Margarida Vasconcelos: The big brother agency to be inaugurated tomorrow

The new agency for managing large-scale EU information systems in the area of freedom, security and justice, including the Schengen Information System (SIS II), Visa Information System (VIS), and EURODAC, will be inaugurated tomorrow in Tallinn. The agency main task is to keep “the systems functioning 24 hours a day, seven days a week”, ensuring, according to the Commission, “a continuous, uninterrupted flow of data exchange.” It will manage passport, visa and fingerprint information.

The Regulation establishing the Agency was adopted in October 2011. The UK has decided to opt in to this Regulation, therefore it is bound by it and subject to its application.

The Commission is, presently, responsible for the operational management of EURODAC as well as for completing the development of SIS II and VIS. The Agency is expected to become fully operational in December 2012, becoming therefore responsible for the operational management of EURODAC and VIS. It is expected to be responsible for the operational management of SIS II in March 2013.

The agency is established as a Community body and has legal personality. It comprises a Management Board, an Executive Director and Advisory Groups. The Management Board is  composed by one representative of each Member State which participates in the adoption of the legal instrument governing the IT system managed by the agency and two representatives of the Commission. The countries associated with the implementation, application and development of the Schengen acquis and the EURODAC related measures might also participate in the agency but without voting rights.

All these databases are an invasion of privacy rights. Gathering so much information raises concerns over who will have access to these data and entails risks of such data being misused.

Moreover, it is important to note that the agency is funded by the EU budget. The Commission has estimated the costs related to the preparatory and start-up phase of the long-term operational management of SIS II, VIS and EURODAC to be around €113 million between 2010 and 2013. Moreover, the annual costs for the connection of the three systems to the s-TESTA, network to which all EU Member States, EU institutions and agencies will be connected, will amount around €16,5 million. However, it is very likely that the taxpayers will pay a higher bill.