VZCZCXRO4953
RR RUEHAG RUEHDF RUEHIK RUEHLZ RUEHPOD RUEHROV
DE RUEHBS #1128/01 2061056
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 241056Z JUL 08
FM USEU BRUSSELS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC
INFO RUCNMEU/EU INTEREST COLLECTIVE
RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE
RHMFIUU/DEPT OF HOMELAND SECURITY WASHINGTON DC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BRUSSELS 001128 
 
CA FOR CAIP 
DHS FOR OIA 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: CVIS PTEL EU
SUBJECT: STATUS OF THE EUROPEAN UNION'S SCHENGEN 
INFORMATION SYSTEM BORDER CONTROL MECHANISMS 
 
 ¶1. (U) SUMMARY: As the EU contends with enlargement, one of 
the major issues continues to be monitoring who is leaving 
and entering Europe in a changing border context.  To contend 
with this, the Schengen Information System (SIS) is 
undergoing a number of changes to expand from its initial 
iteration to a more technologically sustainable second 
generation system. SIS has two major components-- that of 
border control and law enforcement. This cable will focus on 
intiatives in border control  END SUMMARY 
 
SIS I 
 
¶2. (U) SIS I, the first iteration of the Schengen Information 
System, was designed to cover a far smaller area than it does 
today, post-enlargement.  It is a computer system whose 
purpose is to collect, catalog and distribute traveler 
information throughout the Schengen states. The current 
system was designed to cover eighteen states, but the 
computer technology on which it is based is now outdated and 
cannot handle the current twenty-four states. Schengen member 
states decided that extending this original version of the 
system to other countries would compromise the operational 
stability of the system and may prove technically impossible. 
 SIS I currently stores only "alphanumeric" data (letters and 
numbers), such as name, sex, age, nationality and criminal 
record. 
 
¶3. (U) Very often these details are not enough to give 
authorities the information they need.  Each member state 
holds this information on persons who are the subject of its 
alerts on SIS in a national database known as SIRENE (an 
acronym for Supplementary Iformation Request at the National 
Entry).   These databases are under the control of national 
SIRENE bureaus and the information on all these databases is 
accessible to law enforcement agencies in all Schengen member 
states upon request.  SIRENE, though an essential function of 
the SIS system, had no mention in the 1990 Convention that 
established SIS, and originally had no legal basis.  There 
are now provisions requiring each Schengen state to designate 
a national  SIRENE bureau to be responsible for the 
protection and exchange of this information in accordance 
with EU-wide standards. 
 
SIS II 
 
¶4. (U) This second generation system continues to be delayed, 
but is anticipated to be fully operational by mid-2009.  The 
system will have a more up-to-date computer system that will 
be able to contend with the increasing number of Schengen 
states and will also collect biometric data on travelers. 
 
¶5. (U) The major improvements between SIS I and SIS II are 
the categories of data storied in the system. Namely, these 
will include biometric data, such as fingerprint and 
photographic data, and, in the future, potentially DNA 
profiles and retina scans. 
 
SIS One4All 
 
¶6. (U) While the SIS II system is developed and SIS I remains 
inadequate, a number of new member states have joined the 
Schengen acquis and have been anxious to be fully integrated 
in to "borderless" Europe.  SIS One4All was created to 
address the gap left by SIS II's drastic delay from its 
original proposed implmentation date of October 2007. 
Presented by Portugal, SIS One4All is a temporary compromise 
technology that allowed new member states timely entry into 
the Schengen acquis while awaiting full implementation of the 
more robust SIS II.  The Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, 
Latvia, Poland, Lithuania, Malta, Slovakia, and Slovenia are 
the European Union member states currently using SIS One4All. 
 
VIS 
 
¶7. (U) The EU is creating a Visa Information System (VIS) 
which will be based on a centralized architecture and consist 
of a central information system, referred to as the Central 
Visa Information System (CS-VIS), an interface in each member 
state, referred to as the National Interface (NI-VIS) which 
will provide the connection to the relevant central national 
authority of the respective member state, and the 
communication infrastructure between CS-VIS and NI-VIS. The 
purpose of VIS is to improve the implementation of a common 
visa policy and enhance consular cooperation and cosultation 
between central visa authorities by enhancing the exchange of 
data between Member States on visa applications. Doing this 
the EU hopes to limit the possibility of fraud and "visa 
 
BRUSSELS 00001128  002 OF 002 
 
 
shopping" from country to country. 
 
¶8. (U) There are current initiatives to tie the VIS database 
to the anticipated SIS II database.  While these projects are 
not yet fully operational, the ultimate EU design aims to 
incorporate all biometric entry and exit information into a 
central, accessible database.  The stand-alone VIS is 
expected to be operational by May 2009. 
 
 
 
SILVERBERG 
.