Schengen: migration from the Schengen Information System (SIS 1+) to the second generation Schengen Information System (SIS II). Decision
In accordance with the requirements of Council Regulation (EC) No 1104/2008 and of Council Decision 2008/839/JHA on migration from the Schengen Information System (SIS 1+) to the SIS II, the Commission presents a progress report describing the work carried out in the first semester of 2012, concerning the development of the second generation Schengen Information System (SIS II) and preparations for migration from SIS 1+ to SIS II.
Overview of progress during the period under review: following the testing of the national and central systems' components in the previous semester, the focus of activity concentrated in the first half of 2012 on intensive testing of the central system and its increasing interaction with the national systems. The preparations for the final stages of the project, namely the completion of the Comprehensive test and the actual migration of data, advanced considerably during the reporting period.
The successful result of the second Milestone test executed between 2 and 7 May by the Commission, involving eleven Member States, proved the maturity of the Central System and demonstrates the progress achieved in the implementation of the project.
Adherence to the global schedule has been safeguarded, notwithstanding challenges stemming from demanding testing activities carried out in parallel both at central and national level:
· several Member States took advantage of the extended schedule to complete their Compliance tests - extended (CTE) national campaigns. As the successful completion of this testing phase constitutes to be a prerequisite for participating in the Comprehensive test, the remaining issues at national level have been progressively dealt with by Member States and the Commission as a matter of urgency;
· the unavailability of qualified and validated SIS 1+ test tools that France was due to deliver impacted the tests at the central level, in particular the preparation of the second Milestone test. The related risk of delay to the overall schedule was averted, after due consultation with the Member States, through the use of the SIS II test tools. These latter tools, already foreseen for use during the Milestone 2 test, were fully qualified and validated in full transparency towards the Member States. The availability of one of the two SIS 1+ test tools was eventually achieved within the framework and for the purpose of the Comprehensive test;
· upon the confirmation of the unavailability of the originally foreseen principal test manager (i.e. the Member States' SIS 1 contractor), an expert from one of the Member States took over this role after being appointed by the appropriate Council working party. Following an invitation from the Presidency, the Commission undertook to implement a contractual solution to provide technical support to the Member States' test manager.
Such challenges required close cooperation between the Commission, the experts from the Member States within the Global Programme Management Board (GPMB) and the SIS-VIS Committee. Overall, the generally constructive approach of the stakeholders ensured that the project remained on track, in terms of time and budget.
The second Milestone test (M2): the highlight of the reporting period was the execution of the second Milestone test. This test was the second extra checkpoint included in the testing schedule of the project at the request of the JHA Council in June 2009. In essence, the second Milestone test demonstrated the stability of the SIS II Central system under operational conditions. The Milestone's objective (i.e. to prove the stability, reliability and performance of the Central System) was met. The entry, execution and exit conditions were satisfied. All twelve success criteria were passed.
SIS II budget: by the end of the reporting period, the total budgetary commitments made by the Commission on the SIS II project since 2002, amounted to EUR 149 811 765. The corresponding contracts include feasibility studies, the development of the Central SIS II itself, support and quality assurance, the SIS II network, preparation for operational management in Strasbourg, security, biometrics preparations, communication and experts' mission expenses.
Of this amount, EUR 109 899 337 had actually been paid between 2002 and the end of June 2012. The main expenditure items were development (EUR 62 364 845), the network (EUR 27 379 985), support and quality assurance (EUR 11 207 827) and preparation for operational management in Strasbourg and Sankt Johann im Pongau (EUR 7 279 228).
Additional financing for Member States' national development: in order to support the completion of national projects development through the European External Borders Fund (EBF) a significant reallocation of resources towards SIS II national projects was undertaken within the framework of the 2011 programming for the EBF. The Community Actions part of the EBF has been made available to eight Member States with constraints to accommodate their extra needs in their annual programmes for 2011.
These projects commenced at the end of 2011 and are due to be completed in the late summer or early autumn of 2012.
European Parliament: part of the appropriations for the SIS II project in the EU General Budget is held in reserve by the European Parliament. The Commission keeps the European Parliament informed on the state of play of SIS II. In addition to fulfilling the reporting obligations stemming from the SIS II legal instruments by means of the SIS II Progress Report10, in line with the Council Conclusions of 5 June 2009, the Commission provided on various occasions the European Parliament representatives with updated information on financial, contractual and scheduling matters and the status of the project. The Commission responded to a parliamentary question on SIS II related matters.
Risk management: the Commission closely monitors the risks in the SIS II project with the support of its Quality Assurance contractor. For each identified risk, a mitigation plan is established specifying the mitigation measures to be taken to manage the risk. The list of identified risks is being kept up to date every week and is presented to and discussed with the Global Programme Management Board on a monthly basis.
The main risks during the reporting period were the following:
· the delays in the Compliance Tests Extended (CTE);
· the (un)availability of a fully qualified SFR tool;
· the resource shortages at C.SIS side;
· the limited time remaining for contingency in the migration schedule;
· the possible delay of the migration legal instrument recast.
During the next reporting period, July to December 2012, there will be seven principal areas of activity:
· the finalisation of CTE testing at national level;
· the completion of the Comprehensive test;
· the adoption of the SIS II migration instruments recast;
· the non-functional Converter System Solution Test 2 (SST2);
· the SIRENE functional tests;
· the limited and global migration rehearsal;
· the adoption of a Commission Implementing Decision on the SIRENE Manual and other implementing measures for SIS II.
The intensive preparations for the last major testing rounds and subsequent data migration have culminated with the validation of the second Milestone test and the start of the comprehensive test. All challenges encountered during these final testing phases of the project were addressed successfully, thanks to the over-riding cooperative approach between Member States and the Commission, allowing the SIS II project to remain on track for the planned go-live in the first quarter of 2013. With considerable progress achieved in terms of maturity of the system, the ground has been prepared for three key actions to be taken during the rest of 2012 in order to prepare for the migration between SIS1+ and SIS II. These are the completion of the comprehensive test, the SIRENE Functional test and the adoption of the migration instruments.