Schengen evaluation of the new Member States - Draft Council conclusions on completion of the process of evaluation of the state of preparedness of the Czech Republic, the Republic of Estonia, the Republic of Latvia, the Republic of Lithuania, the Republic of Hungary, the Republic of Malta, the Republic of Poland, the Republic of Slovenia and the Slovak Republic to implement all provisions of the Schengen acquis, including the results of the revisits and the SIS-related provisions - Main contents

Document date	23-10-2007
Publication date	12-08-2009
Reference	13931/07
From	Schengen Evaluation Working Party
To	Coreper / Council (Mixed Committee)
External link	original PDF
Original document in PDF

COUNCIL OF PUBLIC Brussels, 23 October 2007

THE EUROPEAN UNION

13931/07

LIMITE

SCH-EVAL 178 SIRIS 193 COMIX 881

NOTE from : Schengen Evaluation Working Party to: Coreper / Council (Mixed Committee) Subject : Schengen evaluation of the new Member States

• - 

  Draft Council conclusions on completion of the process of evaluation of the state of preparedness of the Czech Republic, the Republic of Estonia, the

Republic of Latvia, the Republic of Lithuania, the Republic of Hungary, the Republic of Malta, the Republic of Poland, the Republic of Slovenia and the Slovak Republic to implement all provisions of the Schengen acquis, including

the results of the revisits and the SIS-related provisions 1

• 1. 

  The readiness of the new Member States to correctly apply the Schengen acquis in full was evaluated on the basis of Article 3(2) of the 2003 Act of Accession in conjunction with the Decision of the Executive Committee of 16 September 1998 (cf. SCH/Com-ex (98) 26 def.), the note on the continuation of the work on Schengen evaluation and implementation, action programme and timetable approved by the Council on 28 – 29 May 2001 (cf. 8881/01 SCH-EVAL 17 COMIX 371) and the programme for the Schengen evaluation of the 10 new Member States (doc. 7638/2/05 REV 2 SCH-EVAL 20 COMIX 200 updated by doc. 16025/06 SCH-EVAL 191 COMIX 1014). The process of verification has been completed herewith.

1 These conclusions do not concern the Republic of Cyprus as this country requested to

postpone part of the evaluation process.

13931/07 LB/mdc 1 2. Conclusions were adopted by the Council in December 2006 on the state of preparedness of the

Member States concerned to implement the non-SIS-related provisions of the Schengen acquis 2 and on SIS II, SIS 1+ and on the enlargement of the Schengen area 3 .

The first series of conclusions in conjunction with the individual reports indicated where additional measures were required and in which cases the necessary changes should be reassessed during follow-up visits.

• 3. 

  These follow up visits, which took place between March and September 2007, provided a satisfactory follow-up to all conclusions; the Member States concerned have proven that they are sufficiently prepared to apply the non-SIS-related provisions of the Schengen acquis in a satisfactory manner. An overview of the main results of these revisits can be found in Annex I.

• 4. 

  The Schengen evaluation of the SIS-related provisions took place in September 2007 in accordance with the work programme of the Schengen evaluation Working party approved by the

Council on 2 December 2004 4 , the note on the Schengen evaluation of the new Member States approved by the Council on 2 and 3 June 2005 5 and the Council conclusions on the SIS reached at

6

the JHA Council of 12 and 13 June 2007 .

Extensive questionnaires were completed by the Member States concerned, real data were loaded onto the technical systems cf. Council Decision 2007/471/EC i of 12 June 2007, the Member States concerned were integrated into SIS 1+ at the end of August 2007, the functional testing of SIRENE took place in August 2007 and available Schengen alerts of the Member States concerned were loaded onto the SIS 1+ as of 1 September 2007.)

