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Schengen: second generation information system SIS II, development. Initiative Belgium and Sweden

2001/0818(CNS)

This is a progress report on the work carried out by the Commission in the second half of 2005 on the development of the second generation Schengen Information System (SIS II). It also sets out the timetable for future activities. It is the seventh report presented by the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament in accordance with Article 6 of Regulation 2424/2001/EC.

The Commission has been given a mandate to develop SIS II together with the SIS II Committee, which is composed of Member State representatives. In light of the project risks associated with the development of SIS II a new clear reporting method has been devised.

Progress during in the second half of 2005:

The SIS II project was in phase 1 in the second half of 2005 – i.e. the Detailed Design of the system, whereby all the documents needed from a technical perspective need to be delivered. The target date for completion of the central system is the end of October 2006 at which point the central system becomes available for testing with the national systems. The contractor is expected to produce a set of deliverables, which include:

-          The Interface Control Document (ICD). This describes how the Member States can connect to the use of SIS II. In the second half of 2005 the ICD was being finalised.

-          Detailed Specifications (DTS). This contains the technical specification describing how the system should be built and tested and how the Member States will communicate with the centralised system. During the second half of 2005 the DTS was being finalised. It was not possible to deliver on procedures needed to make changes to the content of the ICD and DTS. The Commission is of the view that the functionality of the changes had not been elaborated to an acceptable standard by the main development contractor. Finalisation of this matter is expected in 2006.

-          Security deliverables: i) Protection Profile; ii) Security Plan and iii) Risk Analysis: A comprehensive set of security measures has been produced. The Commission intends to submit them to the comitology framework by early 2006.

In other matters:

-          Arrangements with France and Austria regarding the site of the SIS II Central Unit (FR) and the Business Community Unit (AUS) were close to completion by the end of 2005. Any outstanding issues regarding the sites, it is hoped, will be completed in the course of 2006.

-          A call for tender for the network services was issued with the aim of having the contract for services concluded at the beginning of 2006.

-          A new reporting mechanism has been put in place to provide regular and detailed updates on the status of the national projects. This will allow for a clearer analysis of the state of play. The state of play at the end of 2005 varied from Member State to Member State . Only half of the Member States were on schedule to meet the project deadline.

-          The Commission and Member States made progress on testing compliance of the central system with the national systems. The Test Plan should be finalised in early 2006.

-          The migration and integration plans have not been finalised although completion is foreseen in early 2006.

-          The Commission hopes to adopt two legislative proposals by mid 2006. They are firstly, on the establishment, operation and use of the second-generation SIS II and secondly on specific SIS II access to data for Member State authorities for issuing vehicle registration certificates. (See CNS/2005/0103 and CNS/2005/0104).

Results expected during the next reporting period (January to June 2006):

The development of the central system should have made significant progress and be nearing completion. Site preparations should be finished and the technical infrastructure installed. The contract for network services should be finalised early in 2006 and the required network connections should be at an advanced stage. Member States should have made important progress on their respective national projects and be in the process of developing their national systems.

Commission project management:

Currently, the project is within the original budget forecast. Budget appropriations for SIS II have been secured from 2005 until the end of the project. Synergy with the Visa Information System (VIS) has been achieved by combining the same call for tender and sharing the same technical infrastructure. As far as the risk analysis is concerned, the Commission has identified five major risks. Firstly, possible changes to the functionalities of the system due to amendments of the proposed legal instruments on SIS II, which could impact on the system’s design. Secondly, risks related to the migration and integration of national systems. The unavailability of one national system would impact on the entire project. Thirdly, no finalisation of the network services contract. This would result in the communications infrastructure not being set up in accordance with the planned time-table. Fourthly, the risk of changes to the current SIS after 15 October 2005 the time at which the contractor should have begun developing the adapter needed to execute the migration plan. Fifthly, the lack of “time buffers” for planning the central part.

To conclude, the last six months of 2005 marked progress towards the completion of key design deliverables. Improvement was made on the status of national preparations and on risk associated issues. Over the next period, the central project should move one gear higher into the “development and deployment” phases.