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: 2021-11-10
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, application of EU law, area of freedom, security and justice, biometrics, criminal record, external border of the EU, foreign national, information system, travel

EN 

  EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 10.11.2021  COM(2021) 688 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  
 
 
Executive summary  

The Interoperability Regulations (2019/817 and 2019/818) require the Commission to submit an annual  report 
to the European Parliament and to the Council on the state of play of preparations for the full implementation of 
the Regulations. This is the Commission’s second report. 

The implementation of the new IT-architecture in the area of migration, borders and security is the cornerstone 
of  establishing  one  of  the  most  modern  border  management  systems  in  the  world.  To  achieve  full  and  timely 
implementation, EU Member States and Schengen associated countries, EU agencies and the Commission have 
to advance together. A delay by one will bring delays for everyone and is also likely to increase costs. 

Since its last report, the Commission continued to discuss in the relevant committees and expert group a series of 
implementing and delegated acts necessary for the development of the interoperability components. Currently, 
24 acts that are at various stages of the adoption procedure have already been, or soon be, submitted for a formal 
vote in the interoperability committees. The two remaining acts are in preparation. Overall, 74 implementing 
and delegated acts are needed for the development of the new IT-architecture. 

Since 2019, the Commission has been convening biannual high-level Interoperability Forums to bring together 
all relevant stakeholders. The goal is to discuss how to advance preparations and readiness, to identify risks and 
solutions,  and  to  provide  all  the  support  necessary  to  ensure  that  the  interoperability  framework  is  fully 
implemented by the target date of end-2023.  

The fifth Interoperability Forum, which took place in April 2021, highlighted the following: 

-  The implementation of the Entry/Exit System (EES) and the revision of the Schengen Information System 
(SIS) are at critical stages, with the planned entry into operation of these systems (May 2022 and February 
2022 respectively) approaching rapidly.  

-  The Entry/Exit System faces risks of delays vis-à-vis the agreed implementation timeline. Some Member 
States face challenges in keeping to the timeline, mostly due to delayed procurement procedures. Since the 
April Forum, delays in deliveries by contractors at central level have presented similar challenges. For the 
revision  of  the  Schengen  Information  System  (SIS),  the  European  Union  Agency  for  the  Operational 
Management  of  Large-Scale  IT  Systems  in  the  Area  of  Freedom,  Security  and  Justice  (eu-LISA)  and 
Member  States  have  started,  with  a  delay  of  1.5  months,  to  test  the  readiness  of  national  systems.  The 
testing activities should be finalised by December 2021. All possible mitigating measures should continue 
to be implemented in order to make sure everything is ready for the timely launch of these systems and 
the new interoperability architecture. 
In  parallel,  Member  States  should  prioritise  finalising  their  procurement  procedures  related  to  the 
European  Travel  Information  and  Authorisation  System  (ETIAS)  and  on  the  setting  up  of  their  ETIAS 
national units. The entry into operation of this system (December 2022) is also fast approaching.  

- 

The Commission made use of its Rapid Alert Process (RAP-IT) for monitoring Member States’ progress. Based 
on  this,  the  Commission  continued  and  intensified  bilateral  contacts  with  those  Member  States  facing 
difficulties. This included organising meetings more frequently and sending letters at political level. 

In  dedicated  meetings,  the  Commission  continued  to  provide  material  to  Member  States  to  enable  them  to 
inform and train end-users on the use of the interoperability framework and components. The work on a practical 
handbook has started. 

The sixth Interoperability Forum took place on 28 October 2021. The Commission and eu-LISA will continue 
their contacts with the Member States concerned and stand ready to provide support as necessary. 

1 

 
 
 
 
 
 
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. To this end, 
interoperability between the EU information systems was established with a view to improve 
the  effectiveness  and  efficiency  of  checks  at  the  external  borders,  and  to  contribute  to  the 
prevention of irregular migration and to a high level of internal security within the EU area of 
freedom, security and justice. Interoperability 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. 

When  the  Interoperability  Regulations  were  adopted,  three  EU  information  systems  were 
already in operation: the Schengen Information System, the Visa Information System (VIS) 
and Eurodac, the system for the comparison of fingerprints of asylum applicants. Three other 
EU information systems are currently in their development phase: the Entry/Exit System, the 
European Travel Information and Authorisation System and the European Criminal Records 
Information System for Third-Country Nationals (ECRIS-TCN). 

Interoperability between EU information systems was established in order for these systems 
to complement each other, help facilitate the correct identification of persons and contribute 
to fighting identity fraud, while at the same time ensuring full respect of fundamental rights, 
in particular data protection requirements. 

