Cyprus has joined the Schengen Information System (SIS) starting today, the European Commission has announced. Joining the SIS does not mean that Cyprus is joining the Schengen area, but that Cypriot law enforcement authorities will have access to information on border security and management of all participating countries.
The connection of Cyprus to SIS allows law enforcement authorities to receive and exchange with all SIS participants real-time information on wanted or missing persons, third-country nationals having no legal right to stay in the EU and lost or stolen objects (e.g. cars, firearms, boats and identity documents).
Cyprus has also set up a dedicated SIRENE Bureau, which is responsible for coordinating the exchange of information and the cooperation on SIS alerts. It will form part of a network of national SIRENE Bureaux supporting the functioning of SIS.
On 7 March 2023, the updated SIS entered into operation. It was reinforced and it now includes new categories of alerts, biometrics such as palm prints, fingerprints and DNA records of missing persons, as well as additional tools to fight crime and terrorism. To date, the renewed SIS is operational in 31 European countries (27 EU Member States and Schengen Associated Countries).
Cyprus is not a member of the Schengen Area, within which citizens can travel without checks in internal borders and airports, and the country is not expected to enter Schengen before a solution of the Cyprus Problem is reached. The only other member states of the EU that are not a part of the Schengen Area today are Ireland, Bulgaria and Romania.
Bulgaria and Romania have received the green light from the Commission, but were blocked by Austria and the Netherlands in the Council of the EU in December. Ireland remains outside the Schengen Area due to reasons connected to free movement between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
Source: Cyprus News Agency