amend  the  Regulation  establishing  the  Schengen  Information 
System (SIS) in the field of police cooperation and judicial cooperation in criminal matters, 
this proposal builds upon the provisions of the Schengen acquis related to police cooperation 
and judicial cooperation in criminal matters, with consequences with regard to the application 
of protocols (No 19) and (No 22) to the TEU and the TFEU as well as of the agreements with 
associated countries. 

To the extent that it aims to amend the proposed Regulation establishing a centralised system 
for  the  identification  of  Member  States  holding  conviction  information  on  third  country 
nationals  and  stateless  persons  (ECRIS-TCN),  there  are  consequences  with  regard  to  the 
application  of  protocols  (No  21)  and  (No  22);  there  are  no  agreements  with  associated 
countries on this subject matter. 

The consequences are as follows, presented per country. 

Denmark:  As  far  as  the  SIS  (police  cooperation)  is  concerned,  according  to  Article  4  of 
Protocol 22 on the position of Denmark annexed to the Treaties, Denmark shall decide, within 
a  period  of  six  months  after  the  Council  has  decided  on  this  Regulation,  whether  it  will 
implement this proposal, which builds upon the Schengen acquis, in its national law. As far as 
ECRIS-TCN is concerned, this proposal does not apply to Denmark, in view of Article 1 of 
Protocol 22. 

The United Kingdom: As far as the SIS (police cooperation) is concerned, in accordance with 
Article 5 of Protocol (No 19) 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 acquis, the United Kingdom is bound by 
this  Regulation.  As  far  as  ECRIS-TCN  is  concerned,  Article  3  and  4a  of  Protocol  (No  21) 
give the United Kingdom the faculty to opt into the measure proposed. 

Ireland: As far as the SIS (police cooperation) is concerned, in accordance with Article 5 of 
Protocol  (No  19)  and  Article  6(2)  of  Council  Decision  2002/192/EC  of  28  February  2002 
concerning Ireland's request to take part in some of Ireland is bound by this measure. As far as 
ECRIS-TCN is concerned, Article 3 and 4a of Protocol (No 21) give Ireland the faculty to opt 
into the proposed measure; this would require that Ireland opt into the ECRIS-TCN regulation 
which is proposed to amend as well as into the entire ECRIS acquis. 

Bulgaria  and  Romania:  As  far  as  the  SIS  (police  cooperation)  is  concerned,  this  proposed 
Regulation  constitutes  an  act  building  upon,  or  otherwise  relating  to,  the  Schengen  acquis, 
within the meaning of Article 4(2) of the 2005 Act of Accession. This proposed regulation has 
to  be  read  in  conjunction  with  Council  Decision  2010/365/EU  of  29  June  2010  which 
rendered  applicable,  subject  to  some  restrictions,  the  provisions  of  the  Schengen  acquis 
related to the Schengen Information System in Bulgaria and Romania. As far as ECRIS-TCN 
is concerned, Bulgaria and Romania are not different from other Member States. 

Cyprus  and  Croatia:  As  far  as  the  SIS  (police  cooperation)  is  concerned,  this  proposed 
regulation  constitutes  an  act  building  upon,  or  otherwise  relating  to,  the  Schengen  acquis 
within,  respectively,  the  meaning  of  Article  3(2)  of  the  2003  Act  of  Accession  and  Article 
4(2) of the 2011 Act  of Accession. With regard to  Croatia, it should  be read in  conjunction 
with Council Decision (EU) 2017/733 of 25 April 2017 on the application of the provisions of 
the  Schengen  acquis  relating  to  the  Schengen  Information  System  in  the  Republic  of 

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Croatia22.  As  far  as  ECRIS-TCN  is  concerned,  Cyprus  and  Croatia  are  not  different  from 
other Member States. 

Associated  Countries:  On  the  basis  of  the  respective  agreements  associating  those  countries 
with  the  implementation,  application  and  development  of  the  Schengen  acquis,  Iceland, 
Norway,  Switzerland  and  Liechtenstein  are  to  be  bound  by  the  Regulation  proposed  to  the 
extent that it concerns the SIS (police cooperation) Regulation. 

22 

OJ L 108, 26.4.2017, p. 31. 

