Report on the technical functioning of central SIS II 2019-2020.
Date: 2022-08-16
Institutions: European Union Agency for the Operational Management of Large-Scale IT Systems in the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice
Subjects: EU Member State, European security, Schengen Information System, area of freedom, security and justice, biometrics, data protection, exchange of information, information security, information system, judicial cooperation, personal data, report

EUROPEAN UNION AGENCY FOR THE OPERATIONAL MANAGEMENT OF LARGE-SCALE 
IT SYSTEMS IN THE AREA OF FREEDOM, SECURITY AND JUSTICE 

REPORT ON THE 
TECHNICAL 
FUNCTIONING OF 
CENTRAL SIS II 
2019-2020 

MAY 2022 

 
 
 
 
   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Contents 

Executive summary ....................................................................................................................................... 3 

1. 

Introduction ........................................................................................................................................... 5 

2.  Operational management of central SIS II ........................................................................................... 8 

2.1  Technical infrastructure of central SIS II............................................................................................... 8 

2.2  New SIS II users ................................................................................................................................... 9 

2.3 

Implementation of AFIS for SIS II ......................................................................................................... 9 

2.4  SIS Recast project .............................................................................................................................. 10 

2.5  BREXIT ............................................................................................................................................... 11 

2.6  Testing activities and releases ........................................................................................................... 11 

2.7  Monitoring and operational activities .................................................................................................. 12 

2.8  Performance and availability .............................................................................................................. 14 

2.9  Training activities ................................................................................................................................ 15 

3.  Communication Infrastructure ............................................................................................................ 17 

3.1  Technical functioning of the Communication Infrastructure ............................................................... 18 

4.  Security & data protection .................................................................................................................. 20 

4.1  Security ............................................................................................................................................... 20 

4.2  Data protection ................................................................................................................................... 21 

5.  SIRENE forms exchanged and hits reported ..................................................................................... 22 

5.1  Exchange of SIRENE forms ............................................................................................................... 23 

5.2  Hits reported on foreign alerts ............................................................................................................ 25 

Conclusions ................................................................................................................................................ 26 

REPORT ON CENTRAL SIS II 2019-2020 — 2  

 
 
 
 
 
 
Executive summary 

in 

The Schengen Information 
System (SIS II) plays a crucial 
role 
free 
facilitating 
movement  of  people  within  the 
Schengen  area  by  ensuring  a 
high level of security in support 
of  border  controls  at 
the 
Schengen external borders. 

the 

In 2020, SIS II’s storage 
capacity  was  increased 
to 130 million alerts.  

the 
2020  marked 
25th  anniversary 
of  SIS II’s  entry  into 
operation. 

integration  progressed 

SIS II 
in 
Ireland and Cyprus (IE connected in 
March  2021).  The  central  system 
was made ready for the integration 
of  Frontex,  while  Europol  was 
granted extended access. 

The United Kingdom 
was disconnected from 
SIS II on 1 January 
2021 and its data was 
consequently deleted. 

In 2020, 
central SIS II 
was available 
99.94%  
of the time. 

SIS II  was  accessed  3.7  billion 
times in 2020 by the Member States. 
Compared  with  2019,  the  annual 
number of searches fell by 44% due 
to  travel  restrictions  resulting  from 
the COVID-19 pandemic.  

to 

the  SIS 

By  the  end  of  December  2020, 
recast 
according 
regulations, all Member States were 
required 
SIS–
Automated 
Fingerprint 
Identification  System  (AFIS) 
searches at national level. 

enable 

to 

REPORT ON CENTRAL SIS II 2019-2020 — 3  

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
1 

INTRODUCTION 

REPORT ON CENTRAL SIS II 2019-2020 — 4  

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
1.  Introduction  

The Schengen Information System (SIS II) plays a crucial role in facilitating the free movement 
of  people  within  the  Schengen  area,  supporting  border  controls  at  the 
external  Schengen  borders,  law  enforcement  and  judicial  cooperation, 
and ensuring a high level of security throughout Europe. SIS II, the key 
measure  counterbalancing  the  abolition  of 
controls,  has  become  the  most  widely  used  and  largest 
information  sharing  system  for  security  and  external 
in  Europe1.  The  Schengen 
border  management 
Information  System  marked  the  25th  anniversary  of  its 
entry into operation in 2020.  

internal  border 

SIS II  facilitates  operational  cooperation  between  national 
competent  authorities,  including  border  guards,  police,  SIRENE 
Bureaux2, and judicial, customs and immigration authorities. The 
system enables those competent authorities to enter and consult data on persons or objects, and 

Alerts on persons concern persons 
who may not have the right to enter 
or  stay  in  the  EU,  wanted  persons 
as  well  as  missing  persons,  in 
particular children. 

take  specific  action  where  required.  On  a  yearly  basis,  eu-LISA 
publishes  in  the  Official Journal of  the  EU  an  updated  list  of  the 
competent authorities having access to the system, as well as 

of SIRENE Bureaux3.  

By the end of the  reporting period  (31 December 2020), 
SIS II was used by 30 Member States4; Europol was granted 
extended  access  to  the  system,  while  SIS II  integration  had 

progressed in Ireland and Cyprus as well as for Frontex. 

eu-LISA  (the  Agency)  is  responsible  for  the  operational  management  of  central  SIS II  guaranteeing  its 
effective uninterrupted access and functioning 24/7. The eu-LISA 
Management  Board,  together  with  the  SIS II  Advisory  Group5, 
support  the  Agency 
responsibility  for  SIS II  governance  together  with  the 
European Commission, the Member States and several 
stakeholders. The Commission6 is responsible for the 
correct implementation of  the SIS II legal framework  and 
any legislative initiatives linked to the system.  

