REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL on the state of play of preparations for the full implementation of the Interoperability Regulations in accordance with Article 78(5) of Regulation (EU) 2019/817 and Article 74(5) of Regulation (EU) 2019/818
Date: 2020-08-21
Institutions: Directorate-General for Migration and Home Affairs, European Commission
Subjects: EU migration policy, EU visa policy, European Agency for the Operational Management of Large-Scale IT Systems in the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice, Schengen Information System, area of freedom, security and justice, biometrics, data protection, exchange of information, external border of the EU, information system

EN 

  EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 21.8.2020  COM(2020) 428 final  REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL on the state of play of preparations for the full implementation of the Interoperability Regulations in accordance with Article 78(5) of Regulation (EU) 2019/817 and Article 74(5) of Regulation (EU) 2019/818     
 
 
1.  Introduction 

On  11  June  2019,  the  Interoperability  Regulations1  entered  into  force.  The  Regulations  are 
designed  to  upgrade  the  EU  information  systems  for  security,  border  and  migration 
management  and  make  them  work  together  in  a  smarter  and  more  efficient  way.  The 
interoperability between EU information systems was established with a view to improve the 
effectiveness and efficiency of checks at the external borders, to contribute to the prevention 
of illegal immigration and to contribute to a high level of security within the area of freedom, 
security and justice of the Union. It also aims to improve the implementation of the common 
visa  policy,  to  assist  in  the  examination  of  applications  for  international  protection,  to 
contribute to the prevention, detection and investigation of terrorist offences and other serious 
criminal offences and to facilitate the identification of unknown persons. 

Preceding  the  adoption  of  the  Regulations,  in  April  2016,  the  Commission  presented  a 
Communication  Stronger  and Smarter Information Systems  for  Borders and Security2. This 
outlined  possible  ways  to  make  EU  information  systems  work  better  to  enhance  border 
management and internal security. In its Resolution of 6 July 2016, 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. In its conclusions of 15 December 2016, the European Council called for work to 
continue on delivering interoperability of EU information systems and databases. 

Interoperability between EU information systems was established in order for these systems 
and  their  data  to  supplement  each  other  while  respecting  the  fundamental  rights  of 
individuals, in particular the right to protection of personal data.  

At  the  time  of  adoption  of  the  Interoperability  Regulations,  three  EU  information  systems 
were  in  operation:  the  Schengen  Information  System  (SIS),  the  Visa  Information  System 
(VIS) and the Eurodac system. In addition, three other systems are currently in development 
phase:  the  Entry/Exit  System  (EES),  the  European  Travel  Information  and  Authorisation 
System (ETIAS) and the centralised system for the identification of Member States holding 
conviction  information  on  third-country  nationals  and  stateless  persons  (ECRIS-TCN 
system).  

1   Regulation (EU) 2019/817 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 May 2019 on establishing a  
framework  for  interoperability  between  EU  information  systems  in  the  field  of  borders  and  visa  and 
amending  Regulations  (EC)  No  767/2008,  (EU)  2016/399,  (EU)  2017/2226,  (EU)  2018/1240,  (EU) 
2018/1726  and  (EU)  2018/1861  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  and  Council  Decisions 
2004/512/EC and 2008/633/JHA;  

  Regulation (EU) 2019/818 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 May 2019 on establishing a 
framework  for  interoperability  between  EU  information  systems  in  the  field  of  police  and  judicial 
cooperation, asylum and  migration and amending Regulations (EU) 2018/1726, (EU) 2018/1862 and (EU) 
2019/816. 

2    COM/2016/0205 final. 

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The  Interoperability  Regulations  lay  down  provisions  on  monitoring  and  evaluation,  by  the 
Commission and in particular by eu-LISA for the technical development. eu-LISA submitted 
a first report in December 2019.3 

Under  the  terms  of  Article  78(5)  of  Regulation  (EU)  2019/817  and  Article  74(5)  of 
Regulation  (EU)  2019/818,  the  Commission  is  required  to  submit  a  report  to  the  European 
Parliament and to the Council on the state of play of preparations for the full implementation 
of  the  Regulations.  The  report  should  include  detailed  information  about  the  costs  incurred 
and  information  as  to  any  risks  that  may  impact  the  overall  costs,  as  provided  for  in  the 
Interoperability  Regulations.  Similar  reports  are  to  be  submitted  by  the  Commission  every 
year  until  the  dates  of  the  start  of  operations  of  the  interoperability  components  are 
determined  by  means  of  the  Commission  implementing  acts  referred  to  in  Article  72  of 
Regulation (EU) 2019/817 and Article 68 of Regulation (EU) 2019/818.  

2.  Implementing legislation 

The Interoperability Regulations provide that implementing legislation should be adopted in 
order  to  supplement  and  implement  certain  detailed  technical  aspects  of  the  Regulations. 
Some  of  these  acts  are  necessary  to  fully  enable  eu-LISA  to  commence  its  design  and 
development of the components in the context of the overall system architecture, especially 
as  this  requires  defining  technical  specifications  and  preparing  procurement  procedures  in 
order to work with contractors. Such terms of reference must be based on clear and complete 
technical specifications set out in the necessary calls for tender. Other acts are needed to lay 
down  technical  rules  to  facilitate  operation  on  the  ground  by  the  relevant  authorities,  for 
example  through  the  use  of  standard  forms  and  establishing  cooperation  procedures  to 
address security incidents. 