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2019/0001 (COD) 

Proposal for a 

REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL 

establishing the conditions for accessing the other EU information systems and 
amending Regulation (EU) 2018/1862 and Regulation (EU) yyyy/xxx [ECRIS-TCN] 

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 82(1)(d) and Article 87(2)(a) thereof, 

Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission, 

After transmission of the draft legislative act to the national parliaments, 
Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee23,  
Having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions24, 

Acting in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure, 

Whereas: 

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

(4) 

23 
24 
25 

26 

Regulation  (EU)  2018/1240  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council25 
established the European Travel Information and Authorisation System (‘ETIAS’) for 
third-country  nationals  exempt  from  the  requirement  to  be  in  possession  of  a  visa 
when crossing the external borders. It laid down the conditions and procedures to issue 
or refuse a travel authorisation. 

ETIAS enables consideration of whether the presence of those third-country nationals 
in the territory of the Member States would pose a security, illegal immigration or high 
epidemic risk. 

In  order  to  enable  the  verification  referred  to  in  Article  20  of  Regulation  (EU) 
2018/1240, it is necessary to establish the interoperability referred to in Article 11 of 
that Regulation. Without this interoperability, ETIAS is unable to start its operations. 

This  Regulation  lays  down  how  this  interoperability  and  the  conditions  for  the 
consultation of data stored in other EU information systems and Europol  data by the 
ETIAS automated process for the purposes of identifying hits are to be implemented. 
As a result, it is necessary to amend Regulations of the European Parliament and of the 
Council (EU) 2018/1862 (SIS Police)26 and (EU) yyyy/xxxx (ECRIS-TCN)27 in order 

OJ C , , p. . 
OJ C , , p. . 
Regulation  (EU)  2018/1240  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  12  September  2018 
establishing  a  European  Travel  Information  and  Authorisation  System  (ETIAS)  and  amending 
Regulations  (EU)  No  1077/2011,  (EU)  No  515/2014,  (EU)  2016/399,  (EU)  2016/1624  and  (EU) 
2017/2226 (OJ L 236, 19.9.2018, p. 1). 
Regulation (EU) 2018/1862 of the European Parliament and of the  Council of 28 November 2018 on 
the  establishment,  operation  and  use  of  the  Schengen  Information  System  (SIS)  in  the  field  of  police 
cooperation  and  judicial  cooperation  in  criminal  matters,  amending  and  repealing  Council  Decision 
2007/533/JHA,  and  repealing  Regulation  (EC)  No  1986/2006  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the 
Council and Commission Decision 2010/261/EU (OJ L 312, 7.12.2018, p. 56). 

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(5) 

(6) 

(7) 

(8) 

(9) 

(10) 

to  connect  the  ETIAS  Central  System  to  the  other  EU  information  systems  and  to 
Europol data and to specify the data that will be sent to and from those EU information 
systems and Europol data. 

In  accordance  with  Article  96  of  Regulation  (EU)  2018/1240,  when  the  recast  of 
Regulation (EU) No 603/201328 of the European Parliament and of the Council will be 
adopted, the necessary consequential amendments will be adopted. 

For efficiency reasons and in order to decrease costs, ETIAS should, as provided for in 
Article 6(3) of Regulation (EU) 2018/1240, re-use hardware and software components 
developed  for  the  Entry/Exit  System  (‘EES’)  for  the  development  of  the  shared 
identity  repository.  This  repository  used  for  the  storage  of  the  identity  alphanumeric 
data  of  both  ETIAS  applicants  and  third-country  nationals  registered  in  the  EES, 
should  be  developed  in  a  way  enabling  its  extension  to  become  the  future  Common 
Identity Repository. In the same spirit, the tool to be established to enable ETIAS to 
compare its data with the ones of every other system consulted through a single query 
should  be  developed  in  a  way  enabling  its  evolution  to  become  the  future  European 
Search Portal. 

Technical  modalities  should  be  defined 
to  regularly  and 
automatically  verify  in  other  systems  whether  the  conditions  for  the  retention  of 
application files, as laid down in Regulation (EU) 2018/1240, are still fulfilled. 

to  enable  ETIAS 

It is necessary, for the purposes of ensuring the full attainment of ETIAS objectives, as 
well  as  to  further  the  Schengen  Information  System  (‘SIS’)  objectives,  to  include  in 
the scope of the automated verifications a new alert category introduced by the recent 
revision of SIS, namely the alert on persons subject to inquiry checks. 