In December 2020, SIS II contained 
almost  92.5  million  alerts  on 
objects  that  have  been  stolen, 
misappropriated or lost. 

in  this  respect.  eu-LISA  shares 

The  SIS II  Advisory Group  comprises  representatives  from  each 
Member State, a representative of the Commission and appointed observers from Europol, Eurojust, and 
Frontex7.  This  regular  forum  decides  on  changes  to  be  endorsed,  their  implementation  timelines  and 

1  SIS entered into operation in 1995 and the second generation of SIS (SIS II) has been in operation since 2013. 
2  SIRENE stands for Supplementary Information Request at the National Entries. Each EU country operating SIS has set up a national SIRENE Bureau that is 
responsible for any supplementary information exchange and coordination of activities connected to SIS alerts, pursuant to Article 7(2) of both the SIS II 
Decision  and  the  SIS II  Regulation.  For  more  information,  see:  https://ec.europa.eu/home-affairs/what-we-do/policies/borders-and-visas/schengen-
information-system/sirene-cooperation_en 
3  OJ C 222, 2.06.2019, OJ C 188, 5.06.2020, OJ C 287, 16.07.2021. 
4  The Member States of the EU connected to SIS II as at 31 December 2020 were: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, 
France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden 
and  the  United  Kingdom.  The  United  Kingdom  was  disconnected  on  1 January  2021.  The  Associated  Countries  connected  to  SIS II  were:  Iceland, 
Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. In this document, the term ‘Member States’ refers to the Member States of the EU and the Associated Countries, 
which are bound under Union law by the legislative instruments governing SIS II.  
5  The SIS II Advisory Group meets four times a year. 
6  The  Commission  chairs  the  SIS II/VIS  Committee,  which  regularly  brings  together  representatives  of  the  Member  States  with  the  aim  of  harmonising 
operational procedures, supporting the effective application of the rules and optimising the use of  SIS II. eu-LISA regularly reports and contributes to the 
committee meetings. 
7  Since October 2019, Frontex has attended the SIS II Advisory Group’s meetings as an observer.  

REPORT ON CENTRAL SIS II 2019-2020 — 5  

 
                                                 
 
 
dependencies.  The  SIS II  Advisory  Group  also  reports  on  the  availability  of  Central  SIS II  and  national 
systems,  approves  release  plans,  discusses  and  plans  developments,  assesses  training  activities  and 
validates the annual statistics.  

In  addition  to  the  SIS II  Advisory  Group,  several  dedicated  and  ad  hoc  forums  support  the  work  of  the 
Agency,  including  the  Recast  Project  Management  Forum  (PMF),  the  AFIS  PMF,  the  Security  Officers 
Network and the National Contact Points for training.  

In 2020, the number of searches and hits on SIS II dropped significantly due to the 
COVID-19-related travel restrictions imposed by most Member States, which led 
to  a  reduction  in  the  number  of  border  checks.  A  record  average 
number  of  18 million  daily  searches  had  been 
reached in 2019, before dropping to 10 million 

in 2020. The average number of hits per day 
processed by the SIRENE Bureaux was also 

affected 

in  2020,  dropping  by  27% 
relation to 2019. However, the number of alerts stored in 
the system increased by 11% in 2019, and by 3% in 2020.  

in 

its  communication 

This  report,  which  is  the  fourth  report  on  the  technical 
functioning  of  central  SIS II  and 
infrastructure8,  covers  the  period  from  1 January  2019  until 
31 December 2020.  The  report, as  part  of  eu-LISA’s  SIS II  legal 
reporting  obligations9,  aims  to  increase  both  transparency  and 
visibility.  It  encompasses  activities  performed  to  ensure  the  operational 
management  of  central  SIS  II,  including  its  security,  together  with  an  overview  of  statistics  collected 
annually.  

8  Previous issues are available on the eu-LISA website: https://www.eulisa.europa.eu/our-publications/reports  
9  Pursuant to Article 50(4) of the SIS II Regulation and Article 66(4) of the SIS II Decision. If not otherwise specified, in this report the ‘SIS II Regulation’ refers 
to Regulation (EC) No 1987/2006 and the ‘SIS II Decision’ refers to Council Decision 2007/533/JHA. 

REPORT ON CENTRAL SIS II 2019-2020 — 6  

 
 
                                                 
2 

OPERATIONAL 
MANAGEMENT OF 
CENTRAL SIS II 

2 

REPORT ON CENTRAL SIS II 2019-2020 — 7  

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2.  Operational management of central SIS II 

eu-LISA is responsible for the operational management of central SIS II, ensuring uninterrupted 24/7 access 
to the system and  allowing the continuous exchange  of data between  the national authorities, in 
accordance with the legal provisions. The operational management is carried out to a large extent 
implementation  of  appropriate 

through  management  services,  supervision  and  the 
corrective, adaptive and evolutionary maintenance.  

External  technical  support  was  guaranteed  during  the  reporting  period  by  a  contractor, 
Sopra  Steria  Benelux  SA/NV,  under  the  maintenance  in  working  order  (MWO)  Single 
Framework Contract10. 

The MWO contract was awarded by eu-LISA following a restricted procurement procedure. This 
MWO Framework Contract was concluded on 1 June 2018 for a period of four years, with the possibility of 
two automatic renewals of  12 months each. By the end of December 2020, all work packages were active, 
including  corrective  maintenance,  adaptive  maintenance,  evolutionary  maintenance,  as  well  as  testing, 
technical assistance and training support for the Member States. 

2.1  Technical infrastructure of central SIS II  

In 2020, SIS II was accessed 3.7 billion times by the Member States. Compared with 2019, the annual number 
of  searches  in  SIS II  fell  by  44%.  28  Member  States  reported  a  substantial  reduction  in  the 
number of searches, as a result of the travel restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic11.  

The number of alerts issued by Member States and stored in the 
SIS II  central  system  has  grown  steadily  over  the  years,  with 
82.2 million  alerts  in  2018,  91 million  in  2019,  and  over 
93.4 million  in  2020.  As  in  previous  years,  alerts  on  persons 
represented 1% of all alerts stored in SIS II. The largest categories 
were Issued document, accounting for over 71 million alerts (76%) 
and Security, accounting for over 6.5 million alerts (7%).  

eu-LISA regularly carries out volumetric monitoring and analyses of 
central SIS II to avoid degraded service availability and to ensure 
that it continues to cope with increasing business needs in terms 
of alerts and storage of binaries, as well as searches in the central 
system. In this framework, eu-LISA increased the central system’s 
storage capacity to 130 million alerts during 2020, which represented 
a major evolution of the SIS II central system.  

The SIS–AFIS was fully operational and maintained during the reporting period, with no major incidents. The 
usage of AFIS continued to increase during the same period. Once biometric fingerprint information has been 
added to a European Arrest Warrant, SIS–AFIS enables an even faster identification of wanted persons. 

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, various delays were experienced in the deployment of developments during 
2020. In addition to supply chain disruptions, travel and access restrictions prevented the Agency’s staff and 
contractors from working on site, e.g. for the deployment of new releases. Despite these circumstances and 
difficulties, the Agency made significant progress on key projects. 

10  FWC LISA/2017/RP/01 SIS II MWO. 
11  For  more  information,  see  the  2019  and  2020  annual  statistical  reports  published  on  the  eu-LISA  website:  https://www.eulisa.europa.eu/our-
publications/reports 

REPORT ON CENTRAL SIS II 2019-2020 — 8  

 
                                                 
2.2  New SIS II users 

Concerning  the  connection  of  new  users  to  SIS II,  the  integration  of  Ireland  progressed  steadily  during  the 
reporting period. The rehearsal of the integration was performed in January 2020 and 
entry into operation was successfully completed in March 2021.  