2 - CZ: 14519/2/06 REV 2 SCHEVAL 160 COMIX 878 RESTREINT

• - 

  EE: 14520/3/06 REV 3 SCHEVAL 161 COMIX 879 RESTREINT - HU: 14521/2/06 REV 2 SCHEVAL 162 COMIX 880 RESTREINT - LT: 14522/3/06 REV 3 SCHEVAL 163 COMIX 881 RESTREINT - LV: 14523/3/06 REV 3 SCHEVAL 164 COMIX 882 RESTREINT - MT: 14524/3/06 REV 3 SCHEVAL 165 COMIX 883 RESTREINT - PL: 14525/3/06 REV 3 SCHEVAL 166 COMIX 884 RESTREINT - SI: 14526/2/06 REV 2 SCHEVAL 167 COMIX 885 RESTREINT - SK: 14527/3/06 REV 3 SCHEVAL 168 COMIX 886 RESTREINT

3 Doc. 16391/1/06 REV 1 JAI 678 SCH-EVAL 195 SIRIS 223 SIS-TECH 139 COMIX 1042. 4 15275/04 SCH-EVAL 70 COMIX 718. 5 7638/2/05 REV 2 SCH-EVAL 20 COMIX 200. 6 10809/07 JAI 325 SIRIS 111 COMIX 566.

• 5. 

  The results of these evaluation visits are set out in Annex II the following points and should be read in conjunction with the individual reports of the inspection teams in order to get a full picture of the assessment and recommendations. These points include potential best practices of applying the Schengen acquis as well as weaknesses which should be corrected and/or improvements to be made by the Member State concerned regarding implementation of the acquis. Both are set below, out on a country-by-country basis. Although the outstanding issues require to be followed-up in due time, they do not constitute an obstacle to full Schengen membership of the Member States concerned.

• 6. 

  With the evaluation process now complete, the Member States concerned have on the whole shown that they are sufficiently prepared to apply both the non-SIS-related provisions of the Schengen acquis as well as its SIS-related provisions in a satisfactory manner. On this basis, there are no remaining obstacles to taking the Decision referred to in Article 3(2) of the 2003 Act of Accession in December 2007 allowing the lifting of internal border controls at the land and sea borders as of 21 December 2007 and at air borders as of 30 March 2008.

• 7. 

  The Member States concerned are invited to inform the Council in writing, in the course of the next year, on the follow-up it intends to give to the recommendations mentioned above and those contained in the reports.

• 8. 

  Finally, it is worth underlining the fact that thanks to the tremendous efforts made by the Member States concerned, the Member States already applying the provisions of the Schengen acquis, the many experts involved in the evaluation visits and last but not least the successful full implementation of the Portuguese SISone4ALL project, it has been possible to carry out this historically unprecedented evaluation process in full respect of the initially established timeschedule in a diligent, efficient and coherent manner.

  * * *

ANNEX I

Schengen evaluation of the new Member States: Overview of results of the revisits carried out during 2007

The following is an excerpt of the findings of the Schengen Evaluation revisits carried out in 8 new Member States in the course of 2007. The revisits were carried out on the basis of the conclusions

adopted by the JHA Council on 4/5 December 2006 7 where it was decided that revisits were

necessary to the Czech Republic (air borders, 2-5 July), Estonia (data protection, 18-24 March / land borders, 13-20 May / air borders 1-10 September), Latvia (air borders, 1-10 September), Lithuania (land borders, 13-20 May / air borders, 1-10 September), Malta (police cooperation, 28-

30 May / visa, 27-31 August / air and sea borders 26 September 2007 8 ), Poland (land borders, 13-20

May / air borders, 1-10 September), Slovakia (data protection, 18-24 March / land borders, 17-22

June, air borders 1-10 September) and Slovenia (air borders, 2-5 July).

As far as Hungary is concerned, no revisits were required and the follow-up to the

recommendations outlined in the conclusions adopted by the JHA Council on 4/5 December 2006 9

provided by Hungary to the Schengen Evaluation working party, was considered satisfactory.

Although some issues are still outstanding and require to be followed-up at some time in the future, they do not constitute an obstacle to full Schengen membership of the Member States concerned. The latest state of play regarding all findings is laid down in the summaries of the follow-up (being) given to the evaluation reports' recommendations.

* * *

7 CZ: 14519/2/06 REV 2 SCHEVAL 160 COMIX 878 RESTREINT

EE: 14520/3/06 REV 3 SCHEVAL 161 COMIX 879 RESTREINT LT: 14522/3/06 REV 3 SCHEVAL 163 COMIX 881 RESTREINT LV: 14523/3/06 REV 3 SCHEVAL 164 COMIX 882 RESTREINT MT: 14524/3/06 REV 3 SCHEVAL 165 COMIX 883 RESTREINT PL: 14525/3/06 REV 3 SCHEVAL 166 COMIX 884 RESTREINT SI: 14526/2/06 REV 2 SCHEVAL 167 COMIX 885 RESTREINT SK: 14527/3/06 REV 3 SCHEVAL 168 COMIX 886 RESTREINT

8 The Conclusions on the first evaluation of sea and airborders of Malta (18-23 February 2007),

proposing a revisit, were adopted by Council on 12 June 2007.