Upon the entry into force of the Regulations, the Commission began to prepare a first set of 
implementing measures (four implementing acts and two delegated acts) required at the very 
start of the design and development process. 

For  implementing  acts,  a  committee  was  established  under  Article  74  of  Regulation  (EU) 
2019/817 and Article 70 of Regulation (EU) 2019/818.  

For  the  preparation  of  the  necessary  delegated  acts,  an  expert  group  was  established  in 
accordance with Article 73 of Regulation (EU) 2019/817 and Article 69 of Regulation (EU) 
2019/818.  

3.  Monitoring implementation by Member States and Union agencies 

The  Interoperability  Regulations  were  identified  as  of  high  priority  under  the  Joint 
Declaration  on  the  EU's  legislative  priorities  for  2018-19.  Besides  the  priority  identified 
during the legislative process, the importance of implementation of the Regulations needed to 
be  recognised.  To  achieve  full  implementation,  Member  States,  Union  agencies  and  the 
Commission have to advance together in order to avoid a situation whereby the lack of action 
by any one of them leads to a delayed entry into operation for all.  

3   Report on the development of interoperability (2019-307). 

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With  this  in  mind,  the  Commission  began  a  series  of  forum  meetings  to  bring  together  all 
involved partners to discuss how to advance preparation and readiness, and to identify risks 
and solutions in the interests of all. The aim was to take all the measures necessary to meet 
the  target  of  having  all  the  EU  information  systems  fully  aligned  with  the  interoperability 
framework  by  the  end  of  2023.  In  addition  to  the  Member  States  and  Schengen  associated 
countries, and the relevant Union agencies (eu-LISA, the European Border and Coast Guard 
Agency and Europol), participation in the forum was extended to other interested parties: the 
European Parliament and the Council, the EU Counter-Terrorism Coordinator, the European 
Union Agency for Law Enforcement Training, the European Asylum Support Office, the EU 
Agency for Fundamental Rights and the European Data Protection Supervisor. 

The  first  forum  was  held  in  March  2019,  once  provisional  agreement  had  been  reached 
between the European Parliament  and Council during the interinstitutional discussions.  The 
forum  acknowledged  the  immediate  priority  of  focusing  on  full  implementation  of  the  new 
architecture for EU information systems for borders, migration and security. To support this, 
the Commission had envisaged a scoreboard in view of establishing effective monitoring and 
coordination  arrangements.  The  aim  was  to  adopt  a  light-touch  approach  working  with 
national  coordinators,  who  should  ensure  that  all  stakeholders  are  fully  aware.  Particular 
attention had to  be given to  financial and human resource needs, including training of end-
users so that the implementation respects the schedule. It was also acknowledged that the eu-
LISA management board had a technical coordination responsibility under the various pieces 
of legislation, and that the Justice and Home Affairs Council should regularly include on its 
agenda the state of play of the implementation. 

In November 2019, the second forum acknowledged the value of meeting on a regular basis, 
and  of  the  scoreboard  as  a  tool  for  helping  all  –  Member  States,  Union  agencies  and  the 
Commission – to continue to progress together in developing and implementing the new IT 
architecture  for  borders,  migration  and  security.  Financial  and  human  resource  needs 
continued  to  be  identified  as  a  major  issue.  Therefore,  it  was  suggested  that  all  involved 
parties should prepare indicative multiannual resource plans. The Commission also proposed 
to develop a platform to gather information, including on best practices, and make it readily 
available  to  all  to  facilitate  exchanges  and  progress.  It  was  also  recognised  that  as 
implementation progressed, greater focus would have to be given to operational and practical 
implementation. 

A third forum took place – by videoconference – in May 2020. The Commission provided its 
assessment of the overall state of play based on a scoreboard covering the major requirements 
of implementation: 

 

Implementation  has  progressed  over  the  past  year  but  challenges  remain.  Member 
States should ensure high-level political support. 

  Member  States  should  finalise  their  assessment  of  the  necessary  national  legislation 

and prepare it accordingly. 

  Overall, good progress was noted on governance arrangements.  

  Member States should rapidly estimate their resourcing needs and secure them.  

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In parallel to the implementation of the Interoperability Regulations, related development of 
individual  IT  systems,  both  existing  and  new,  are  also  ongoing.  As  the  new  overall 
architecture is developed, it is vital for the implementation of the Interoperability Regulations 
that  all  the  individual  systems  are  fully  operational  too.  Concerning  progress  on  the 
individual  systems,  the  Commission  expressed  concerns  about  the  results  regarding  the 
Entry/Exit System development. Although the testing period is planned to start by the end of 
this year, Member States indicated a low level of readiness for implementation of the system 
at national level. This could have negative impacts on its start of operations. In light of this, 
Member  States  should  speed  up  the  internal  procedures  to  mobilise  the  necessary  human 
resources, and to speed up the procurement process, due last year, for the adaptation of their 
national systems in view of connecting to the central Entry/Exit System. 