The  integration  of  Cyprus  also  progressed  with  testing,  in  particular  with  the 
compliance  test  campaign,  which  was  launched  in  April  2020.  Performance  and 
reliability testing followed during the summer and the final test report was approved 
at the end of 2020. As soon as the legal framework will allow, the integration project 
with Cyprus will be finalised and the country will be connected to SIS. 

In January 2020, a release was deployed at central level containing mainly changes allowing 
the integration of Frontex  as a new SIS user, as  well  as extended access for Europol as per the SIS recast 
regulations. 

2.3 

Implementation of AFIS for SIS II 

In  March  2018,  eu-LISA  implemented  the  Automated  Fingerprint  Identification  System  (AFIS),  which 
introduced a biometric search capability at central level, allowing for the identification of persons of interest 
on  their  fingerprints.  In  2018,  nine  Member  States  (Germany,  Hungary,  Latvia, 
solely  based 
Liechtenstein,  Luxembourg,  Malta,  the  Netherlands,  Portugal  and 
Slovenia) - successfully started using AFIS. In 2019, 19 Member States 
were  using  AFIS.  In  2020,  six  additional  Member  States  (Bulgaria, 
Croatia,  Denmark,  Romania,  Slovakia  and  Sweden)  successfully 
completed testing and connected to AFIS. The connection to AFIS 
was  a  major  objective  for  all  Member  States  not  yet  connected, 
and eu-LISA provided them with intensive support throughout the 
year in this process.  

By  the  end  of  December  2020,  according  to  the  SIS  recast 
regulations,  all  Member  States  were  required  to  enable  SIS–AFIS 
searches at national level. By the end of 2020, 25 Member States were 

connected to AFIS. 

SIS II  AFIS  Phase  2  was  launched  in  2019,  combining  the 

additional biometric requirements stemming from the SIS recast, 
such as the extension of search capabilities with dactyloscopic data on palm 

prints and latent12 prints with additional performance improvements.  

Following  the  agreement  on  requirements  and  the  corresponding  design  for  the 
improvement of the system’s performance (September-December), the user requirements 
were approved by the different stakeholders by the end of 2019 and the implementation 
phase started in January 2020.  

12  Latent prints are impressions of fingers or palms on a surface. 

REPORT ON CENTRAL SIS II 2019-2020 — 9  

 
                                                 
 
This allowed the development to start as from February 2020, with the release planned in 2021. Before the end 
of 2020, the new AFIS hardware was delivered at the operational site 
in Strasbourg and a technical study was conducted ahead of its 

extension 

SIS II AFIS Phase 2 provides for 
the 
search 
capabilities  with  dactyloscopic 
data  on  palm  prints  and  latent 
prints. 

of 

installation. 

2.4  SIS Recast project 

The  three  new  regulations13,  on 

the  establishment, 
operation and use of SIS II, entered into force on 28 December 
2018. Their implementation has been carried out gradually since 
in  close  cooperation  with  the  Member  States  and  the 
Commission. The new system, once in operation, will represent a major enhancement, with the main changes 
providing for new categories of data14 and alerts15, and wider access to SIS alerts at national and European 
level.  

2019 

eu-LISA has been playing a crucial role in the implementation of the new regulations, being responsible for the 
communications infrastructure, the development of central SIS and the coordination of test campaigns with 
Member States. During 2019 and 2020, the Agency made significant progress on the implementation of the 
SIS Recast project. 

In 2019, the SIS II Expert group met on a regular basis to discuss new functionalities, preferred options  for 
implementation and their technical and operational implications for the central system. Several review cycles 
of the interface control document (ICD) and of the detailed technical specifications (DTS) took place until the 
end of 2019. 

In  2020,  two  new  features were  deployed  in  the  system.  In  January  2020,  a  new 
SIS II  release16  was  successfully  deployed  in  line  with  the  new  legal  instruments 
that  enable  new  access  control  features  for  Europol  and  Frontex  to  query  all 
relevant  types  of  alerts  in  the  system,  along  with  fingerprint  matching. 
Furthermore, a search on slap fingerprints was added as an AFIS functionality that 
Eurojust  and  Frontex  will  be  fully  enabled  to  use  once  the  validation  and  the 
connection of their systems is complete.  

eu-LISA  proceeded  with  the  development  of  the  two 
main intermediate releases of the project related to changes on alerts on persons 
and  objects.  Updated  versions  were  also  delivered  for  review  by  the  Member 
States  of  the  system’s  technical  documentation,  the  ICD  and  the  DTS.  The 
updated  documentation,  stemming  from  both  the  AFIS  and  recast  regulations, 
also covers the system’s biometric elements.  

13  Regulation (EU) 2018/1860 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 28 November 2018 on the use of the Schengen Information System for the 
return of illegally  staying third-country  nationals OJ  L 312, 7.12.2018, p. 1; Regulation (EU) 2018/1861 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  border  checks,  and  amending  the  
Convention implementing the Schengen Agreement, and amending and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1987/2006 OJ L 312, 7.12.2018, p. 14; 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. 
14  i.e. biometric identifiers: fingerprints, palm prints, facial images as well as DNA concerning missing persons to confirm their identity. 
15  i.e. preventive alerts for children, alerts on return decisions and unknown persons. 
16  Release 9.3.0. 

REPORT ON CENTRAL SIS II 2019-2020 — 10  

 
                                                 
 
An additional stream of work was represented by the update of the Data Exchange between SIRENE Bureaux 
(DEBS17)  documentation,  performed  by  eu-LISA  together  with  the  Commission  and  the  Member  States.  In 
December  2020,  a  reviewed  version  of  the  DEBS  documentation  was  delivered.  The  updated  DEBS 
documentation  will  ensure  that  the  SIRENE  Bureaux  can  exchange  information  on  the  new  functionalities 
stemming from the SIS Recast project.  

2.5  BREXIT  

The United Kingdom left the European Union on 31 January 2020. At the end of the transition period which 
ended on 31 December 2020, the UK was disconnected from the EU large IT Systems – SIS II and Eurodac – 
in which it participated. 

This represented a big project as it was the first time  ever that a country would 
leave the system; in that sense everything was new. Procedures, planning and test 
campaigns needed to be set up and tested, bearing in mind that those should not 
jeopardise normal operations for the SIS community. 