9 HU: 14521/2/06 REV 2 SCH-EVAL 162 COMIX 880 RESTREINT

C ZECH R EPUBLIC

The airport of Brno required a revisit during which it was established that the authorities had managed to address all the outstanding issues underlined in the first evaluation report.

The main findings of the revisit report were as follows:

• The decision making process concerning refusal of entry had been changed.

• The new concept concerning surveillance of passenger flow has been correctly implemented

• In case of refusal of entry to an EU citizen, an administrative decision is issued, Police staff has

been retrained and is aware of the right procedure.

• Transiting and transferring passengers are treated in compliance with Schengen standards.

• The reinforcement of the local unit of the ABPS has taken place and a special intranet site has

been set up.

• Control booths have been correctly positioned and the physical separation of the Schengen and

the non-Schengen zone is ensured.

• A room for placement of persons who were refused entry, detained or applied for international

protection has now been designated the arrival terminal.

• The Curriculum has been modified and is now fully compatible with the common core

curriculum as established by Frontex. The number of hours dedicated to document examination training has been substantially increased.

E STONIA

In the field of data protection, it was established during the revisit that the shortcomings had in the meantime been remedied.

The main findings of the revisit report were as follows:

• All necessary basic changes had been made by a legislative and an administrative overhaul

(competence for the EDPI to supervise the SIS, a strengthening of its functional independence and the administrative move from the Ministry of Interior to the Ministry of Justice).

The land borders of Estonia required a revisit, during which it was established that the authorities had managed to address the majority of the shortcomings underlined in the first evaluation report.

The main findings of the revisit report were as follows:

• The improvements in infrastructure at the two BCPs were found satisfactory and the

technical equipment fully corresponded to Schengen requirements.

• Previous shortcomings in border checks had been rectified and procedures were now in line

with Schengen standards.

• The process of personnel outflow from the Border Guard was still ongoing and the number of

personnel at one of the BCPs was assessed to be not fully sufficient in the current circumstances; any further decrease might cast serious doubts on Estonia's ability to fully implement the Schengen acquis at the external borders. Estonia was invited to take additional measures to fulfil the recommendation to guarantee the human resources needed to implement a high level of external border control and to stop the outflow of staff. This should be carefully monitored over the coming years to ensure the correct implementation of the Schengen acquis and the maintenance of border security at Estonia's external borders.

• Some further recommendations were made concerning the introduction of local border traffic

and the designation of document advisors or liaison officers to Russia, Ukraine and Moldova

• Finally, any future changes in the Border Guard organisation should not hamper Estonia’s

capacity to implement Schengen requirements.

The airport of Tallinn required a revisit, during which it was established that the authorities had managed to address the majority of the recommendations addressed in the first evaluation report.

The main findings of the revisit report were as follows:

• Ongoing reconstruction works at the passenger terminal of the airport made a full evaluation of

infrastructure etc. difficult. The Evaluation Committee considered however that the separation between passengers to be implemented in the existing terminal, was in line with the Schengen requirements. Estonia would keep the Sch-Eval Working Party informed of the progress of the construction works.

• The technical equipment for first and second line border checks corresponded to Schengen

standards.

• Earlier shortcomings observed in 2006 have been rectified and procedures for border checks

were now considered in line with Schengen standards.

• The decreasing number of Border Guard personnel remains a major problem, also at the BCP

Tallinn where the number of personnel was not considered entirely sufficient for guaranteeing a

high level of border checks in the current circumstances. This should be carefully monitored

over the coming years.

• Some further recommendations were made concerning the implementation of EURODAC,

access to FADO, carrier sanctions (Council Directive 2001/51/EC i), language training and the designation of document advisors or liaison officers to Russia, Ukraine and Moldova.

L ATVIA

The airport of Riga required a revisit, during which it was established that the authorities had managed to address all outstanding issues underlined in the first evaluation report.