ETIAS  travel  authorisation may be revoked  following the registration in  SIS of new 
alerts  on  refusal  of  entry  and  stay,  or  concerning  a  travel  document  reported  as  lost, 
stolen,  misappropriated  or  invalidated.  In  order  for  ETIAS  Central  System  to  be 
automatically  informed  by  SIS  of  such  new  alerts,  an  automated  process  should  be 
established between SIS and ETIAS. 

In accordance with Regulation (EU) 2018/xxxx of the European Parliament and of the 
Council29 [ECRIS-TCN]] and in line with the intention expressed in Regulation (EU) 
2018/1240, ETIAS should be able to verify if correspondences exist between data in 
the ETIAS application files and the European Criminal Records Information System – 
Third  Country  Nationals  (‘ECRIS-TCN’)  data  in  the  Common  Identity  Repository 
(‘CIR’) as regards which Member States hold conviction information on third-country 
nationals and stateless persons for a terrorist offence or other serious criminal offence.  

(11)  The conditions under which the ETIAS Central Unit and ETIAS National Units may 
consult data stored in other EU information systems for the purposes of ETIAS should 

27 
28 

29 

Regulation (EU) YYYY/xxx of the European Parliament and of the Council… (OJ L , , p. ). 
Regulation (EU) No 603/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 June 2013 on the 
establishment of ‘Eurodac’ for the comparison of fingerprints for the effective application of Regulation 
(EU)  No  604/2013  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 and on requests for the comparison with Eurodac 
data  by  Member  States’  law  enforcement  authorities  and  Europol  for  law  enforcement  purposes,  and 
amending  Regulation  (EU)  No  1077/2011  establishing  a  European  Agency  for  the  operational 
management of large-scale IT systems in the area of freedom, security and justice (OJ L 180, 29.6.2013, 
p. 1). 
[Regulation (EU) yyyy/xx of the European Parliament and of the Council ….(OJ L , , p. )] 

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be safeguarded by clear and precise rules regarding the access by the ETIAS Central 
Unit and ETIAS National Units to the data stored in other EU information systems, the 
type of queries and categories of data, all of which should be limited to what is strictly 
necessary for the performance of their duties. In the same vein, the data stored in the 
ETIAS  application  file  should  only  be  visible  to  those  Member  States  that  are 
operating  the  underlying  information  systems  in  accordance  with  the  modalities  of 
their participation. 

(12)  According to Article 73 of Regulation (EU) 2018/1240, the European agency for the 
operational  management  of  large-scale  information  systems  in  the  area  of  freedom, 
security  and  justice  ('eu-LISA'),  established  by  Regulation  (EU)  2018/1726  of  the 
European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council30,  should  be  responsible  for  the  design  and 
development phase of the ETIAS Information System. 
(13)  This Regulation is without prejudice to Directive 2004/38/EC31. 

(14) 

(15) 

(16) 

Insofar  as  its  provisions  relate  to  SIS  as  governed  by  Regulation  (EU)  2018/1862, 
Denmark  shall,  in  accordance  with  Article  4  of  Protocol  No  22  on  the  position  of 
Denmark,  annexed  to  the  Treaty  on  European  Union  and  to  the  Treaty  on  the 
Functioning  of  the  European  Union,  decide,  within  a  period  of  six  months  after  the 
Council  has  decided  on  this  Regulation,  whether  it  will  implement  this  proposal, 
which  builds  upon  the Schengen  acquis,  in  its  national  law.  Insofar  as  its  provisions 
relate  to  ECRIS-TCN,  Denmark  is,  in  accordance  with  Articles  1  and  2  of  Protocol 
No 22,  not  taking  part  in  the  adoption  of  this  Regulation  and  is  not  bound  by  it  or 
subject to its application. 

Insofar as its provisions relate to SIS as governed by Regulation (EU) 2018/1862, the 
United  Kingdom  is  bound  by  this  Regulation  in  accordance  with  Article  5  of  the 
Protocol 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 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  acquis32.  Insofar  as  its 
provisions relate to ECRIS-TCN, the United Kingdom may notify 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. 

