Today, the Council adopted the Commission’s proposal to strengthen eu-LISA, the EU Agency responsible for the operational management of large-scale information systems in the area of freedom, security and justice.
A political priority for 2018-2019, the reinforced eu-LISA Agency will ensure EU information systems for migration, security and border management are more interoperable and will help close important security gaps.
Welcoming the adoption, Commissioner for Migration, Home Affairs and Citizenship Dimitris Avramopoulos said: “From today onwards, the eu-LISA Agency will be transformed into an even stronger nerve centre of all our information systems for borders, migration and security. Information is a powerful tool and the stronger Agency will help to make sure that immigration officers, border guards and law enforcement authorities have the right information, at the right time. It will help us connect all the dots towards an effective and genuine Security Union”
The upgrade of the eu-LISA Agency, proposed by the Commission in June 2017, will enable the Agency to take on more tasks and provide centralised operational management of EU information systems for migration, security and border management. The reinforced eu-LISA will:
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Roll-out interoperability of EU information systems: once the Commission proposals are adopted, eu-LISA will be responsible for rolling out the technical components to make EU information systems interoperable;
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Develop future systems: with a proposed budget of €2 billion for the period 2019-2027, the Agency will develop and manage future large-scale EU information systems such as the Entry/Exit System (EES), the European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS) and the upgraded European Criminal Records Information System (ECRIS-TCN);
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Upgrade existing systems: the Agency will maintain and upgrade existing systems, such as the Schengen Information System (SIS), the Visa Information System (VIS) and Eurodac, for which it is already responsible;
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Support Member States: the Agency will be able to provide greater ad-hoc technical and operational support to Member States.