The main findings of the revisit report were as follows:

• The improvements regarding the infrastructure at the airport of Riga and the technical

equipment, were considered satisfactory and in compliance with the Schengen requirements.

The enlargement of the arrival area of non-Schengen flights is to be finalised in due time.

• Procedures for border checks were in line with Schengen standards although profiling and

verification of conditions of entry of third country nationals could be further improved.

• The number of personnel was found to be sufficient in the current circumstances. The State

Border Guard should continue its efforts to upgrade professional education of some of its staff and upgrade linguistic skills of the personnel.

• It was recommended to designate an ILO to Moscow as soon as possible.

L ITHUANIA

The land borders of Lithuania required a revisit, during which it was established that the authorities had managed to address the majority of the shortcomings underlined in the first evaluation report..

The main findings of the revisit report were as follows:

• The infrastructure at the revisited BCP and the technical equipment for first and second line

border checks were satisfactory.

• Co-operation with the Customs seemed to be improving and the one-stop principle for border

checks, regarded by the experts as best practice, had been introduced.

• Registration of information was in line with the requirements of the Schengen Borders Code

although it would be advisable to keep a register of second-line checks on documents at all BCPs.

• The number of personnel was found sufficient with regard to the current traffic flow and the

situation at the border. The external borders’ personnel should be enlarged by the personnel stationed at the future internal borders and efforts should be made to ensure that all available posts are filled in by qualified personnel

• It was recommended to introduce local border traffic arrangements in accordance with

Regulation (EC) No 1931/2006 i of the European Parliament and the Council of 20 December 2006.

The airport of Vilnius required a revisit, during which it was established that the authorities had managed to address the majority of the shortcomings underlined in the first evaluation report.

The main findings of the revisit report were as follows:

• The infrastructure and the technical equipment of the BCP at the airport of Vilnius were

found satisfactory. The Schengen Evaluation Working Party will be informed of the completion of construction work and the date the new terminal will become operational.

• It was recommended to perform joint risk analysis with Police and Customs and regularly

provide first and second line border guards with relevant knowledge of risk indicators and -

profiles .

• A solution for secondment of permanent or temporary document advisors or of an ILO to

Ukraine and Moldova should be found.

M ALTA

The Moscow Consulate of Malta required a revisit but due to the fact that the current Consulate will be shut down and relocated in Moscow as from December 2007 a new evaluation was carried out to the Consulate of Malta in Tripoli, where it was established that Malta, as far as its Consular Section in Tripoli is concerned, may be in a position to implement the Schengen acquis in full in due course.

The main findings of the evaluation report were as follows:

• No significant failings were noted in the daily work of the Consular Section. It was

recommended to re-install an information board outside at the main entrance, as well as a metal

detector and camera(s) for surveillance.

• the amount of the handling fee should be aligned to the requirements of Directive 2004/38 i,

Maltese legislation must be adapted to Directive 2004/38/EC i and the stamping of the passport should be aligned to the CCI upon full application of the Schengen Acquis.

• Every application should be assessed on its own merits and a decision thereon taken by the

Consul

• the Visa Management System should be adapted in light of potentially sensitive information. • supporting documents should be more clearly defined in the information to the public

Almost all shortcomings found at the time of the visit have been remedied and the remaining

(minor) ones are being remedied.

In the field of police co-operation a revisit was considered necessary during which it was established that Malta managed to address all outstanding issues underlined in the first evaluation report.

The main findings of the evaluation report were as follows:

• Preparations for joining Schengen had been accelerated and further stepped up by the decision

to join in the “SISone4ALL” system. A detailed Action Plan was ready, and is updated continuously.

• The full personnel had been recruited and their training is underway. The SIRENE Office has

been actively involved in Interpol and Europol file processing and has been receiving SIS alerts under article 95 of the Schengen Convention (EAW) since 21 May 2007.

• Structural works in the SIRENE Office had been completed and the office was in the start-up

phase to be fully occupied.

Regarding air and sea border a revisit was considered necessary during which it was established that the Maltese authorities had managed to address the majority of the shortcomings underlined in the first evaluation report.

The main findings of the evaluation report were as follows:

• The most essential changes to the infrastructure of checkpoints in Valetta International Sea

Terminal (VISET) and Malta International Airport as well as the improvement of procedures for

checks, had taken place.

