A safer Europe with smart information systems for border and security: SIS II&VIS

Schengen Area remains among the most emblematic achievements of European integration, as the border-free area it guarantees free movement for more than 425 million EU citizens. On the 31-st of March 2024, Romania became the newest Schengen Member State. Romania plays a key role in contributing to the well-functioning of the Schengen area, in securing the EU's external border. Romania has been progressively implementing the Schengen legal framework, including the second generation Schengen Information System (SIS II) and Visa Information System (VIS). SIS II is a tool used by security officials to help keep people crossing borders safe, it is the most widely used IT system for security and border management in Europe. VIS supports the implementation of the EU’s common visa policy and facilitates border checks. In order to make the dedicated audience aware of the recent security challenges, our paper is progressively describing how the above information systems are operational managed by the European Union Agency for the Operational Management of Large-Scale IT Systems/eu -LISA - in the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice. The second main endeavor of the paper is to offer very specific details related to security issues on the mission taken by eu-LISA of assisting - daily 24/7- Member States to create a safer Europe through the use of state-of-the-art technological solutions. Last but not least, the paper envisages a global view with the systems currently managed by eu-LISA and the process of developing new systems (EES, ETIAS, ECRIS-TCN), along with their interoperability components.