SIS to introduce alerts for terrorism and serious crime suspects based on information received from outside the EU

As of 15 October, Schengen states will be able to enter a new category of alert in the Schengen Information System, based on information received from authorities in third countries and international organisations through cooperation with Europol. The tool can make this information available in real time to police and border authorities, but the data are not entered automatically by the external partner, and the alert does not constitute an arrest warrant or an automatic decision to refuse entry.

From 15 October, the Schengen Information System will be able to display alerts based on information about terrorism and serious crime received from third countries or international organisations. The new function creates a process whereby external information is assessed with Europol’s support and can then be entered into SIS by a participating state and made available in real time to authorities checking people at the border or within the Schengen area.

In brief
The new SIS alert category will become available on 15 October 2026.

The information may come from third countries and international organisations and may concern terrorism or serious offences.

Europol assesses the information and may propose entering an alert, but the decision rests with a participating state.

The information alert is not an arrest warrant and does not automatically result in a refusal of entry or stay.

In the event of a match, authorities may collect certain additional information and transmit it to the issuing state and Europol under the conditions established by the regulation.

The regulation adopted in 2022 created this category to address a practical gap in security cooperation. Europol and national authorities may receive information from external partners about a suspect, but the existence of the data in an intelligence file does not mean that it will automatically appear when the same person is checked by a police officer or at a Schengen border. Through the new alert, data considered sufficiently relevant and reliable can become accessible to authorised authorities during routine checks.

Third countries and international organisations do not receive direct access to enter people into SIS. The information reaches Europol, which must assess the reliability of the source and the accuracy of the data and may propose that a participating state create an alert. That state conducts its own legal assessment and decides whether the conditions for entry are met, remaining responsible for the alert created and for the quality of the information entered into the system.

The mechanism may be used for information concerning foreign terrorist fighters, people suspected of terrorist activities or suspects in investigations into serious forms of crime. Entering a person in this category does not establish guilt and does not automatically authorise arrest. SIS separately contains alerts for people wanted for arrest and other categories concerning refusal of entry or stay, each linked to different legal conditions and actions.

When a check produces a match with the new alert, the authority may discreetly collect information relevant to the investigation, including the time and place of the check, the person’s route and destination, the people accompanying them, and certain documents or objects in their possession. Under the conditions laid down by the regulation, the information may be returned to the state that entered the alert and to Europol, enabling external information to be linked to the movement or presence of the person detected in the Schengen area.

The discreet nature of this procedure is accompanied by safeguards concerning the quality and use of data. The information must be assessed before entry, access to SIS is restricted to authorised authorities, and the regulation establishes rules on the purpose of processing, retention periods, the logging of access and data accuracy. Under the applicable legislation, people have rights concerning access to data, the correction of inaccurate information and the deletion of unlawfully stored data.

The new alert joins a system that already contains data on people wanted for arrest, missing or vulnerable people, people needed for judicial procedures, refusals of entry and stay, and objects sought by the authorities. The operational value of SIS lies in the fact that the same information can be checked by the competent authorities in participating states without each national service having to build the same database separately.

Activation also required the adaptation of the technical infrastructure managed by eu-LISA, the EU agency responsible for large-scale information systems in the area of freedom, security and justice. The legal framework had existed since 2022, but the use of the new category depended on implementing the procedures, technical standards and tests necessary for information to circulate correctly between Europol, national systems and the central SIS database.

From 15 October, the effect for a police officer or border guard is that relevant information received by Europe from an external partner may appear during an SIS check after passing through Europol’s screening process and a participating state’s decision. The additional capacity does not eliminate the risk of incorrect data, mistaken identification or outdated information, making source verification, the responsibility of the issuing state and correction mechanisms essential to how the new tool must operate.

https://2eu.brussels/ro/news/sis-introduce-alerte-pentru-suspecti-de-terorism-si-criminalitate-grava-pe-baza-informatiilor-primite-din-afara-ue