The Interoperability Regulations  also lay down provisions on monitoring and evaluation by 
the Commission and by eu-LISA. In December 2019, eu-LISA submitted a first report on the 
state of play  of the development  of the interoperability components2, followed by  a second 
report in July 20203 and a third in December 20204. 

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 Interoperability Regulations. The report should include detailed information about the 
costs  incurred  and  information  as  to  any  risks  that  may  impact  the  overall  costs.  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 

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 (OJ L 135, 22.5.2019, p. 27–84);  

  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 (OJ L 135, 22.5.2019, p. 85–135). 

2   eu-LISA Report on the development of interoperability (2019-307). 
3   eu-LISA Report on the development of interoperability (2020-148). 
4   eu-LISA Report on the development of interoperability (2020-373).  

2 

 
 
                                                           
implementing acts  referred to  in  Article 72 of Regulation (EU) 2019/817 and Article 68 of 
Regulation (EU) 2019/818. 

The Commission submitted its first report on 21 August 20205. 

2.  Implementing legislation of the Interoperability Regulations 

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  interoperability  components  in  the  context  of  the  overall  IT-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 Member State authorities and EU agencies, for example through the use of standard 
forms and establishing cooperation procedures to address security incidents. 

Since the 2020 report, the Commission continued to discuss in the relevant committees and 
expert group a series of draft implementing and delegated acts necessary for the development 
of  the  interoperability  components.  Currently,  12  acts  that  are  at  various  stages  of  the 
adoption  procedure  have  already  been,  or  soon  be,  submitted  for  a  formal  vote  in  the 
interoperability  committees6.  The  two  remaining  acts  are  in  preparation.  Overall,  74 
implementing and delegated acts are needed for the development of the new IT architecture, 
as shown in the table below: 

Table 1 State of play of required implementing and delegated acts by Regulations at 17 September 2021 

Regulation 

Type of act 

Adopted 

Under 
formal 
adoption 

In committee 
or group 

Not yet 
started 

3 

3 

1 

ETIAS 

Delegated 

5 

Implementing  10 

EES 

Delegated 

Implementing  13 

SIS 

Delegated 

Implementing  5 

Interoperability  Delegated 

2 

Implementing  12 

2 

2 

2 

4 

6 

1 

1 
(optional) 

2 

5   COM(2020) 428. 
6  

Interoperability  Committee:  borders  and  visa;  Interoperability  Committee:  police  and  judicial  cooperation, 
asylum and migration. 

3 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                           
As  required  by  the  Interoperability  Regulations,  the  Commission  has  also  adopted  two 
positive opinions on the technical specifications provided by eu-LISA for the development of 
the IT systems. One concerns the central repository for reporting and statistics7 and the other 
concerns  the  European  search  portal,  the  common  identity  repository  and  the  multiple-
identity detector8. 

In the reporting  year  (2020/2021), the European  Parliament and the Council  also  reached a 
political  agreement  on  the  consequential  amendments  to  the  European  Travel  Information 
and Authorisation System. Following the formal adoption of the consequential amendments 
by  the  co-legislators,  the  Commission  will  need  to  amend  some  of  the  already  adopted 
secondary legislation stemming from the Interoperability Regulations. 

In  December  2020,  the  European  Parliament  and  the  Council  reached  a  provisional 
agreement on the Commission’s proposal to revise and upgrade the Visa Information System. 
The new Regulation was adopted by the co-legislators in July 20219. Some of the acts of the 
secondary  legislation  adopted  so  far  in  the  interoperability  framework  will  need  to  be 
amended  following  the  entry  into  force  of  this  Regulation.  The  Commission  is  starting 
reviewing those acts concerned. Together with the other new and upgraded  EU information 
systems,  the  new  Visa  Information  System  is  planned  to  be  operational  and  fully 
interoperable by the end of 2023.  

3.  Monitoring of implementation by Member States and EU agencies 

The  importance  of  timely  implementation  of  the  Interoperability  Regulations  is  well 
recognised  at  EU  and  Member  State  level.  To  achieve  full  and  correct  implementation, 
Member  States,  EU  agencies  and  the  Commission  have  to  closely  and  advance  together  to 
avoid that the lack of action by any one of them leads to a delayed entry into operation for all. 

With this in mind, the Commission makes use of a ‘Rapid Alert Process for monitoring the 
implementation and use of the IT systems in the area of migration, security and justice, and 
their interoperability’ (RAP-IT). This streamlines the process of follow-up and monitoring of 
the implementation of the new IT-system architecture, in parallel with overseeing the use of 
the already running systems. 