Prior  to  31 December  2020,  eu-LISA  made  all  the  necessary  preparations  to 
disconnect the UK and delete UK data from SIS II (and Eurodac). The preparations 
included tests and several rehearsals. By end of December 2020, over 6% of the 
data stored in the system was owned by the UK18.  

The process started with the technical disconnection at network level, followed by the implementation of a 
filter on  the central system to block all UK alerts,  which were then deleted. Thanks to careful planning and 
continuous coordination, the disconnection of the UK from SIS II did not impact the regular operations of the 
other Member States. The disconnection was carried out as planned during the night of 31 December 2020, 
and was followed by the deletion of all UK data. 

2.6  Testing activities and releases 

eu-LISA is responsible for coordinating tests, determining test requirements and planning. During the reporting 
period, eu-LISA supported the Member States in a variety of testing activities, ensuring the proper functioning 
of all systems.  

Before the deployment of  each release, extensive  testing  campaigns are performed. The deployment  and 
release  activities  are  planned  and  performed  in  such  a  way  as  to  minimise  the  impact  on  the  operational 
activities of the systems, with special attention being paid to their performance and availability.  

The following releases and test campaigns were deployed and performed: 

  In 2019, the new ICAO 2015 transliteration rules were implemented, which represented an important 
business  change  impacting  the  Member  States’  data.  Member  States  with  high  utilisation  of  the 
transliteration rules – Bulgaria, Greece and Germany – were asked to contribute to these tests. This 
was an important milestone for SIS II, representing the most challenging and complex enhancement 
of the system since its entry into operation in May 2013. 

17  A set of technical specifications defining how SIRENE Bureaux exchange information. 
18  5 753 646 alerts. 

REPORT ON CENTRAL SIS II 2019-2020 — 11  

 
 
 
 
                                                 
  In January 2020, a new release was deployed19 containing changes allowing for the 
integration of Frontex as a new SIS user and for extended access for Europol. 

  Europol made preparations to set up its SIRENE office during 2020 and the 

office entered into operation on 8 March 2021. 

  In April 2019, a project to increase SIS II’s query capacity to 130 million alerts 

was  launched.  The  project  was  divided  into  three  main  stages:  the  first  release 
was  deployed  and  included  an  upgrade  of  the  WebLogic  application  software.  The  second  release 
focused  on  the  search  engine,  and  the  third  release  provided  for  an  upgrade  of  the  database.  The 
project  continued  throughout  2020,  with  the  first  release  deployed  in  June.  However,  the  second 
release,  including  the  implementation  of  the  new  search  engine,  was  affected  by  the  COVID-19 
pandemic and hardware supply shortages. Therefore, although the development phase was finalised, 
the implementation had to be postponed to 2021. 

The  Agency  also  supported  the  Member  States  by  ensuring  the  availability  of  the  test  and  pre-production 
environments. From mid-March 2020, owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, priority was given to keeping these 
environments highly available for the Member States and to supporting the execution of planned testing and 
qualification campaigns. 

2.7  Monitoring and operational activities  

Central SIS II monitoring is operational 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and carried out at the operational site in 
Strasbourg by the eu-LISA Service Desk. The operational status of the exchange between central SIS II and the 
national copies (the bridge) 20 is continuously monitored. Any unavailability leading to a business impact is 
immediately reported and escalated on a 24/7 basis.  

The  eu-LISA  Service  Desk  is  the  entry  point  for  users’  reports  of  incidents  as  well  as  for  requests  for 
information  or  technical  advice  and  support.  eu-LISA  provides  a  single  point  contact 
through the Service Desk function, where users can report incidents or request a service. 
All  requests  and  incidents  are registered  in  a centralised  incident  management  tool 
(SM9) for follow-up. The relevant assistance is provided based on the initial analysis, 
and the impact, urgency and priority are defined accordingly. 

In  2019, the  Service  Desk  handled  789 service  requests  and  869 incidents,  of  which  14 
were of critical priority for SIS II. In 2020, 967 service requests and 873 incidents were 
processed, including 7 incidents of critical priority.  

19   Release 9.3.0. 
20  A communication infrastructure between Central SIS II and National SIS II providing an encrypted virtual network.  

REPORT ON CENTRAL SIS II 2019-2020 — 12  

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
The main incidents were: 

  In July 2019, following a switchover to the BCU21, significantly degraded query performance was 
detected by the Member States and eu-LISA, causing a significant number of rejections of central 
queries. The Agency took the immediate decision to switch operations back to the 
CU22. The event highlighted the need for an increase in SIS II capacity, in particular 
in the BCU. A very large number of central queries (probably due to the holiday 
period)  was  identified  as  the  root  cause.  Together  with  the  MWO  contractor, 
eu‑LISA planned to increase available memory on BCU servers.  

  In  April  2020,  the  processing  time  of  transactions  was  affected  due  to  a 
message server not being available for one hour. However, no data was lost.  

  On  17 September  2020,  queries  were  fully  unavailable  for  40  minutes  and 

transactions  were  fully  unavailable  for  130  minutes,  due  to  a  technical  incident  that  affected 
several components of the central system. No data was lost. The troubleshooting and complete 
restoration of services took more than 24 hours. 

  On 4 May 2020, an incident occurred on the core TESTA-ng network. No data was lost. 

Central  SIS II  provides  a  data  consistency  check23  (DCC)  functionality  to  ensure  the 
synchronisation and consistency of national copies, as well as for the restoration of data. 
Each  month,  DCC  campaigns  are  carried  out  to  support  Member  States  in  achieving 
technical  compliance.  Checks  are  performed  on  all  alerts  and  links,  and  any 
discrepancies found are automatically repaired by the mechanism itself. Cases in which 
numerous discrepancies are found are mostly the result of incidents (and therefore lost 
connectivity of a given Member State with the Central system). Thanks to the regular 
DCC campaigns, each month all national copies are checked at least once. The results 
of the DCCs are regularly analysed at the AG meetings. 

An  increasing  number  of  DCC  campaigns  have  yielded  no  discrepancies.  The  share  of  DCC  campaigns 
completed without discrepancies increased from 29.2% in 2018 to 34% in 2019.  

In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on system usage and one of the main challenges 
for the Agency was to ensure the uninterrupted availability of the systems for all users 24/7. Travel and access 
restrictions had major implications on the staff’s ability to work at the Agency’s technical sites, the central unit 
(CU) in Strasbourg, and the backup central unit (BCU) in Sankt Johann im Pongau. Despite those difficulties, 
eu-LISA managed to uphold its level of service towards the Member States, while the Agency and its staff 
deployed  their  best  efforts  to  ensure  that  all  systems  remained  available  at  all  times.  This  was  a  major 
achievement, as confirmed by the very good results in terms of system availability and response times.  