• The Evaluation Committee was informed that the Integrated Border Security Strategy has been

drawn up and is being adopted by all the agencies concerned, and that optimisation of the fleet regarding sea border surveillance and surveillance equipment is under planning.

• The procedure for border checks on vehicles on entry and exit had been revised and is now mainly in line with the Schengen Borders Code.

• The risk analysis system should be further developed on the basis of CIRAM.

P OLAND

The land borders of Poland required a revisit, during which it was established that the authorities managed to address the majority of the shortcomings underlined in the first evaluation report.

The main findings of the evaluation report were as follows:

• The practice of performing border checks on the territory of a third country, not in line with the

Schengen Borders Code, was abolished as of 15 September 2007 (as a result of the revisit) when the Polish Border Guard started carrying out border control on the border with Belarus and Ukraine on the territory of Poland, i.e. in line with the Schengen Borders Code.

• It was recommended that when the existing bilateral agreements between Poland and Ukraine

are revised, a reference be made to the common consultation / information points in order to clarify the working order of these points and the type of information exchanged.

The air borders of Poland required a revisit, during which it was established that the authorities had managed to address the majority of the shortcomings underlined in the first evaluation report.

The main findings of the evaluation report were as follows:

• The improvements in infrastructure at the BCP of the revisited airports and the technical

equipment were considered satisfactory.

• Construction of the new passenger terminal at one of the airports was in the final stage and

reconstruction of the terminal for low cost flights was underway. The concept of physical separation of passenger flows on internal flights from passenger flows on other flights in both terminals was found to be clear and the existing infrastructure was in line with Schengen standards.

• Poland was invited to take the necessary steps to guarantee full implementation of the Schengen

acquis as regards carriers' liability (Council Directive 2001/51/EC i ) before accession to the Schengen area and to continue further development of the risk analysis system.

S LOVENIA

The airport of Brnik required a revisit, during which it was established that the authorities had managed to address all the outstanding issues underlined in the first evaluation report.

The findings of the revisit report were as follows:

• The Passenger Terminal had been renovated and the physical separation of passenger flows in

the arrival hall was underway.

• New booths with appropriate locks and mirror glass have been installed meeting Schengen

standards.

• The speed of the network connection had been improved.

• The subject of correct affixing of entry stamps on visas in passports of third country nationals

was included repeatedly in training courses held at all border crossing points (including airports)

in September/October 2006 andpolice officers were aware of the procedures.

• New facilities had been constructed for the border checks of general aviation

• The number of personnel was now sufficient to carry out border checks.

S LOVAK R EPUBLIC

In the course of the revisit in the field of data protection, it was established that all previous shortcomings had in the meantime been remedied.

The main findings of the evaluation report were as follows:

• Slovakia has prepared amendments to the Police Act in order to designate the Ministry of the

Interior as the data controller of the SIS.

• The internal regulation of the Ministry of Interior had been amended to better describe the tasks

and competences of the DPA, in particular by specifying that any complaint received by the Data controller should immediately be transmitted to the DPA.

• As for recruiting of staff, the DPA became completely autonomous thanks to the abolition of the

State Recruitment Office.

• Impressive efforts had been made to inform the public and other relevant actors (media, opinion

leaders) about the state of play with respect to the implementation of the Schengen acquis in Slovakia in general.

• Slovakia had reviewed the procedures for granting visa applicants their rights with respect to

correction or deletion of data.

The land borders of the Slovak Republic required a revisit, during which it was established that the authorities managed to address the majority of the shortcomings underlined in the first evaluation report. Taking into account all elements evaluated, the remarkable progress made and the commitment of staff at all levels, the Committee concluded that border checks and -surveillance are currently organised and implemented according to the requirements of the Schengen Borders Code.

The findings of the revisit report were as follows:

• There is now a comprehensive and solid written strategy on border management.

• There is now an autonomous border police organisation directly subordinate to the Ministry of

the Interior, with an organisational structure in line with recommendations and Schengen best practices.

• The role of the regional level in border management had increased significantly and the regional

management structure was found well-structured with a clear concept of management and operations.

