Immigration: EU Court of Auditors Says Schengen Border Control IT Systems Need Timelier and More Complete Data

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The Schengen operated border control IT systems are well designated and a strong tool increasingly used by border guards, but some data is either not included in the system, incomplete, or not entered in a timely manner, a report of the European Court of Auditors has found.

According to a press release of November 11, the European Court of Auditors has found that the border control authorities in the Member State should focus more on entering complete data promptly in the five EU’s  IT systems supporting the surveillance of the Schengen Zone’s external borders:  Schengen Information System, Visa Information System, European Asylum Dactyloscopy Database, European Border Surveillance System and Passenger Name Record.

Based on an examination on how well these IT systems allow border guards to check individuals entering the Schengen area at authorized border-crossing points, the court concluded that the Schengen IT systems are a strong tool and increasingly used by border guards when performing border checks. Yet, auditors also noticed that while some data is currently not included in the systems, the rest is either incomplete or not entered in a timely manner, which reduces the efficiency of some border checks.

“Border guards do not always get timely and complete data from the systems. When they check a name, they may receive hundreds of results – mainly false positives, which they must verify manually. This not only makes border checks less efficient, but also increases the risk of overlooking real hits, say the auditors,” the press release explains.

Member of the European Court of Auditors responsible for the report, Bettina Jakobsen, believes that sometimes border guards do not get the necessary information to decide whether a person should be let through or rejected from entering the Schengen Zone.

“Our audit aimed at identifying aspects in the design and use of these systems that can help border guards do their job more efficiently,” she says.

The report of the auditors warns that delayed transmission data may cause trouble between the Members States, as delayed transmission of fingerprints may lead to the wrong country being held responsible for the processing of particular asylum applications.

The Court suggests that the European Commission should promote training on the IT systems, improve data quality procedures, analyze inconsistencies in visa checks and reduce delays in data entry.

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