As per the practice, Member States were asked to evaluate the eu-LISA in terms of Service Desk, Incident and 
Problem management, Operational Communication, Technical assistance, support for national activities and 
release management. The exercise is performed each year via the Customer Satisfaction Survey, and then 
presented to the AG meeting. The results from the SIS II community were very encouraging during the reporting 
period:  in  2019,  96%  of  the  Member  States  were  very  satisfied  or  satisfied  (24  out  of  31  stakeholders 
participated); in 2020, 90% were very satisfied or satisfied (28 participants). 

As a follow-up, for both years, eu-LISA prepared an action plan with measures to remedy the relevant areas.  

21  Backup central unit. 
22  Central unit. 
23  The Data Consistency Check aims to support Member States in achieving technical compliance pursuant to Article 9(2) of the SIS II Decision and the 
parallel provision in Article 9(2) of the SIS II Regulation. 

REPORT ON CENTRAL SIS II 2019-2020 — 13  

 
                                                 
2.8  Performance and availability 

When  measuring  performance  and  availability  indicators  for  central  SIS II,  indicators  such  as  search 
distribution,  traffic  rate,  maximum  load  and  volume  should  be  taken  into  account,  since  the  system  was 
designed and optimised for a specific use.  

SIS II was accessed 3.7 billion times in 2020 by the Member States. Compared with 2019, the annual number 
of searches fell by 44% because of restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

In 2019, over 28.8 million create/update/delete (CUD) transactions were performed, continuing the steadily 
increasing trend from the previous years. In 2020, the number of CUD operations dropped considerably to 16.5 
million. During the reporting period, the majority of the transactions (98.6% in 2019 and 99.2% in 2020) were 
performed in less than 3 minutes, in line with the design requirements of the system. 

AFIS  CUD  transactions  have  a  longer  Service  Level  Agreement  (SLA)  compared  to  alphanumerical  CUD 
transactions. In 2019, 99.76% of AFIS CUD transactions were performed in less than 10 minutes, compared to 
99.67% in 2020.  

In 2019, the Member States performed more than 6.6 billion searches in SIS II, of which 10% (over 686 million) 
were performed in the central system. In 2020, the Member States reported 3.7 billion searches, of which 7% 
(267  million)  were  performed  in  the  central  system.  As  for  CUD  transactions,  searches  were  also  heavily 
impacted by the COVID-19 restrictions.  

In 2019, 99.95% of all alphanumerical searches in central SIS II received a 
reply within the agreed time for the type of search, compared to 99.96% 
in 2020. Similar levels were also achieved regarding AFIS searches, 
with 99.94% of searches falling within the agreed SLA in 2019, 
and 99.88% in 2020.  

Central  SIS II  was  highly  available  in  2019  and  2020, 
confirming  the  trend  seen  in  previous  reporting  periods. 
Availability is calculated based on critical SIS II functionalities, 
such as searching the central system or properly processing and 
broadcasting  alerts 
Unavailability is defined as when none of the Member States can 
use the critical functionalities, and it includes outages due to planned 
and unplanned maintenance. 

the  Member  States. 

received 

from 

In  2019,  central  SIS II’s  overall  availability,  including  the  associated  connectivity  network,  was  99.95%.  The 
system  was  unavailable  for  4  hours  and  1  minute.  In  2020,  availability  was  99.94%,  with  the  outage  time 
amounting to 5 hours and 16 minutes in total. 

REPORT ON CENTRAL SIS II 2019-2020 — 14  

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2.9  Training activities  

eu-LISA is responsible for providing training on the technical use of the system to 
national  SIS II  operators,  SIRENE  staff  and  Schengen  evaluators24.  The  training 
programme  for  national  IT  operators  and  technical  SIS II  experts  facilitates  the 
operational  management  of  the  system  and  supports  technical  maintenance; 
facilitates communication through the single point of contact (SPoC/Service Desk); 
and helps to ensure data consistency, synchronisation and data quality. In order to 
support new users of the system, whether Member States or Agencies, training is 
provided as part of the integration project connecting and supporting newcomers 
in developing and operating their national systems/interface.  

In  autumn  2019  and  2020,  the  National  Contact  Points  network  for  training  met  to  discuss  and  agree  on 
training  priorities,  which  translated  into  training  activities  for  the  following  year.  The  compiled  training 
portfolios,  including  the  SIS II  section,  were  provided  to  the  network  for  consultation,  and  presented  to  the 
relevant Advisory Group at the beginning of each year.  

In 2019, eu-LISA developed and strengthened its learning management system and the e-learning component 
of  the  training  portfolio.  An  important  milestone  was  the  development  and  implementation  of  a  fully 
self‑directed  e-learning  module  entitled  ‘SIS  &  SIRENE  Essentials’.  The  training  offer  for  SIS II  included 
courses on SIS II for SIRENE, a series of onboarding programmes for Ireland, Cyprus, Frontex, and Europol, as 
well as webinars to support SIS/SIRENE Schengen evaluations. 

In  2020,  the  COVID-19  pandemic  posed  specific  challenges  for  the  implementation  of  eu-LISA’s  training 
programme. Several years of experience in conducting online training modules facilitated the transition from 
face-to-face  teaching  to  e-learning.  By  the  end  of  the  year,  eu-LISA’s  training  programme  included  a  high 
number of newly created e-learning products, such as online courses, e-learning modules and webinars, and 
an extended e-library. 

The  Agency  delivered  25  training  sessions  in  2019,  the  majority  of  which  were 
organised  face  to  face,  followed  by  webinars  and  new 
modules added to the Learning Management System (LMS). 
In total, 15 training sessions focused on  SIS II (i.e. 60% of 
the total).  

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, all but one of the 30 training 
activities delivered in 2020 were held online (being webinars 
or e-courses on the LMS). Eight new e‑learning products and 
training  sessions  were  developed  with  a  special  focus  on 
SIS II (i.e. 27% of the total). In both years, the general average 
satisfaction  rate  was  very  positive25,  confirming  once  more 
the  high  level  of  appreciation  for  eu‑LISA’s  profile-based 
training  offer.  The  e‑learning component  of  eu-LISA’s  training 
portfolio grew steadily until 2019 thanks to its dedicated Learning 
Management  System  (LMS)  platform.  However,  in  2020,  major 
efforts were made as the online platform became the main venue for training delivery. This was also reflected 
in the rapid increase in the number of new accounts created. 

Cooperation with the Justice and Home Affairs agencies continued. As mentioned above, Europol and Frontex 
also benefitted from the newcomer programme with dedicated sessions. 