Part  of  this  monitoring  process  is  the  Interoperability  Forum.  Since  2019,  the  Commission 
has been convening these biannual high-level meetings to bring together all Member States 
and  Schengen  associated  countries,  EU  agencies  and  other  stakeholders  involved.  The 
purpose  is  to  discuss  how  to  advance  preparations  and  readiness,  to  identify  risks  and 
solutions,  and  to  provide  all  the  support  necessary  to  ensure  that  the  interoperability 

7   C(2021) 810.   
8   C(2021) 1926. 
9   Regulation  (EU)  2021/1134  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  7 July  2021  amending 
Regulations  (EC)  No 767/2008,  (EC)  No 810/2009,  (EU) 2016/399,  (EU) 2017/2226,  (EU) 2018/1240, 
(EU) 2018/1860,  (EU) 2018/1861,  (EU) 2019/817  and  (EU) 2019/1896  of  the  European Parliament  and  of 
the Council and repealing Council Decisions 2004/512/EC and 2008/633/JHA, for the purpose of reforming 
the Visa Information System (OJ L 248, 13.7.2021, p. 11–87);  

  Regulation  (EU)  2021/1133  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  7 July  2021  amending 
Regulations  (EU)  No 603/2013,  (EU)  2016/794,  (EU)  2018/1862,  (EU)  2019/816  and  (EU)  2019/818  as 
regards the establishment of the conditions for accessing other EU information systems for the purposes of 
the Visa Information System (OJ L 248, 13.7.2021, p. 1–10). 

4 

 
 
                                                           
framework  is  fully  implemented  by  the  agreed  target  date  of  end-2023.  The  relevant  EU 
agencies  are  eu-LISA,  the  European  Border  and  Coast  Guard  Agency,  and  Europol. 
Participation in the Forum has been extended to other interested parties such as 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  Interoperability  Forum  was  held  in  March  2019,  followed  by  a  second  one  in 
November 2019 and a third in May 2020. Following the adoption in August 2020 of the first 
Commission  report  on  the  state  of  play  of  preparations  for  the  full  implementation  of  the 
Interoperability Regulations, two more Forum meetings were convened via videoconference, 
in October 2020 and in April 2021. For these meetings, the Commission prepared individual 
scorecards and overall scoreboards, based on answers received to questionnaires, showing the 
state of play of implementation of the new IT architecture in all Member States. 

The October 2020 Forum highlighted that, overall, Member States and Schengen associated 
countries  showed  good  governance  and  had  achieved  considerable  progress  concerning  the 
implementation  of  the  new  architecture  for  EU  information  systems.  Nevertheless,  some 
challenges  remained.  Member  States  were  encouraged  to  continue  ensuring  high-level 
political support and it was highlighted that the following issues required increased attention 
from Member States: 

  delays concerning national procurement procedures; 

 

 

finalising their assessment of, and amendments to, national legislation; and 

rapid estimation and securing of necessary resources at national level. 

As the expected date for the entry into operation of the Entry/Exit System was approaching, 
the October 2020 Forum was also the occasion to pay particular attention to the state of play 
of  this  system’s  implementation.  The  Commission  expressed  specific  concerns  about  its 
development  in  certain  Member States that  had  indicated a low level  of  readiness.  Specific 
concerns  were  expressed  about  procurement  procedures  for  the  technical  development  and 
for  equipment  at  border  crossing  points.  As  a  follow-up,  the  Commission  continued  its 
rounds of regular bilateral meetings with Member States identified as being at risk and paid 
special  attention  to  discussing  financial  and  contractual  issues.  The  Commission  also  sent 
letters to the concerned Member States to raise awareness at political level. 

Against  this  background,  and  taking  into  consideration  eu-LISA’s  analysis  and  discussions 
with Member States in the governing bodies of eu-LISA and in Council working groups, the 
Commission reviewed the timeline. In December 2020, the Commission proposed to extend 
the Entry/Exit System implementation timeline by 2 months, with entry into operation to be 
in  May  2022. However,  this  does not affect the  overall deadline  for full  implementation  of 
interoperability by the end of 2023. The Commission’s proposal was endorsed by Justice and 
Home Affairs Ministers in December 2020. 

In April 2021, the fifth Interoperability Forum highlighted an overall positive situation, with 
increased awareness and political support in all Member States. The impact of the COVID-19 
pandemic  had  been  widely  mitigated  and  procurement  issues  mostly  taken  care  of  by  the 
concerned Member States.  It was nevertheless underlined that, while  implementation of the 
Entry/Exit  System  and  of  the  upgraded  Schengen  Information  System  were  entering  a 

5 

 
 
decisive phase – with testing of the systems about to start – a few Member States still faced 
significant risks of delays, mostly due to delayed procurement procedures. The Commission 
and eu-LISA continued their contacts with the Member States concerned and stood ready to 
provide  support.  Since  the  April  Forum,  challenges  also  persist  for  the  Entry/Exit  System, 
with  delays  in  deliveries  by  contractors  at  central  level.  For  the  revision  of  the  Schengen 
Information System, eu-LISA and Member States have started, with a delay of 1.5 months, to 
test  the  readiness  of  the  national  systems.  The  testing  activities  should  be  finalised  by 
December 2021. The sixth Interoperability Forum took place on 28 October 2021. 