Insofar  as  its  provisions  relate  to  SIS  as  governed  by  Regulation  (EU)  2018/1862, 
Ireland is bound by this Regulation in accordance with Article 5 of the Protocol 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  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 
acquis33.  Insofar  as  its  provisions  relate  to  ECRIS-TCN,  Ireland  may  notify  the 
President  of  the  Council  its  wish  to  take  part  in  the  adoption  and  application  of  this 

30 

31 
32 
33 

Regulation (EU) 2018/1726 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 November 2018 on 
the European Union Agency for the Operational Management of Large-Scale IT Systems in the Area of 
Freedom,  Security and Justice (eu-LISA), and amending  Regulation (EC) No 1987/2006 and Council 
Decision 2007/533/JHA and repealing Regulation (EU) No 1077/2011 (OJ L 295, 21.11.2018, p. 99). 
OJ L 158, 30.4.2004, p. 77. 
OJ L 131, 1. 6. 2000, p. 43. 
OJ L 64, 7. 3. 2002, p. 20. 

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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. 

(17) 

Insofar as its provisions relate to SIS as governed by Regulation (EU) 2018/1862, this 
Regulation  constitutes  an  act  building  upon,  or  otherwise  relating  to,  the  Schengen 
acquis,  within  the  meaning  of  Article  4(2)  of  the  2005  Act  of  Accession.  In  that 
respect,  the  Regulation  has  to  be  read  in  conjunction  with  Council  Decisions 
2010/365/EU34  and  2018/93435,  which  rendered  applicable,  subject 
to  some 
restrictions, the provisions of the Schengen acquis related to the Schengen Information 
System in Bulgaria and Romania. 

(18)  With regard to Cyprus and Croatia, insofar as its provisions relate to SIS as governed 
by  Regulation  (EU)  2018/1862,  this  Regulation  constitutes  an  act  building  upon,  or 
otherwise relating to, the Schengen acquis within, respectively, the meaning of Article 
3(2) of the 2003 Act of Accession and Article 4(2) of the 2011 Act of Accession. With 
respect to Croatia, the Regulation has to be read in conjunction with Council Decision 
(EU)  2017/73336,  which  rendered  applicable,  subject  to  some  restrictions,  the 
provisions  of  the  Schengen  acquis  related  to  the  Schengen  Information  System  in 
Croatia.  

(19)  As regards  Iceland and  Norway, this  Regulation constitutes, insofar as  its provisions 
relate  to  SIS  as  governed  by  Regulation  (EU)  2018/1862,  a  development  of  the 
provisions of the Schengen acquis within the meaning of the Agreement concluded by 
the Council of the European Union and the Republic of Iceland and the Kingdom of 
Norway  concerning  the  latters'  association  with  the  implementation,  application  and 
development  of  the  Schengen  acquis37  which  fall  within  the  area  referred  to  in 
Article 1, point (G) of Council Decision 1999/437/EC38.  

(20)  As regards Switzerland, this Regulation constitutes, insofar as its provisions relate to 
SIS  as  governed  by  Regulation  (EU)  2018/1862,  a  development  of  the  provisions  of 
the  Schengen  acquis  within  the  meaning  of  the  Agreement  between  the  European 
Union,  the  European  Community  and  the  Swiss  Confederation  on  the  Swiss 
Confederation's association with the implementation, application and development of 
the Schengen acquis39, which fall within the area referred to in Article 1, point (G), of 
Decision  1999/437/EC  read  in  conjunction  with  Article  3  of  Council  Decision 
2008/146/EC40.  

