Høring om EUs IT-systemer for grensekontroll og sikkerhet

Høring om EUs IT-systemer for grensekontroll og sikkerhet

Consultation on the interoperability of EU information systems for borders and security

Høring igangsatt av Kommisjonen 27.7.2017

Nærmere omtale

BAKGRUNN (fraKomisjonens høringsnettside)

Period of consultation

From 27 July 2017 to 19 October 2017

Objective of the consultation

This consultation seeks views on the interoperability of EU information systems for borders and security. It is a public consultation, and we welcome views from individuals and organisations alike. We are particularly interested in views from members of the public and practitioners in the fields of borders, law enforcement and security, as well as those active in a field of fundamental rights.

The EU currently faces the parallel challenges of migration management and the fight against terrorism, organised crime and cyberattacks. Threats are becoming ever more complex and transnational, so cooperation and information are becoming ever more important to ensure the safety and security of citizens across the EU. Effective information sharing is key to tackling these threats. As President Juncker said in his 2016 State of the Union address, "Border security means that information and intelligence exchange must be prioritised (…) We need to know who is crossing our borders."

One of the ways of improving this information sharing and making it more efficient and more effective is by increasing the interoperability of EU information systems. This means that European IT systems for border management and policing will be able to work better together, sharing and exchanging data to support border guards and the police in doing their jobs more effectively across Europe, and in particular in the Schengen states.

In June 2016, the Commission set up a high-level expert group to look into the best way to improve the interoperability of EU systems relating to border management, migration and security. The group reported in May 2017, recommending three new elements:

a European search portal
a shared biometric matching service
a common identity repository.

These measures will allow authorised users, such as police officers, migration and asylum officials and border guards, to more efficiently search the information they have the right to access, and more easily discover if someone is registered in different databases using different identities.

As set out in the Seventh progress report towards an effective and genuine Security UnionSearch for available translations of the preceding linkEN•••, the Commission is also considering the potential merits of more streamlined rules for law enforcement access to information to prevent, detect or investigate terrorist offences and other serious criminal offences. This approach would be based on two steps, where officers can first check to see if the information they need is present in any of the EU information systems involved in this process. Then if it is, they can request access to the information.

The aim is to ensure that users such as border guards, migration and asylum officials and the police have access to information more efficiently and can use it most effectively. Privacy and protection of personal data are of key importance in this proposal, as interoperability may impact the personal data of EU citizens and third-country nationals stored in any of the EU information systems in this field. The information may be shared between systems originally created for distinct purposes. Sharing information across these systems means that queries in one system may disclose whether related information is present in another system. This will enlarge the scope of access to data that is needed in a specific situation compared with the current situation.

In order to ensure that interoperability is implemented in full respect of fundamental rights and data protection legislation, the Commission will undertake an analysis of necessity and proportionality, and implement effective safeguards. We therefore also seek your views on these issues, including on possible safeguards.

This consultation seeks views on the Commission's proposed approach to improving interoperability of EU information systems.