4.  Training needs 

Interoperability is more than just an IT project. End-users, such as border guards, asylum and 
visa authorities or police officers, will need to know how to access information available to 
them.  Proper  training  of  all  staff  concerned  is  necessary.  Following  the  Train  the 
Ambassadors  event  in  March  2020,  the  Commission  organised  dedicated  meetings  to 
continue providing material to responsible Member State authorities to enable them to inform 
and instruct  end-users on the use of the interoperability framework and components.  While 
physical  training  events  could  not  take  place  face-to-face  because  of  the  COVID-19 
pandemic,  the  Commission  made  training  material  available  digitally.  In  particular,  the 
Interoperability  Forum  in  April  2021  was  followed  by  a  dedicated  workshop  on  legal  and 
financial issues designed for experts at national and EU level. 

In May 2021, eu-LISA also organised a technical workshop on interoperability development. 
The Commission welcomes such initiatives, which contribute to raising awareness and to the 
sharing of technical  knowledge with  all stakeholders involved in  the  implementation  of the 
interoperability framework. 

Moreover, the work on the interoperability handbook has started. The Commission, in close 
cooperation  with  Member  States,  eu-LISA  and  other  relevant  EU  agencies,  will  make 
the 
available  a  practical  handbook  for 
interoperability components. The handbook will provide technical and operational guidelines, 
recommendations and best practices. 

implementation  and  management  of 

the 

5.  Costs and risks 

The Legislative Financial Statement accompanying the Commission’s proposals for the two 
Interoperability  Regulations  indicated  that,  for  the  period  2019-2027,  an  overall  amount  of 
EUR 136.3 million  is  needed  to  support  Member  States  to  cover  the  necessary  changes  to 
their  national  systems  to  be  able  to  use  the  interoperability  components.  In  addition, 
EUR 11.9 million  was  allocated  to  eu-LISA  for  the  operational  expenditures  linked  to  the 
development  of  the  interoperability  components  in  2020  and  EUR 45.2 million  for  the  year 
2021.  According  to  eu-LISA’s  3rd  Interoperability  Progress  Report  of  December  2020, 
EUR 8.9 million had so far been used to support interoperability preparation activities. 

Member  States  are  encouraged  to  use  available  resources  under  Internal  Security  Fund 
programmes to implement the Interoperability Regulations. 

In  addition,  Member  States  are  invited  to  seek  support  under  the  new  EU  Home  Affairs 
Funds’  programmes  for  2021-2027,  in  particular  the  Instrument  for  Financial  Support  for 
Border Management and Visa Policy (BMVI). Using these, they should prioritise actions for 

6 

 
 
the  development  and  further  implementation  of  the  interoperability  of  EU  information 
systems. 

The  COVID-19  pandemic  has  had  an  impact  on  public  procurements  and  implementation 
procedures.  This  is  likely  to  have  an  effect  on  the  time  needed  to  implement  the  new 
architecture  for  EU  information  systems  for  borders,  migration  and  security.  While  the  EU 
interoperability  project  remains  on  schedule  and  within  its  initial  budget  estimate,  the 
Commission  continues  to  assess  this  impact  closely,  including  in  terms  of  the  planned 
schedule.  Any  prolongation  of  the  implementation  project  will  likely  increase  costs.  While 
there  is  still  room  for  manoeuvre  to  mitigate  the  effects  on  the  overall  schedule  and  costs, 
particular attention needs to be put on procurement and financing issues. 

6.  Conclusion 

Member States, Schengen associated countries and EU agencies share a general commitment 
to  ensure  full  implementation  of  the  Interoperability  Regulations.  For  its  part,  the 
Commission continues to coordinate and closely monitor the progress 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. 

Overall, work on the implementation  of the  Interoperability Regulations  continues  to  be  on 
track.  However,  this  requires  all  involved  to  advance  together  on  the  development  and 
implementation  of  all  EU  information  systems  and  interoperability  components.  The 
possibility  of  delays  arising  from  specific  national  public  procurement  bottlenecks,  notably 
on the development of the Entry/Exit System and the new Schengen Information System, will 
have to  be  continually  monitored. The Commission  continues  to  engage with  all concerned 
stakeholders  to  detect  potential  delays  that  could  arise  and  to  keep  any  such  delays  to  a 
minimum in order to respect the agreed implementation timeline. 

7