24  In accordance with Article 3 of the eu-LISA Regulation. 
25  On a scale from 1 to 5, the average was 4.4 in 2019 and 4.5 in 2020.  

REPORT ON CENTRAL SIS II 2019-2020 — 15  

 
                                                 
3 

COMMUNICATION 
INFRASTRUCTURE 

REPORT ON CENTRAL SIS II 2019-2020 — 16  

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
3.  Communication Infrastructure  

One of the three elements  comprising  SIS II is a communication infrastructure between the central system 
(CS-SIS) and the national system (N.SIS)26. The communication infrastructure provides an encrypted virtual 
network  dedicated  to  SIS II  data  and  the  exchange  of  data  between  the  authorities  responsible  for  the 
exchange of all supplementary information (SIRENE Bureaux). The SIS II communication infrastructure is a 
community  under  the  European  private  secure  network  named  Trans  European  Services  for  Telematics 
between Administrations — New Generation (TESTA-ng). TESTA-ng was initially implemented by the European 
Commission’s Directorate-General for Informatics. 

The  services  covered  by  the  TESTA-ng  network  include  the 
provision of a Core Management Team, responsible for the overall 
vision,  design  and  security  of  TESTA-ng  and  the  leadership, 
communication  and  management  of  the  service  delivery  team;  a 
dedicated  centralised  Support  and  Operations  Centre  (SOC), 
responsible for ensuring the operational management by the provider 
and the quality of the network on a 24/7 basis; consultancy services; 
connectivity;  network;  and  security.  These  services  relate  to  the 
provision,  set-up  and  operation  of  a  dedicated  centralised 
management,  monitoring  and  support 
infrastructure.  Additional 
services  cover  the  provision  of  monitoring  tools,  reporting  and  SOC 
staffing. 

During  the  reporting  period,  the  tasks  regarding  the  communication  infrastructure  (including  operational 
management and security) were divided27 between eu-LISA and the European Commission as defined in the 
Memorandum of Understanding concluded in June 2014. At the end of 2018, the eu-LISA Regulation entered 
into  force,  bringing  substantial  changes  in  the  management  of  the  communication  infrastructure.  Under 
Article 11(1)  of  the  eu-LISA  Regulation,  the  Agency  must  carry  out  all  tasks  related  to  the  communication 
infrastructure of the systems conferred on it by the Union legal acts governing the systems, with the exception 
of  those systems  that make  use  of  the  EuroDomain.  Therefore,  tasks  related  to the  implementation  of  the 
budget,  acquisition  and  renewal,  and  contractual  matters  relating  to  the  communication  infrastructure 
between the SIS II central system and national interfaces are now entrusted to the Agency. 

Furthermore, Article 11(4)28 states that tasks related to the delivery, setting up, 
maintenance  and  monitoring  of  the  communication  infrastructure  may  be 
entrusted  to  external  private  sector  entities  or  bodies29  in  accordance  with 
Regulation (EU, EURATOM) 2018/1046. The Agency implemented all necessary 
security measures in accordance with Articles 3 and 5 of the new Regulation in 
order  to  prevent  external  private  sector  entities  or  bodies,  including  network 
providers, from having access, by any means, to any operational data stored in 
the SIS II system or transferred through the communication infrastructure or to 
the SIS II-related SIRENE exchange. 

26  In accordance with Article 4(1)(c). 
27  The  Agency  was  responsible  for  supervision,  security  and  coordination  of  relations  between  the  Member  States  and  the  network  provider  for  the 
communication  infrastructure  of  SIS II.  In  addition,  eu-LISA  was  also  in  charge  of  the  security  measures  in  respect  of  the  exchange  of  supplementary 
information  through  the  communication  infrastructure  of  SIS II.  The  Commission  was  responsible  for  all  other  tasks  relating  to  the  communication 
infrastructure,  in  particular  tasks  relating  to  the  implementation  of  the  budget,  acquisition  and  renewal,  and  contractual  matters.  As  regards  SIS II,  the 
Commission was also responsible for adopting the security measures, including a security plan, in relation to the communication infrastructure. 
28 Of eu-LISA Regulation 
29 All private sector entities or bodies must be bound by the security measures referred to in paragraph 3 and are to have no access, by any means, to any 
operational data stored in the systems or transferred through the communication infrastructure or to the SIS II-related SIRENE exchange. 

REPORT ON CENTRAL SIS II 2019-2020 — 17  

 
                                                 
3.1  Technical functioning of the Communication Infrastructure 

The  SIS II  communication  infrastructure  provides  a  secure  wide-area  network  for  the  exchange  of  data 
between  central  and  national  systems.  The  architecture  of  the  SIS II  communication  infrastructure  can  be 
described as a ‘star topology with resilience’. The CU (in Strasbourg, France) and the BCU (in Sankt Johann im 
Pongau, Austria) contain the central SIS II systems to which each national SIS II connects to. The CU and BCU 
are connected by a dedicated point-to-point connection.  

The confidentiality of SIS II communications over the TESTA-ng network, in particular 
between  the  central  system  and  national  systems,  is  ensured  by  a  secondary 
encryption layer made up of dedicated encryption devices. These are fully managed 

by eu-LISA to ensure that third parties cannot gain access to clear-text data. 

The  SIS II-related  SIRENE  exchange  service  operates  within 

the  SIS II 
communication  infrastructure  and  provides  simple  mail  transport  protocol  (SMTP) 
relay  functionality  in  a  hub-and-spoke  topology  to  SIRENE  national  systems  for  the 

purposes of supporting the SIS II-related SIRENE information exchange. 

The SIS II communication infrastructure is permanently monitored to ensure continuous service availability; 
strict contractual performance service level requirements have been established. During the reporting period, 
there were no incidents with a critical impact30 on the functioning of the overall SIS II community.  

30  A critical impact is considered to have occurred when the service is not available for more than 8 hours and the entire community is affected. 

REPORT ON CENTRAL SIS II 2019-2020 — 18  

 
 
 
                                                 
4 

SECURITY &  
DATA PROTECTION 

19 —  

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
4.  Security & data protection 

4.1  Security 

The  SIS II  security  framework  relies  on  the  core  principles  of  security;  confidentiality,  integrity  and 
availability.  At  central  level,  the  SIS II  communication  infrastructure  provides  assurance  that  the  system 
protects the information stored and its functions as required. The SIS II central system (CS-SIS) is protected 
in physical terms 24/7, including a multi-layer external perimeter. Communications with Member States are 
protected by multiple layers of encryption and by network security controls with several layers of firewalls and 
integrity  checks.  The  CS-SIS  is  physically  located  in  a  secure  and 
controlled environment, isolated from the internet. Therefore, in the 
event of failure, operations can be switched to the backup site in 
Austria.  Access  to  both  systems  is  only  granted  to  duly 
authorised  persons,  who  hold  a  valid  personnel  security 
clearance and have clearly defined roles and responsibilities.  

