The European Commission's April 2016 Communication Stronger and Smarter Information Systems for Borders and Security established a framework for the strengthened use of existing IT systems for border management, migration and internal security, development of new systems to fill identified gaps and implementation of systems interoperability as a means to drive technical efficiency and operational effectiveness. It also established the High Level Expert Group on Information Systems and Interoperability, comprising experts from Member States, EU Agencies and other EU bodies, to, inter alia, develop an overall strategic vision on interoperability and interconnection of information systems and recommend concrete follow-up actions. The group concluded its work in April 2017, with the main outcomes to be made available in the group's final report.
The interim report from the chair of the group highlights a need for future concrete work on a European Search Portal (ESP) and a shared Biometric Matching Service. eu-LISA, as the management authority for the principal three large-scale IT systems to be linked by the ESP and the biometric matching platforms currently servicing these systems, will be heavily engaged in this work. Indeed, on foot of the mandate provided by the chair in his report, concrete actions have already been initiated by the Agency that relate to systems interoperability.
In order to stimulate innovative thinking and exchange information on the merits of various implementation possibilities and to learn more about the current state of evolution of relevant technologies, the Agency wishes to convene experts from industry to discuss and debate future concrete efforts related to interoperability in the European Justice and Home Affairs domain.
eu-LISA intends to organise a roundtable meeting "Interoperability in the JHA domain: Moving forward with concrete implementation" on June 8thin Strasbourg, France.
Get to know more about the event’s format, terms of participation and logistics here.