The European Council and MEPs have reached an agreement on an interoperability framework for the EU’s security information systems.
The European Commission said it will support border guards and police officers in giving them access to important information.
The framework, which was proposed by the Commission in December 2017, will enable digital systems such as the Entry/Exit System, European Criminal Records Information System and European Travel Information and Authorisation System to talk to each other. Any future systems will also be developed within the framework.
A search portal will make it possible for border guards and police to check identity documents against all the systems simultaneously, and to interrogate a shared biometric matching service and common identity repository.
In addition, a multiple identity detector will cross-check and immediately flag anyone using more than one identity.
Adoption and implementation
The relevant regulations will now go to the European Council and Parliament for formal adoption. Responsibility for the implementation of the technical components will then pass to eu-LISA, the agency that manages large scale information systems for security and law enforcement.
Commissioner for Migration, Home Affairs and Citizenship Dimitris Avramopoulos said: “Today we deliver on a quintessential piece of our security infrastructure. In the future, all the dots between our different information systems will be interlinked.
“This is the European Union at its best: empowering and supporting our border guards and police officers with the right tools to do their job and protect European citizens."
Commissioner for the Security Union Julian King added: “This is about responding to calls from those at the frontline, police and border guards. It is not about creating one big database or collecting more data, but using existing information in a smarter and more targeted way to help law enforcement do their job, all while fully respecting fundamental rights."
The momentum for the move came from the current disconnection between the existing systems, which complicates the job of border officials and police officers.
Image: EU, public domain through Wikimedia