The  CS-SIS  must  follow  the  security  measures  set  out  in  the 
SIS II  security  plan  and  SIS II  security  policy31,  as  adopted  by 
eu-LISA’s  Management  Board  in  March  2013.  In  2020,  the 
Agency carried out a risk assessment for SIS II, including AFIS. 
As a follow-up, new security and business continuity plans have 

been prepared for adoption by the Management Board in 2021. 

The security policy requires, in terms of security and assessment, that all eu-LISA systems undergo technical 
vulnerably  tests  on  a  regular  basis,  and  must  provide  assurance  that  the  implementation,  integration  and 
configuration of controls are compliant with the security requirements.  

Throughout the period, the Agency conducted continuous monitoring and management of residual  security 
risks  to  provide  assurance  that  the  appropriate  security  controls  for  the  IT  systems  under  eu-LISA 
management  were  effective,  properly  implemented  and  managed.  This  included,  for 
example,  an  ongoing  self-assessment  review  of  the  status  of  eu-LISA’s  information 
security management system (ISMS).  

In terms of information security, 2019 saw the introduction of a three-pronged approach 
to improving the security of the systems: 1) continued efforts to update and improve the 
Agency’s  security  policy  framework;  2)  evolving  the  security  risk  management 
approach; and 3) consolidating the development of the technical security architecture. 
For example, the Agency executed a number of projects, including the implementation of 
Security Information and Event Management System (SIEM) and the new Public Key Infrastructure.  

the 

Following  the  2018 inspection  of  the  European  Data  Protection  Supervisor  (EDPS) of  central SIS II and  the 
business continuity exercise carried out with the Member States, in 2019 and 2020 the Security Unit focused 
on the implementation of recommendations identified as part of these activities. The Agency also collaborated 
with the Internal Audit Service (IAS) of the Commission, which ran an IT Security audit on the large-scale IT 
systems within eu-LISA’s remit. 

Throughout 2020, preparations were made to carry out a multi-system exercise, involving the SIS II, VIS and 
Eurodac  systems.  Following common  practice, the  exercise  involved  eu-LISA and  national authorities  from 

31 The measures to be provided for in the security policy, according to Article 16(1) of the SIS II Decision, include restrictions on access to data processing 
facilities, personnel security requirements, controls on removable media containing data and any other important assets, data storage controls, passwords, 
access to SIS II hardware and software, communication controls for the communication infrastructure, monitoring and security incident management. 

REPORT ON CENTRAL SIS II 2019-2020 — 20  

 
                                                 
nine Member States as participants, as well as ten Member States and the Commission as observers. The 
exercise  took  place  on  4 November  2020  and  included  a  mix  of  cybersecurity,  IT  security  and  business 
continuity events within a set of pre-defined scenarios. 

4.2  Data protection 

The  SIS II  technical solution  complies  with strict data  protection  requirements  at both  central and  national 
levels.  The  EDPS,  in  close  cooperation  with  eu-LISA’s  Data  Protection  Officer  (DPO),  monitors  the 
implementation  of  data  protection  provisions,  in  particular  concerning  the  processing  of  personal  data  by 
central SIS II. 

The EDPS draft report on the inspection carried out in November 2018 on central SIS II was 
received in November 2019. As per the legal requirements, the eu-LISA Management Board 
formally adopted  the  comments  on  the  report pursuant to  Article 19(1)(hh)  of  eu-LISA’s 
establishing Regulation for the consideration of the EDPS. The final EDPS report on the 
SIS II  inspection  was  received  in  April  2020,  containing  43  recommendations  to  be 
implemented by eu-LISA, with corresponding implementation timelines.  

In  order  to  ensure  appropriate  implementation  of  the  EDPS  recommendations,  follow-ups 
were organised internally on a quarterly basis by the DPO, who proactively reported updates to 

the EDPS. 

During the reporting period, the DPO was consulted regularly in several projects of general scope.  

The  SIS II  Supervision  Coordination  Group  (SCG  SIS II),  which 
brings together representatives of the national data protection 
authorities of the Member States and the EDPS, meets twice 
a year, and eu-LISA’s DPO is regularly invited to report to 
the meetings.  

technical 

The  SIS II 
solution 
complies with strict data protection 
requirements  at  both  central  and 
national levels. 

The group aims to improve cooperation between the national 
supervisory authorities and coordinate the supervision of central 
SIS II  and  the  national  systems,  contributing  to  the  exchange  of 
relevant information and the implementation of common practices. In addition, the SCG SIS II assists national 
supervisory  authorities  during  inspections  and  audits  and  provides  support  in  the  event  of  difficulties 
pertaining to the interpretation or implementation of the SIS II legal provisions. 

REPORT ON CENTRAL SIS II 2019-2020 — 21  

 
 
 
 
5. 

5 

SIRENE FORMS 
EXCHANGED & 
HITS REPORTED 

REPORT ON CENTRAL SIS II 2019-2020 — 22  

 
 
 
 
5.  SIRENE forms exchanged and hits reported  

The  exchange  of  supplementary  information  through  SIS II  contributes 
greatly to effective and efficient law enforcement cooperation and border 

management in Europe.  

eu-LISA collects statistical data from the Member States on an annual 
basis,  including  data  on  the  bilateral  and  multilateral  exchange  of 
information  between  Member  States  (SIRENE 

supplementary 

forms) and on hits reported.  

This  section  presents  data  on  SIRENE  forms  and  hits  reported by 

Member States for the reporting period. 

5.1  Exchange of SIRENE forms 

SIRENE forms are exchanged bilaterally or multilaterally between Member States 
(and Europol as from March 2021) in order to provide supplementary information in a structured 

way in relation to the data available in the system (alert).  

There  are 14 different SIRENE forms in  use;  the  full  list  is  available in  the  SIRENE  Manual32.  The  most 
frequently  used  ones  are  the  A  Form:  supplementary  information  pursuant  to  Article 26  SIS II  Decision,  for 
European  Arrest  Warrant  or  for  Extradition  Request;  the  G  Form:  matching  an  alert  (hit);  and  the  M  Form: 
miscellaneous information. 

