Finland: Interoperability of the EU’s Information System Is Being Tightened
Authorities in Finland have considered that the interoperability of the European Union’s information system is being tightened.
According to a statement provided by the Finnish Government, by developing the interoperability of the EU’s information systems, the identity management of third-country nationals remaining in the countries of the borderless area of Schengen has improved, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.
“The whole includes several extensive EU information systems related to internal security, migration management, and travel. The EU regulations concerning the framework were approved in 2019. The Government presented 27.10. Confirmation of the law on the interoperability of European Union information systems. The President of the Republic is scheduled to approve the law on October 28. and it will enter into force on November 15, 2022,” the statement provided by the Government reads.
According to authorities in Finland, the purpose of the European Union regulation is to make it simple for the authorities to access information, and also protect the EU external border, improve migration management and tighten internal security. It has also been emphasized that reliability, as well as identification of people, is also a prerequisite for reliable official activity.
It has been emphasized that EU interoperability rules apply to the following EU- level information system:
- Visa Information System of EU (VIS)
- Schengen Information system, known as SIS
- Border Crossing Information System (EES)
- European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS)
- Third-country nationals as well as stateless persons information system on convictions of persons (ECRIS-TCN)
“It is also planned to add the renewed fingerprint information system for asylum seekers (Eurodac) to the whole. The systems complement each other and, with the exception of the Schengen information system, only data relating to third-country nationals is stored in them,” the statement reads.
It has been clarified that the interoperability of information systems is implemented with the following components: a European search portal, a common biometric identification service, a joint identity database, and parallel identity detectors.
Last month, authorities in Finland announced that it would update its national legislation on the Schengen Information System (SIS) following the EU’s update of the European Union laws on the system.
The decision was announced by Finland’s Ministry of the Interior while revealing that the State Council presented the strengthening of the laws on September 8 last month.
Authorities in Finland announced that the new changes would be updated to personal data laws of the police, the Border Guard, and the Customs to match European Union regulations.
