Starting with 28.01.2022, the General Directorate of European Affairs, Schengen and International Relations is the beneficiary of the project „Awareness campaign on the importance of implementing SIS and EES”, project code ROFSIB2022OS2A14P03, financed by the Internal Security Fund 2014-2020, Borders and Visa component.
This initiative is part of a broad process aimed at successfully developing European information and security systems at national level.
At EU level, the implementation of the new systems is a major political goal, expected to run until 2023, with a direct impact on ensuring a high level of security for European citizens.
This project addresses two European systems: The Entry/Exit System (EES) and the Schengen Information System (SIS), which are also the first systems to be implemented, according to the European calendar.
SIS is one of the most important compensatory measures contributing to maintaining a high level of security in the area of freedom, security and justice of the Union by supporting operational cooperation between competent national authorities, in particular border guards, police, customs, immigration authorities and authorities responsible for the prevention, detection, investigation or prosecution of criminal offenses or the execution of sentences.
The EES will allow the recording and storage of the date, time and place of entry and exit and the refusal of entry for third-country nationals at the external borders, as well as provide Member States with access to this information.
The project implementation period is 14 months, from 28 January 2022 to 28 March 2023, and the approved budget is 92,400 euros (457,324.56 lei) of which 69,300 euros are non-reimbursable European funds and 23,100 euros national funding.
The implementation of this project aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the development and implementation status of the two information systems at the level of the Ministry of Internal Affairs structures, as well as to overcome possible delays in fulfilling the implementation deadlines set at EU level.
The project will carry out awareness raising and information activities for the personnel of the territorial structures of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (in particular Romanian Police, Romanian Border Police, Romanian Gendarmerie, General Inspectorate for Immigration, General Directorate of Passports, Directorate for Persons Record and Databases’ Management, Directorate for Driving Licenses and Vehicles Registration Certificates, National SIS Centre, General Directorate for Internal Protection), by carrying out on-site activities and distributing leaflets and posters with relevant information on the two systems, targeted both to the personnel and to the general public. The on-site activities are in the following fields: border management, police cooperation, SIS/SIRENE and personal data protection and will take place in 30 counties across the country.
At the same time, information campaigns will be carried out by publishing information on the changes brought by SIS recast and EES on the social networks of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter), as well as on the websites of the structures concerned (Romanian Police, Romanian Border Police, Romanian Gendarmerie, General Inspectorate for Immigration, General Directorate of Passports, Directorate for Persons Record and Databases’ Management, Directorate for Driving Licenses and Vehicles Registration Certificates, National SIS Centre, General Directorate for Internal Protection).