CETSE

The project focuses on the development of the necessary software to provide the SIRENE Bureau with a tool to resolve yellow links during the MID transitional period, with the aim of ensuring the correct identification of persons and the fight against identity fraud.

In addition, it deals with the adaptation of national business processes, national guides and manuals, the training of end-users, as well as the acquisition or development of the corresponding IT means. To this end, a manual specifying the use cases that can be used for the resolution of "yellow links" as well as an end-user guideline document on border control skills are created.

Adaptation of the SIS-SIRENE offices to deal with yellow links during the MID transition period and creation of manuals for the resolution of yellow links.

Beneficiaries:

• State Security Forces and Corps interacting with the information databases of the systems, for external border security and visa control.

Purpose:

• To facilitate the correct identification of persons and contribute to efficient border security and migration management in Europe.

The Schengen Information System (SIS) stores large-scale alerts or signals on persons and objects to enable rapid and efficient transmission of data and their consultation within the framework of police and border controls. In addition, direct cooperation is developed between European justice administration bodies and law enforcement agencies.

This system is used as a tool for enhanced police cooperation, the purpose of which is to safeguard the right to free movement within the European Union and to guarantee the security of citizens in this area.

Each Schengen Member State (MS) has a SIRENE (Supplementary Information Request on National Entry) Office whose objectives are the management of information supplementary to alerts issued in the SIS, the exchange of additional information and communication with the SIRENE offices of other countries.

With this specific action, the Spanish Ministry of the Interior aims to automate the procedures carried out by the SIRENE offices and to modernise the equipment used for the capture of biometric data, which will be registered in the SIS.

The main objectives are to achieve an optimal functioning of the SIS, to increase the efficiency of the processes carried out by the SIRENE offices and to improve the quality of the biometric data stored.

Beneficiaries:

• The main beneficiaries of this project are members of the State Security Corps who interact with the capture of biometric data, as well as those responsible for the procedures carried out in the Spanish SIRENE Office, for security at external borders.

Purpose:

• To facilitate the crossing of external borders, contribute to the freedom of movement within the Schengen area and support a high level of protection of both law enforcement and other European agencies and bodies involved in security, through:        
  • Introducing improvements in SIRENE processes and services to facilitate checks at internal and external borders.
  •  Facilitating the design and implementation of communication processes with other actors involved at the national level through the automated implementation of forms that allow for an improvement in the exchange of information between the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of the Interior and even Penitentiary Institutions.
  • Demonstrate the need for urgent modernisation to meet the quality requirements of the SIS.
  • Acquire advanced tools for the processing of biometric data to complement the "travel intelligence" of national and European legal platforms and facilitate interoperability processes at both national and European level.

Currently, the Spanish Ministry of the Interior, specifically the SGSICS, provides the State Security Forces and Corps (FCSE) with an information system called “Integrated Border Control System (SICF)”, managed by the National Police within the framework of its competencies (Organic Law 2/1986, of March 13, 1986, on Security Forces and Corps). Subsequently, other subsystems have been integrated into this system, such as the Advanced Passenger Information Control (API) or the system of the National Coordination Center of Border Posts of the National Police (CEFRONT), which provides information to other agencies of the Secretariat of State for Security (SES). The SICF maintains communication with the European Entry and Exit System (SES) and the European Travel Authorization System (ETIAS), adapting different devices at border posts, such as document verifiers or ABC automatic crossings, currently in full deployment.

With this specific action, the Spanish Ministry of the Interior intends both to evolve and adapt the SICF and the ETIAS National Central System, and to increase the tools needed to efficiently manage and operate the systems. The objective is to ensure that the system complies with the latest EU regulations and improves efficiency in border management, thus supporting the needs required at national level for the entry into operation of the system.

This work is essential, as the SICF system is the common service interface that communicates all devices deployed at the border, ABC gates, Manual Checkpoints (PCM), self-service kiosks, mobile tablets, etc., with the national and European border control systems. The system will provide the complete technical infrastructure to support all border control functionalities, managing person information and associated travel documents, including visas.

The objectives to be achieved through this specific action are:

• Implementation and development of the necessary evolutions and adaptations of the SICF and the ETIAS National Central System.
• Acquisition of equipment to facilitate the tasks associated with the EES and ETIAS systems, including the Interoperability framework with the European systems, allowing to improve the working tools of the Spanish Ministry of the Interior. These purchases will ensure that the work teams have the appropriate resources for the optimal management and operation of the modernized systems, which will contribute to more accessible training, greater user support and more agile day-to-day operations.

Beneficiaries:

• The main beneficiaries of the project are the members of the State Security Forces and Corps in charge of border control. The system provided will help them in their tasks of migration control, detection of possible threats and guaranteeing border security. In addition, travelers also benefit from the system implemented with security improvements and functionalities to facilitate border crossing.

Purpose:

• To strengthen and adapt the EU's external borders, improving the security of travel and travellers and thus contributing to the prevention of organized crime and terrorism. To reinforce the security authorities with more equipment and to adapt the systems to the legal, social and ethical changes that the European reality is experiencing.