34 

35 

36 

37 
38 

39 
40 

Council Decision 2010/365/EU of 29 June 2010 on the  application of the provisions of  the Schengen 
acquis  relating  to  the  Schengen  Information  System  in  the  Republic  of  Bulgaria  and  Romania  (OJ  L 
166, 1.7.2010, p. 17). 
Council Decision (EU) 2018/934 of 25 June 2018 on the putting into effect of the remaining provisions 
of the Schengen acquis relating to the Schengen Information System  in the Republic of Bulgaria and 
Romania (OJ L 165, 2.7.2018, p. 37). 
Council Decision (EU) 2017/733 of 25 April 2017 on the application of the provisions of the Schengen 
acquis relating to the Schengen Information System in the Republic of Croatia (OJ L 108, 26.4.2017, p. 
31). 
OJ L 176, 10.7.1999, p. 36. 
Council  Decision  1999/437/EC  of  17 May  1999  on  certain  arrangements  for  the  application  of  the 
Agreement  concluded  by  the  Council  of  the  European  Union  and  the  Republic  of  Iceland  and  the 
Kingdom  of  Norway  concerning  the  association  of  those  two  States  with  the  implementation, 
application and development of the Schengen acquis (OJ L 176, 10.7.1999, p. 31). 
OJ L 53, 27.2.2008, p. 52. 
Council  Decision  2008/146/EC  of  28 January  2008  on  the  conclusion,  on  behalf  of  the  European 
Community, of the Agreement between the European Union, the European Community and the Swiss 

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(21)  As regards Liechtenstein, this Regulation constitutes, insofar as its provisions relate to 
SIS  as  governed  by  Regulation  (EU)  2018/1862,  a  development  of  the  provisions  of 
the Schengen acquis within the meaning of the Protocol between the European Union, 
the  European  Community, 
the  Principality  of 
Liechtenstein  on  the  accession  of  the  Principality  of  Liechtenstein  to  the  Agreement 
between the European Union, the European Community and the Swiss Confederation 
on  the  Swiss  Confederation's  association  with  the  implementation,  application  and 
development of the Schengen acquis41 which fall within the area referred to in Article 
1, point (G), of Decision 1999/437/EC read in conjunction with Article 3 of Council 
Decision 2011/350/EU42. 

the  Swiss  Confederation  and 

(22)  Regulations  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  (EU)  2018/1862  (SIS 

Police) and (EU) yyyy/xxx [ECRIS-TCN] should therefore be amended.  

(23)  The  European  Data  Protection  Supervisor  was  consulted,  in  accordance  with  Article 

41(2) of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and the Council43, 

HAVE ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: 

Article 1 

Amendments to Regulation (EU) 2018/1862 [SIS Police] 

(1) 

in Chapter III, the following article is added: 

“Article 18a 
Keeping of logs for the purpose of the interoperability with ETIAS 

Logs of each data processing operation carried out within SIS and ETIAS pursuant to Article 
50a and 50b shall be kept in accordance with Article 18 of this Regulation and Article 69 of 
Regulation (EU) No 2018/1240 of the European Parliament and of the Council*. 

_____________ 

*  Regulation  (EU)  2018/1240  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  12 
September  2018  establishing  a  European  Travel  Information  and  Authorisation  System 
(ETIAS)  and  amending  Regulations  (EU)  No  1077/2011,  (EU)  No  515/2014,  (EU) 
2016/399, (EU) 2016/1624 and (EU) 2017/2226 (OJ L 236, 19.9.2018, p. 1).”; 

41 
42 

43 

Confederation  on  the  Swiss  Confederation's  association  with  the  implementation,  application  and 
development of the Schengen acquis (OJ L 53, 27.2.2008, p. 1). 
OJ L 160, 18.6.2011, p. 21. 
Council Decision 2011/350/EU of 7 March 2011 on the conclusion, on behalf of the European Union, 
of the Protocol between the European Union, 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  Union,  the  European  Community  and  the  Swiss  Confederation  on  the  Swiss 
Confederation's  association  with  the  implementation,  application  and  development  of  the  Schengen 
acquis,  relating  to  the  abolition  of  checks  at  internal  borders  and  movement  of  persons  (OJ L 160, 
18.6.2011, p. 19). 
Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2018 on the 
protection of natural persons with regard to the  processing of personal data by the Union institutions, 
bodies, offices and agencies and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Regulation (EC) No 
45/2001 and Decision No 1247/2002/EC (OJ L 295, 21.11.2018, p. 39). 

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(2) 

In Article 44(1), the following point is added: 

“(f)  manual processing of ETIAS applications by the ETIAS National Unit, pursuant 

to Article 8 of Regulation (EU) 2018/1240.”; 

(3) 

the following articles are inserted: 

“Article 50a 
Access to SIS data by the ETIAS Central Unit 

1. 

2. 

