On March 7, 2023, the Schengen Information System (SIS) will begin operation in accordance with Regulations (EU) 2018/1861 and 2018/1862 of the European Parliament and of the Council. These legislative acts establish updated rules for the creation, functioning, and use of the SIS. Efficiency is improved and the technical and operational effectiveness of the System is strengthened. Its use is expanded by introducing new categories of signals and functions. Additionally, the third legislative act of the legislative package – Regulation (EU) 2018/1860 – establishes a new type of signal for the return of third-country nationals.
Following the entry into force of Regulations (EU) 2018/1860, (EU) 2018/1861, and (EU) 2018/1862 at the end of 2018, the European Commission, the Member States of the European Union, and the European Agency for the Operational Management of Large-Scale IT Systems in the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice (eu-LISA) are supplementing the necessary technical and legal agreements for the implementation of the new rules at both central and national levels, to enable data processing and the exchange of additional information in accordance with these rules. Although the legal basis for the SIS consists of separate instruments, the principle that the Schengen Information System operates as a single information system is not affected.
To ensure sufficient time for the introduction of the necessary legal, operational, and technical measures and agreements in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2018/1861 and Regulation (EU) 2018/1862, the amended rules are being applied in consecutive stages, respectively on December 28, 2018, December 28, 2019, December 28, 2020, and March 7, 2023. The beginning of the application of the provisions that envisage the most complex changes, which have a comprehensive impact on the technical performance and functioning of the SIS, was postponed under a special mechanism to ensure that the necessary preparatory steps were taken to enable the continuous operation of the system.
