The Presidency of the Council and the representatives of the European Parliament have provisionally agreed on the rules linking the central ETIAS system to the relevant EU databases. The texts will now be submitted to the appropriate bodies of the Council and Parliament for political approval and then for formal adoption.
The adoption of these rules is the final legislative step to set up ETIAS, which should be operational in 2022.
The introduction of ethias should improve internal security, help prevent illegal immigration, protect public health and reduce delays at borders by detecting potential individuals at risk before they arrive at the border. ETIAS is also a building block of the interoperability between JHA databases planned for autumn 2023, a key EU political objective in this area.
On the basis of the provisionally agreed rules, the ETIAC Central System can carry out checks against the Schengen Information System (SIS), the Visa Information System (VIS), the Entry/Exit System (EES), Eurodac and the database of criminal records of third-country nationals (ECRIS -TCN), and data from Europol and Interpol.
In addition to that link between the central ETIAS system and these databases, the rules determine which data must be consulted for ETIAS purposes. They also include the conditions and access rights for the ETIAS Central Unit and the ETIAS National Units. The data in these systems will enable authorities to assess applicants' security or immigration risk and decide whether to issue or deny a travel authorization.
Background ETIAS
Etias is the new EU travel information and authorization system. It applies to visa-exempt third-country nationals, who must obtain a travel authorization before their trip, via an online application.
The information entered is automatically processed against EU databases and relevant Interpol databases to determine whether there are grounds for refusing a travel authorisation. If no matches (“hits”) with other databases are found, or no elements need to be further analysed, the travel authorization is issued automatically and quickly. This will probably be the case for most applications. In case of a hit or an element that requires further analysis, the competent authorities will process the application manually.
A travel authorization remains valid for 3 years or, if earlier, until the end of the period of validity of the travel document registered with the application. For each application, the applicant will have to pay a travel authorization fee of €7.
- IT systems in the area of freedom, security and justice (background information)
- EU-wide IT systems for security and migration (infographic)
- Security checks when entering and leaving the Schengen area (infographic)
Source: Consilium.europa.eu – Posted on 21-03-2021