• The situation at the main border crossing point at the external land border had improved

remarkably after a complete reconstruction and re-equipping. Border checks were carried out in line with the Schengen Border Code. Infrastructural adaptations at two other BCP's were in their final stages and experts considered that they will comply with Schengen standards.

• Further progress was made on the reaction capability to major incidents and threats, interagency

 cooperation with the customs (joint border checks), number and motivation of staff, practical cooperation with the Ukrainian Border Guard, availability and use of technical

resources

• Some further recommendations were made concerning the limited capabilities of one of the

BPD's due to vacancies in the regional management structure and the absence of a proper deployment policy; the need to reinforce some BCU units along the northern border; training and language skills; the need to provide full functionality of the VIS to issue visas at the border; local border traffic (Ukraine) and border crossing of Ukrainian railway staff, and the development of a system of physical and technical border protection to find effective solutions

in the most difficult areas threatened by illegal immigration.

The airport of Bratislava required a revisit, during which it was established that the authorities had managed to address the majority of the shortcomings underlined in the first evaluation report.

The main findings of the evaluation report were as follows:

• The EvalCom regards highly the fundamental changes in the organisation of the Border and

Aliens Police after the first evaluation, followed by remarkable progress in border control. The EvalCom considers the changes in the border management of the Slovak Republic to represent the positive impact of the adoption of recommendations for the correct application of the Schengen acquis and best practices, as specified in the Schengen Catalogue.

• The improvements regarding the infrastructure and the technical equipment at the BCP at the

airport of Bratislava were now fully in line with the Schengen requirements.

• The procedures for border checks were in line with Schengen standards.

      The authorities were invited to further utilise direct cooperation between BCP at the airport of Bratislava with counterparts at the airports of destination in third countries.

• The professionalism of personnel had improved as well as their knowledge of foreign languages – this

should continue to be regularly upgraded

___________

ANNEX II

Draft Council conclusions on the evaluation of the SIS-related provisions

of the Schengen acquis

CZECH REPUBLIC

Although some minor issues require further attention, the efforts to implement the SIS and the

SIRENE functions were appreciated and considered successful. The technology used for all systems was described as state of the art with well organised backup systems, good network security coupled to good management and monitoring, very good communication on Schengen matters, awareness of data-protection and secure use of the systems. It was recommended to turn off the auto save feature in the Query Tool and to make available the functionality of logging out the end-user when not using the system after a certain period of time.

The Czech authorities have informed the evaluation team that they repeated the instructions to turn the autosave feature off and that by the end of November time-out rules would be in place for the Query tool.

ESTONIA

The SIS, subject to implementation of the fully integrated system and of the SIRENE workflow, was considered being appropriately implemented, user-friendly and operating effectively with a good performance and infrastructure and acceptable response times at all sites visited. It was recommended to enhance the capacity of the SIRENE Bureau to correctly follow up a hit and provide assistance to end users e.g. through further training; to ensure and verify that all historical forms are available and easily retrievable for all SIRENE operators.

The Estonian authorities have indicated that they are working on the above recommendations, in particular the inclusion of some improved functionalities in the fully integrated system by November (hide Estonian SIS alerts from the end users, showing only the national alert; limiting the possibility to choose a single query; enhancement of the user interface with some features; implementation of the searches on ranges), that a standard form for information exchange between police users and SIRENE Bureau in follow-up to a hit will be implemented before the end of the year and that user training will be improved.

HUNGARY

The SIS in Hungary operates effectively and its performance is good throughout the country. The

SIS was made available for all the different user interfaces and the SIRENE bureau was well prepared. Also most end-users were well trained and well prepared.

It was found that the Data Centre in Budapest was managed, organised and run very efficiently. The SIRENE workflow system worked efficiently and it was also being prepared to handle Interpol and Europol messages, which facilitates exchanges between the various channels. The SIRENE control of data quality seemed beneficial. The workflow application was considered to be a straightforward tool.

However, it was noticed that the knowledge of end-users varied across the country. Therefore, training needs should be reassessed and additional training should be given, in particular regarding aliases, special characters, weak searches and the possibilities of the SISone4ALL web client. It was also recommended that warnings on violent, dangerous or armed subject should always appear on the first hit screen.

The Hungarian authorities indicated they were already working on the implementation of all the recommended improvements; they would be finished by 1 December 2007.