In  2019, there  were in  total  2 302 818  SIRENE  forms  (671 680  outgoing forms, 1 631 138  incoming forms) 
exchanged bilaterally or multilaterally between the Member States. In 2020, this number fell by 14%, with only 
1 988 517  SIRENE 
forms). 
(550 289  outgoing 
The table and figures below provides a breakdown of outgoing and incoming forms for the reporting period. 

forms  exchanged 

forms,  1 438 288 

incoming 

Forms 

2019 

2020 

Outgoing 

Incoming  Outgoing 

Incoming 

Forms A 

23 023 

670 083 

55 896 

592 345 

Forms E 

Forms F 

482 

498 

414 

698 

13 464 

13 368 

11 497 

12 051 

Forms G 

255 607 

244 773 

169 407 

172 706 

Forms H 

37 281 

40 660 

29 750 

31 771 

Forms I 

Forms J 

Forms K 

Forms L 

71 

1 074 

2 691 

6 296 

82 

1 314 

2 736 

8 172 

67 

1 034 

3 989 

5 471 

68 

1 042 

4 062 

6 813 

Forms M 

301 319 

619 077 

247 047 

590 616 

Forms N 

Forms O 

8 234 

3 511 

7 858 

3 988 

6 753 

3 680 

6 817 

3 737 

Forms P 

18 511 

18 344 

15 198 

15 392 

Forms Q 

116 

185 

86 

110 

Total 

671 680  1 631 138 

550 289  1 438 228 

32  OJ L 231, 07.09.2017, p. 6. 

REPORT ON CENTRAL SIS II 2019-2020 — 23  

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
 
Figure 1 — Exchange of SIRENE outgoing forms 2019 and 2020 

Outgoing 2019

Outgoing 2020

Forms A 3% 

Forms A 10% 

Forms M 45% 

Forms G 38% 

Forms M 45% 

Forms G 31% 

Forms H 6% 

Forms H 5% 

Outgoing 2020

Outgoing 2019

550,289

671,680

247,047

301,319

169,407

255,607

Total

Forms Q

Forms P

Forms O

Forms N

Forms M

Forms L

Forms K

Forms J

Forms I

Forms H

Forms G

Forms F

Forms E

Forms A

86
116

15,198
18,511

3,680
3,511
6,753
8,234

5,471
6,296
3,989
2,691
1,034
1,074
67
71

29,750
37,281

11,497
13,464

414
482

55,896

23,023

0

100,000

200,000

300,000

400,000

500,000

600,000

700,000

REPORT ON CENTRAL SIS II 2019-2020 — 24  

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
5.2  Hits reported on foreign alerts 

When  a  user  conducts  a  search  and  the  search  reveals  a  foreign  alert  (i.e.  the  alert  in  SIS II  matches  the 
searched  data)  a  ‘hit’  has  occurred  in  SIS II.  In  accordance  with  the  legal 
provisions and as a result of the hit, further actions can be requested.  

A  distinction  is  made  between  hits  achieved  on  alerts  issued  by  other 
countries (i.e. hits on foreign alerts) and hits achieved by other countries on 
alerts issued by the reporting country (i.e. hits abroad on own alerts). 

The  Member  States  reported  283 713  hits  on  foreign  alerts  in  2019, 
compared with 209 178 hits in 2020, representing a decrease of almost 27% 
between  2019  and  2020.  As  mentioned  above,  this  was  due  to  travel 
restrictions imposed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The table and figure below provides a breakdown of hits on foreign alerts for the reporting period. 

Hits on foreign alerts 

2019 

2020 

Hits on alerts Article 26 SIS II D 

11 859 

10 381 

Hits on alerts Article 24 SIS II R 

51 128 

38 927 

Hits on alerts Article 32 SIS II D 

9 346 

6 814 

Hits on alerts Article 34 SIS II D 

58 146 

47 583 

Hits on alerts Article 36 SIS II D 

98 383 

65 877 

Hits on alerts Article 38 SIS II D 

54 851 

39 596 

Total 

283 713  209 178 

Figure 2 — Breakdown of hits on foreign alerts reported in 2019 and 2020 

209,178

283,713

Total hits

Article 38 SIS II D

 Article 36 SIS II D

Article 34 SIS II D

 Article 32 SIS II D

 Article 24 SIS II R

Article 26 SIS II D

39,596

54,851

65,877

98,383

47,583

58,146

6,814
9,346

38,927

51,128

10,381
11,859

0

50,000

100,000

150,000

200,000

250,000

300,000

hits on
 foreign alerts 2020

hits on
foreign alerts 2019

REPORT ON CENTRAL SIS II 2019-2020 — 25  

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Conclusions 
SIS II has been at the heart of Schengen for over two decades, marking the 25th anniversary of its entry into 
operation in 2020. SIS II plays a crucial role as the most widely used IT system in the area of freedom, justice 
and security in the EU. The system performed well during the reporting period, in line with the SLA.  

The use of SIS II has steadily increased over the past years, but saw a sharp drop in the number of searches 
and  hits  in  2020  due  to  the  COVID-19-related  travel  restrictions  imposed  by  most  Member  States.  Despite 
these circumstances and difficulties, the Agency has made significant progress on key projects, such as the 
increase in the system’s storage capacity to 130 million alerts in 2020, and the SIS Recast project. A growing 
number of Member States have started using the SIS–AFIS.  

As regards users, solid preparations were made during the reporting period for the 
disconnection of the United Kingdom, which was implemented on 1 January 2021. 
Ireland  and  Cyprus  continued  preparations  in  view  of  joining  SIS II,  which  was 
achieved for Ireland in March 2021. In addition, the central system was made ready 
to connect Frontex, and extended access was provided to Europol as per the SIS 
Recast project. 

Looking to the future, there are several major projects ahead, starting with the entry 
into operation of the SIS Recast project and the implementation of interoperability. 
Among other things, this will allow for increased effectiveness of identity checks 
and easier access to the systems for the relevant national authorities. 

--------------------------------------------- 

REPORT ON CENTRAL SIS II 2019-2020 — 26  

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
This report has been produced pursuant to Article 50(4) of Regulation (EC) No 1987/2006 and Article 
66(4) of Council Decision 2007/533/JHA with the purpose of providing information on central SIS II 
and its communication infrastructure, including the security thereof, and the bilateral and multilateral 
exchange of supplementary information between Member States.  

This report is public. Reproduction is authorised, except for commercial purposes, provided that the 
source is acknowledged. 

eulisa.europa.eu 

ISBN 978-92-95227-20-0 

ISSN 2443-8294 

doi: 10.2857/828476 

Catalogue number: EL-AE-22-002-EN-N 

© European Union Agency for the Operational Management of Large-Scale IT Systems in the Area of 
Freedom, Security and Justice (eu-LISA), 2022