Initially, the expansion of the Schengen Area was planned for the middle of next year. EU Commissioner for Justice and Home Affairs Franco Frattini and German Interior Minister Wolfgang Schäuble rejected suggestions that “technical reasons” are merely a pretext for delaying the expansion. Thus, according to the representative of the Czech Republic to the EU, Jan Kohout, it is a conspiracy of the “old” EU members who do not want to open their borders to the “new” ones.
Wolfgang Schäuble noted that Germany advocates for the speedy accession of Eastern European EU countries to the Schengen area. However, for this, he said, two conditions must be met. The EU will complete work on the second-generation computer database SIS II (Schengen Information System II), and the Eastern European countries must bring their computer systems into compliance with EU requirements for the unhindered exchange of information. Schäuble advised the Eastern European countries not to create a political scandal out of thin air.
As an interim solution, the European Commission proposed upgrading the current system and temporarily connecting new members of the Schengen zone to it until SIS II is ready. However, experts in Eastern European countries also view this idea skeptically, pointing out that unforeseen technical problems may arise.
The 13 EU countries that are part of the Schengen zone, as well as Norway and Iceland, currently use the SIS I computer database, which already contains 16 million records. This system does not meet modern technical requirements and will not cope with the entry of 12 more states into the Schengen area. Therefore, back in 2003, the European Union began creating a second-generation database, SIS II. It will store information about wanted persons, license plate numbers of stolen cars, serial numbers of stolen euro banknotes. This system will replace the data checks previously carried out at the EU's internal borders; police in all EU countries will be able to obtain the information they need. In addition, SIS II will simplify immigration control in the European Union. The database will also store information about persons who have been denied political asylum in EU countries, as well as about citizens who attempted to enter the EU illegally.
In parallel with SIS II, the European Union has been working on creating a visa database (VIS) since 2004. It will store information on all visas issued for entry into EU countries. This data will also be used in the fight against terrorism and for solving serious crimes.
Along with technical problems, legal issues of information use also remain unresolved. The European Parliament is negotiating with the EU Council of Ministers on the protection of personal data. In SIS II, compared to the current database, more information about citizens will be collected, including digital photographs and biometric data – for example, fingerprints and facial shape.
It has also not yet been decided which government agencies will have access to the database. According to the European Commission's plan, ultimately, police officers on mobile devices in all EU countries will be able to obtain information from SIS II.