The ETIAS  Central  Unit,  established within the European  Border and Coast  Guard 
Agency in accordance with Article 7 of Regulation (EU) 2018/1240, shall have, for 
the  purpose  of  performing  its  tasks  conferred  on  it  by  Regulation  (EU)  2018/1240, 
the right to access and search relevant data entered in SIS. Article 50(4) to (8) of this 
Regulation shall apply to this access and search. 

Where a verification by the ETIAS Central Unit confirms the correspondence of the 
data recorded in the ETIAS application files to an alert in SIS, Articles 23, 24 and 26 
of Regulation (EU) 2018/1240 shall apply. 

Article 50b 
Interoperability with ETIAS in the meaning of Article 11 of Regulation (EU) 2018/1240 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

From the start of operations of ETIAS, as provided for in Article 88(1) of Regulation 
(EU) 2018/1240, the Central System of SIS shall be connected to the tool referred to 
in  Article  11  of  Regulation  (EU)  2018/1240  to  enable  the  automated  processing 
referred to in that Article. 

The  automated  processing  referred  to  in  Article  11  of  Regulation  (EU)  2018/1240 
shall  enable  the  verifications  provided  for  in  Articles  20,  23,  Article  24(6)(c)(ii), 
Article  41  and  Article  54(1)(b)  and  the  subsequent  verifications  provided  for  in 
Articles 22, 23 and 26 of that Regulation.  

For  the  purpose  of  verifications  referred  to  in  Article  20(2)(a),  (d)  and  (m)(i)  and 
Article  23  of  Regulation  (EU)  2018/1240,  the  ETIAS  Central  System  shall  use  the 
tool  referred  to  in  Article  11  of  that  Regulation  to  compare  the  data  referred  to  in 
Article 11(5) Regulation 2018/1240 to data in SIS, in accordance with Article 11(8) 
of that Regulation. 

Where  a  search  by  ETIAS  reports  one  or  several  hits  pursuant  to  Article  23(1)  of 
Regulation  (EU)  2018/1240,  the  ETIAS  Central  System  shall  send  an  automated 
notification  to  the  SIRENE  Bureau  of  the  Member  State  that  entered  the  alert  in 
accordance with Article 23(2) and (3) of that Regulation. 

Where  a  new  alert  referred  to  in  Article  41(3)  of  Regulation  (EU)  2018/1240  is 
entered  in  SIS  on  travel  documents,  reported  stolen,  misappropriated,  lost  or 
invalidated,  SIS  shall  transmit  the  information  on  this  alert,  using  the  automated 
processing  and  the  tool  referred  to  in  Article  11  of  that  Regulation  to  the  ETIAS 
Central  System  in  order to  verify whether this new alert  corresponds  to  an existing 
travel authorisation.”. 

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 Article 2 

Amendments to Regulation (EU) yyyy/xxxx [ECRIS-TCN] 

Regulation yyyy/xxxx (ECRIS-TCN Regulation) is amended as follows4445: 

(1) 

in Article 1, the following point is added:  

“(d)   the  conditions  under  which  data  included  in  the  ECRIS-TCN  system  may  be 
used  for  the  purpose  of  border  management  in  accordance  with  Regulation 
(EU) 2018/1240 of the European Parliament and of the Council*. 

_____________ 

*    Regulation (EU) 2018/1240 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 
September  2018  establishing  a  European  Travel  Information  and  Authorisation 
System  (ETIAS)  and  amending  Regulations  (EU)  No  1077/2011,  (EU)  No 
515/2014,  (EU)  2016/399,  (EU)  2016/1624  and  (EU)  2017/2226  (OJ  L  236, 
19.9.2018, p. 1)”;  

(2)  Article 2 is replaced by the following: 

“Article 2 
Scope 

This  Regulation  applies  to  the  processing  of  identity  information  of  third  country 
nationals who have been subject to convictions in the Member States for the purpose 
of  identifying  the  Member  State(s)  where  such  convictions  were  handed  down,  as 
well as for the purposes of border management [and contributing to facilitating and 
assisting in the correct identification of persons].  

