COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING DECISION (EU) 2018/1548

of 15 October 2018

laying down measures for the establishment of the list of persons identified as overstayers in the Entry-Exit System (EES) and the procedure to make that list available to Member States

THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

Having regard to Regulation (EU) 2017/2226 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 November 2017 establishing an Entry/Exit System (EES) to register entry and exit data and refusal of entry data of third-country nationals crossing the external borders of the Member States and determining the conditions for access to the EES for law enforcement purposes and amending the Convention implementing the Schengen Agreement and Regulation (EC) No 767/2008 and Regulation (EU) No 1077/2011 (1), and in particular Article 36(k) thereof,

Whereas:

(1) Regulation (EU) 2017/2226 established the Entry/Exit System (EES) as a system which registers electronically the time and place of entry and exit of third-country nationals admitted for a short stay to the territory of the Member States and which calculates the duration of their authorised stay.

(2) The EES aims to improve the management of external borders, to prevent irregular immigration and to facilitate the management of migration flows. The EES should, in particular, contribute to the identification of any person who does not fulfil or no longer fulfils the conditions of duration of the authorised stay on the territory of the Member States. Additionally, the EES should contribute to the prevention, detection and investigation of terrorist offences and of other serious criminal offences.

(3) Regulation (EU) 2017/2226 specifies the objectives of the EES, the categories of data to be entered into the EES, the purposes for which the data are to be used, the criteria for their entry, the authorities authorised to access the data, further rules on data processing and the protection of personal data, as well as the technical architecture of the EES, rules concerning its operation and use, and interoperability with other information systems. It also defines responsibilities for the EES.

(4) According to Regulation (EU) 2017/2226, the European agency for the operational management of large-scale information systems in the area of freedom, security and justice, established by Regulation (EU) No 1077/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council (2) should be responsible for the development and operational management of the EES.

(5) Regulation (EU) 2017/2226 requires that prior to the development of the EES the Commission adopts measures necessary for the development and technical implementation of the EES. In this regard, Article 36(k) of Regulation (EU) 2017/2226 specifically refers to adoption of measures for the establishment of the list of persons identified as overstayers in the EES and the procedure to make that list available to Member States.

(6) Based on those measures, the European agency for the operational management of large-scale information systems in the area of freedom, security and justice should then be able to define the design of the physical architecture of the EES including its Communication Infrastructure, as well as the technical specifications of the system and to develop the EES.

(7) In this framework it is thus necessary to adopt measures for the establishment of the list of persons identified as overstayers by the EES and the procedure to make that list available to Member States.