LATVIA

Overall, the SIS in Latvia was considered to operate effectively, subject to the implementation of the integrated system. Its performance and infrastructure were found to be good as were the response times at all sites visited. The efforts made to implement the SIS were appreciated and considered to have been appropriately done.

The Latvian authorities have confirmed that the integrated system is now implemented and have stated that since the evaluation visit the following recommendations were already implemented: removal of the dial-in connection; full and easy availability of the historical SIRENE forms for the SIRENE operators; implementation of a standard form for information exchange between police users and the SIRENE Bureau in the follow-up to a hit; the introduction of only one phone number to reach the SIRENE Bureau.

Further recommended improvements have been planned or are being implemented to urgently recruit officers for the vacant posts at the SIRENE Bureau; to prioritise and improve the loading of historical data; to minimise the period where separate queries can be done; to reduce the number of mandatory fields for vehicle or document checks; to enhance the user interface with some userfriendly features and include these also in the future integrated system; to enhance and improve the training of end users, including through quality assurance visits by the SIRENE Bureau.

LITHUANIA

Overall, the SIS was found to operate effectively, showing a good performance with very short response times at all sites visited. Users seemed well trained, aware of the possibilities offered by the SIS and familiar with the system. The well organised SIRENE office functions appropriately and works with an efficient workflow. Close cooperation with all end users, thorough preparatory work on manuals and training ensure that follow-up procedures to hits are well-known and followed. Overall, the efforts to implement the SIS were appreciated and considered to have been satisfactorily done.

All recommended improvements have been implemented in the meantime or are planned to be implemented shortly: limited possibility for end users to opt for a single query; the possibility to query transliterated characters in alerts on objects is now ensured; automatic deletion of SIS alerts on persons from the national registers without intervention of the SIRENE bureau; time for automatic log out has been reduced; a standard form for information exchange between police users and SIRENE Bureau in follow-up to a hit has been introduced and more attention in training will be paid to complex cases and the possibility of wildcard queries.

.

MALTA

The efforts to implement the SIS and the SIRENE functions were appreciated and considered to have been appropriately done. Positively noted were the technical infrastructure's monitoring and management structure, state of the art technology for workstations and peripherals (police stations), the user-friendliness of applications and the good cooperation between police and government IT services.

Malta has taken steps to introduce the recommended automated case management system at the

SIRENE bureau.

As regards the request to organise additional training on the different applications being used and on the actions to be taken in relation to hits on alerts in the SIS, the Maltese authorities consider this an ongoing process.

POLAND

The efforts to implement the SIS and the SIRENE functions were appreciated and considered to have been appropriately done. State of the art technology had been implemented and the technical staff's know-how (also in the -well-structured- SIRENE bureau) was impressive; the SIS was well integrated into the national applications.

All recommended improvements have reportedly been implemented in the meantime: modification of the border guard application to accept transliterated characters, clear display of misused identity in the border guard system and clear distinction between main and alias identity, second line offices at airports have been fitted with terminals that can access the SIS, more training to improve practical use of the system and procedures is being organised.

SLOVAKIA

The IT infrastructure was considered to be well thought out and highly developed; data centres well equipped and managed and end-users well trained and -prepared. The user-friendly central query application (CLK) is used by all end-users.

All recommended improvements are currently being implemented: information is being provided on the meaning of the red banner on the screen (e.g. in case of a hit) and to end-users so that they know what to do when the system refuses a query if the field "first name" is not filled in.

The fact that only the Border Guard and the Operations Centres of the Police have direct access to the SIS will be altered by the end of the year when all other end-users organisations will follow.

SLOVENIA

The use and the quality of the mobile solutions, notably of the special unit SUSBC, was considered remarkable. The different organisations involved in using the SIS were well prepared and end-users well trained.

All recommended improvements are currently being implemented: placing of an N.SIS console for operators' use, updating of the physical infrastructure of the Ministry of Interior's data centre to guarantee a proper functioning of the N.SIS in the future, respect of the deletion and archiving rules on SIRENE information when N.SIS sends notifications to the SIRENE workflow system in case alerts are deleted, decrease of the workload, minimisation of the risk of mistakes and improvement of data quality, automatic insertion of Article 100 alerts; entry of stolen vehicle alerts in the SIS. installation of a diesel generator for the SIRENE Bureau.

____________