With the exception of point (ii) of Article 5(1)(b), the provisions of this Regulation 
that apply to third country nationals also apply to citizens of the Union who also hold 
a  nationality  of  a  third  country  and  who  have  been  subject  to  convictions  in  the 
Member States.”; 

(3)  Article 3 is amended as follows: 

(a)  point (f) is replaced by the following: 

“(f) 

'competent  authorities'  means  the  central  authorities  and  the  Union  bodies 
(Eurojust,  Europol,  the  European  Public  Prosecutor's  Office,  the  ETIAS 
Central Unit established within the European Border and Coast Guard Agency) 
competent to access or query the ECRIS-TCN system in accordance with this 
Regulation;”; 

(b) 

the following points are added: 

44 
45 

These amendments take into account the Commission Proposal, COM(2017) 344 final. 
The  numeration  takes  into  account  the  amendment  on  this  Regulation  made  by  the  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), COM(2018) 480 final. 

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“(t) ‘terrorist offence' means an offence which corresponds or is equivalent to one of 
the offences referred to in Directive (EU) 2017/541 of the European Parliament 
and of the Council*; 

  (u)  'serious criminal offence' means an offence which corresponds or is equivalent 
to  one  of  the  offences  referred  to  in  Article  2(2)  of  Council  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. 

_____________ 

* Directive (EU) 2017/541  of the European Parliament  and of the Council  of 
15  March  2017  on  combating  terrorism  and  replacing  Council  Framework 
Decision 2002/475/JHA and amending Council Decision 2005/671/JHA (OJ L 
88, 31.3.2017, p. 6) 

**  Council  Framework  Decision  2002/584/JHA  of  13  June  2002  on  the 
European arrest warrant and the surrender procedures between Member States 
(OJ L 190, 18.7.2002, p.1)”;  

(4) 

Article 5 is amended as follows:  

(a) 

in paragraph 1, the following point is added: 

“(c)  where  applicable,  a  flag  indicating  that  the  person  concerned  has  been 
convicted for a terrorist offence or other serious criminal offence, and in those 
cases the code of the convicting Member State(s).”;  

(b)  Paragraph 1a is replaced by the following: 

"1a.  [The CIR shall contain the data referred to in points (b) and (c) of paragraph 1 
and  in  paragraph  2,  as  well  as  the  following  data  referred  to  in  point  (a)  of 
paragraph  1:  surname  (family  name);  first  name(s)  (given  name(s));  date  of 
birth; place of birth (town and country); nationality or nationalities; gender; the 
type and number of the person's travel document(s), as well as the name of the 
issuing authority thereof; and where applicable previous names, pseudonyms(s) 
and/or  alias  name(s),  as  well  as,  in  the  cases  referred  to  in  point  (c)  of 
paragraph 1, the code of the convicting Member State. The remaining ECRIS-
TCN data shall be stored in the ECRIS-TCN Central System.]”;  

(5) 

in Article 7, paragraph 5 is replaced by the following: 

“5. 

In  the  event  of  a  hit,  the  Central  System  [or  the  CIR]  shall  automatically 
provide  the  competent  authority  with  information  on  the  Member  State(s) 
holding  criminal  record  information  on  the  third  country  national,  along  with 
the  associated  reference  number(s)  referred  to  in  Article  5(1)  and  any 
corresponding  identity  information.  Such  identity  information  shall  only  be 
used for the purpose of verification of the identity of the third country national 
concerned. The result of a search in the Central System may only be used for 
the purpose of making a request according to Article 6 of Framework Decision 
2009/315/JHA, a request referred to in Article 16(4) of this Regulation, or for 
the purposes of border management [and facilitating and assisting in the correct 
identification of persons registered in the ECRIS-TCN system].”; 

(6) 

in Chapter II, the following article is added: 

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1. 

2. 

3. 

“Article 7a 
Use of the ECRIS-TCN system for ETIAS verifications 

The ETIAS  Central  Unit,  established within  the European  Border and Coast  Guard 
Agency in accordance with Article 7 of Regulation (EU) 2018/1240, shall have, for 
the  purpose  of  performing  its  tasks  conferred  on  it  by  Regulation  (EU)  2018/1240, 
the right to access and search ECRIS-TCN data in the [CIR]. However, it shall only 
have access to data records to which a flag has been added in accordance with Article 
5(1)(c) of this Regulation. 