The forum was also the occasion for some to raise concerns prompted by the Covid-19 crisis, 
indicating that this could lead to some delays, notably regarding the start of operations of the 
Entry/Exit System. Indeed, impacts on the development of the EU information systems, such 
as the Entry/Exit System, may have repercussions on the development of the interoperability 
components. However, such impacts are not linear, meaning that while a one-month delay to 
the start of operations for one IT system should potentially imply a delay of up to one month 
for the start of operations of the interoperability components, it is also possible that the delay 
would not delay their start of operations. 

Given the current situation, a degree of uncertainty remains for all involved actors as to the 
effect of the Covid-19 crisis on ongoing projects. The Commission intends to engage with eu-
LISA and the Member States in the coming months in order to hold a detailed discussion on 
the possible impacts of the crisis at the next forum, scheduled for autumn 2020.  

During the reporting period, the Council Presidencies continued to show their commitment to 
implementation,  with  some  holding  their  own  conferences  to  reach  the  wider  audience 
concerned. The Commission welcomes such initiatives by Presidencies. 

4.  Training needs 

Throughout the discussions in the three Forum meetings, it has repeatedly been emphasised 
that  interoperability  represents  more  than  an  IT  project.  End-users  –  border  guards,  asylum 
authorities, police officers – will need to know exactly how to access information available to 
them. Training of the staff concerned has been constantly raised as a necessity. Prompted by 
this  awareness,  the  Commission  undertook  to  organise  a  Train  the  Ambassadors  event  in 
March 2020, with the aim to provide material to responsible Member State entities to enable 
them  to  inform  and  instruct  end-users  on  the  use  of  the  interoperability  framework  and 
components. While the physical training event could not take place because of the Covid-19 
crisis, the Commission made training material available digitally. 

5.  Costs and Risks 

The  Legislative  Financial  Statement  annexed  to  the  European  Commission’s  proposals  for 
the  two  Interoperability  Regulations  reserved  an  amount  of  EUR  11,954,000  for  the 
interoperability  development  in  2020.  As  mentioned  in  eu-LISA’s  2nd  Interoperability 

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Progress  Report4  of  June  2020,  an  amount  of  EUR  1,718,606  has  been  so  far  utilised  to 
support interoperability preparation activities. 

Under  the  Internal  Security  Fund,  there  is  no  budget  allocated  to  Member  States  in  2020 
specifically  for  interoperability.  Under  the  future  Multiannual  Financial  Framework, 
scheduled to cover the period 2021-2027, EUR 136.3 million is proposed for Member States 
to cover the changes to their national systems in order to use the interoperability components. 
These  funds  are  an  allocation  supporting  Member  States  in  their  projects  and  are  not  a 
reimbursement of actual incurred costs. As such, these budgets do not face the same risk of 
having  to  meet  requests  for  additional  funding as the ones attributed to  the Union  agencies 
entirely financed by the budget of the Union. 

As  regards  risks  of  overruns,  the  Covid-19  crisis  will  inevitably  have  an  impact  on  the 
duration of some individual parts of the overall project to implement the new architecture for 
EU information systems for borders, migration and security.  This impact is currently being 
assessed  in  terms  of  the  planned  schedule.    A  longer  project  duration  will  likely  increase 
costs. However, as the interoperability development has only just started, there is still room 
for  manoeuvre  to  mitigate  the  effect  on  the  overall  schedule  and  cost.  At  the  time  of 
publication of the report, the interoperability project is still on schedule and within its initial 
budget estimate. 

6.  Conclusion 

In light of the general commitment by all Member States, Schengen associated countries and 
Union  agencies  to  ensuring  full  implementation  of  the  Interoperability  Regulations,  the 
Commission continues to coordinate and monitor the actions of all involved with a view to 
having  full  availability  of  the  new  and  upgraded  IT  systems  and  the  interoperability 
components by the end of 2023.  

As noted above, work on the implementation of the Interoperability Regulations is so far on 
track.  However,  the  implementation  of  the  interoperability  framework  requires  all  actors  to 
advance  together  on  all  EU  information  systems  and  interoperability  components.  The 
possibility  of  delays  arising  from  the  Covid-19  crisis,  notably  on  the  development  of  the 
Entry/Exit System, will have to be kept under surveillance and the Commission will engage 
with  all concerned to  gain  the clearest  possible scenario of potential delays that could  arise 
and  to  keep  any  such  delays  to  a  minimum  to  respect  the  implementation  timeline.  The 
Commission is committed to do its utmost, together with the Member States and the Union 
agencies, to ensure that any impact arising from the Covid-19 crisis on the target date for full 
implementation is as limited as possible, and that the overall costs envisaged remain within 
the estimated budget set out in the Legislative Financial Statement. 

4   Report on the development of interoperability (2020-148). 

5