The [CIR] shall be connected to the tool referred to in Article 11 of Regulation (EU) 
2018/1240 to enable the automated processing referred to in that Article. 

Without  prejudice  to  Article  24  of  Regulation  (EU)  2018/1240,  the  automated 
processing  referred  to  in  Article  11  of  Regulation  (EU)  2018/1240  shall enable  the 
verifications provided for in  Article 20  and the subsequent  verifications  of Articles 
22 and 26 of that Regulation. 

For the purpose of proceeding to the verifications of Article 20(2)(n) of Regulation 
(EU) 2018/1240, the ETIAS Central System shall use the tool referred to in Article 
11  of  Regulation  (EU)  2018/1240  to  compare  the  data  in  ETIAS  with  the  data 
flagged  in  ECRIS-TCN  [in  the  CIR],  pursuant  to  Article  5(1)(c)  of  this  Regulation 
and  in  accordance  with  Article  11(8)  of  Regulation  2018/1240,  and  using  the 
correspondences listed in the table in Annex II.”;  

(7) 

in Article 8, paragraph 2 is replaced by the following: 

“2.   Upon  expiry  of  the  retention  period  referred  to  in  paragraph  1,  the  central 
authority of the convicting Member State shall erase the data record, including 
any  fingerprints,  facial  images  or  flags  as  referred  to  in  Article  5(1)(c),  from 
the  Central  System  [and  the  CIR].  In  those  cases  where  the  data  related  to  a 
conviction for a terrorist offence or other form of serious crime as referred to in 
Article  5(1)(c)  are  deleted  from  the  national  criminal  record,  but  information 
on other convictions of the same person is retained, only the flag referred to in 
Article 5(1)(c) shall  be removed from  the data record. This  erasure shall take 
place automatically, where possible, and in any event no later than one month 
after the expiry of the retention period.”; 

(8) 

in Article 22, paragraph 1 is replaced by the following: 

“ 1.   The data included in the Central System [and the CIR] shall only be processed 
for  the  purpose  of  the  identification  of  the  Member  State(s)  holding  the 
criminal  records  information  of  third  country  nationals,  as  well  as  for  the 
purposes of border management [as well as for facilitating and assisting in the 
correct identification of persons registered in the ECRIS-TCN system].”; 

(9) 

in Article 30(4), the second subparagraph is replaced by the following: 

"Every  month  eu-LISA  shall  submit  to  the  Commission  statistics  without  allowing 
for  individual  identification  relating  to  the  recording,  storage  and  exchange  of 
information  extracted  from  criminal  records  through  the  ECRIS-TCN  system  and 
the ECRIS Reference implementation, including on the data records which include 
a flag in accordance with Article 5(1)(c)." 

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(10) 

the following article is inserted: 

“Article 29a 
Keeping of logs for the purpose of ETIAS 

For the consultations listed in Article 7a of this Regulation, a log of each ECRIS-TCN data 
processing operation carried out within [the CIR] and ETIAS shall be kept in accordance 
with Article 69 of Regulation (EU) No 2018/1240.”; 

(11) 

the following annex is added: 

“Annex II 

Table of correspondences referred to in Article 7a 

Data of Article 17(2) of Regulation 
2018/1240 sent by ETIAS Central 
System 

surname (family name) 
surname at birth 
first name(s) (given name(s)) 
other  names  (alias(es),  artistic  name(s), 
usual name(s)) 
date of birth 
place of birth  
country of birth 
sex 
current nationality 
other nationalities (if any) 
type of the travel document 

number of the travel document 

country of issue of the travel document 

”] 

The ECRIS-TCN corresponding data 
of Article 5(1) of this Regulation in 
[the CIR] against which the ETIAS 
data should be checked 

surname (family name) 
previous name(s) 
first name(s) (given name(s)) 
pseudonym and/or alias name(s) 

date of birth 
place of birth (town and country) 
place of birth (town and country) 
gender 
nationality or nationalities 
nationality or nationalities 
type  of 
documents 
number  of  the  person’s  identification 
documents 
name of the issuing authority 

the  person’s 

identification 

Article 3 

Entry into force 

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

It shall apply from the date determined in accordance with the second paragraph of Article 96 
of Regulation (EU) 2018/1240. 

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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 

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