European Entry-Exit System

NIST International Face Performance Conference, 27th October 2020

eu-LISA PUBLIC
Agenda

1. eu-LISA
2. European Entry-Exit System (EES)
3. Interoperability and secure borders
4. Shared Biometric Matching Service (sBMS)

eu-LISA PUBLIC
eu-LISA
• European Union Agency for the Operational
Management of Large-Scale IT Systems in the Area of
Freedom, Security and Justice

• Established in 2011, started operations on 01/12/2012

• Agency's mandate was reinforced with Regulation (EU)
2018/1726

• Headquarters: Tallinn (Estonia)

• Operations: Strasbourg (France)
• Backup site: Sankt-Johann im Pongau (Austria)
• Liaison office: Brussels (Belgium)

• 243 statutory staff, 10 seconded national experts

• At least 370 posts planned by 2022

eu-LISA PUBLIC
Europe’s Schengen Area

• Schengen Agreement signed on 14 June 1985

by five of the ten member states of the then
European Economic Community

• The Schengen Area includes 26 countries (22

are EU member states), with a population of
~420 million people

• Core part of EU law, and all EU member states

which have not already joined the Schengen
Area are legally obliged to do so when technical
requirements have been met.

eu-LISA PUBLIC
Europe’s Schengen Area – internal borders
• Security checks
- can legally be carried out at ports and airports

• Police checks can be conducted if they:

- are not involved in border control activities
- are based on general police information and experience
regarding possible threats to public security and aim, in
particular, to combat cross-border crime
- are executed in a manner clearly distinct from systematic
checks on persons at the external borders
- are carried out on the basis of spot-checks

Lifting internal, strengthening external

border control!
eu-LISA PUBLIC
eu-LISA – System portfolio
~80 M visa applications
~70 M FP sets

Visa Information System All time high peak: 139 K

(VIS) operations/hour Entry-Exit
System (EES)

~93 M alerts
>14K queries/day

~ 2.5K hits/month
~ 280 K FP sets European Criminal Records
Schengen Information
Information System (ECRIS-TCN)
System (SIS II)

~5.6 M asylum applications

~ 145K irregular
border crossings
European Dactyloscopy European Travel Information and
~5.6 M FP sets
Database (EURODAC) Authorization System (ETIAS)
eu-LISA PUBLIC
European Entry-Exit system

Source: https://ec.europa.eu/home-affairs/what-we-do/policies/borders-and-visas/smart-borders/ees_en
eu-LISA PUBLIC
 European Entry-Exit System
Annual forecast of border crossings (*)
Introduce Smart
biometric Borders
pilot 2015
technology at
all types of EES
borders and legislative
proposal
register entry 2016

and exit
electronically
Regulation
2017/2226
EES Regulation 2017/2226 entered into
force on 29 December 2017

EES development and operational Entry Exit

System
management entrusted to eu-LISA 2021

(*) European Commission, Technical Study on Smart Borders, 2014, ISBN 978-92-79-41798-6
eu-LISA PUBLIC
Main purposes of EES

Effective management of authorised short-

Enhance the efficiency of border checks
stays

Assist in the identification of third country

Automation of border checks
nationals

Allow for the identification and detection of

Information about authorized stay
overstayers

Support migration policy making

Reinforce internal security

Support increased load at the Schengen borders

eu-LISA PUBLIC
Main actors of EES

• Border authorities
• Consult the EES data in order to ensure that the traveller history is created and kept
updated.

• Immigration authorities
• Consult the EES data in order to verify the identity of the third-country national, or to
check whether the conditions for entry and/or stay are fulfilled

• Visa authorities
• Consult the EES data from VIS in order to adopt decisions on visa application

• Designated authorities (Law Enforcement)

• Consult the EES data in order to prevent, detect and investigate terrorist offences or
other serious criminal offences

eu-LISA PUBLIC
Entry & exit workflow at the border

Third-country national already registered

1. Scan MRZ
2. Search
3. Capture one
1

biometric modality
2
4. Biometric
verification
OR 4
Central DB 5. If match
EES/ETIAS & VIS Interview, creation
5 Entry, Exit, Refusal
record

eu-LISA PUBLIC
Entry & exit workflow at the border

Third country national not yet registered

1. Scan MRZ
2. Search
3. Capture both
1

biometric modalities
2 4. Biometric
Identification
4
+ 5. Enrolment
5 Central DB
EES/ETIAS & VIS 6. Interview, creation
6 Entry, Exit, Refusal
record

eu-LISA PUBLIC
Biometrics in EES
NIST
Data quality check

Result/Error/ Warning
• Data capture
sBMS (EES + VIS) Facial Images • Segmentation, sequence
• Min 600x800 px (in check, uniqueness check,
• 0-FTE configuration portrait mode) biometric data quality
• 1:1 and 1:N operations: • Max 1200x1600 px check
within one of the • Min 120 px between • Creation of data
galleries (EES or VIS) eyes container(s) (ANSI/NIST-
• FMR, FNMR, FPIR, FNIR: • ISO/IEC 19794-5:2011 ITL 1-2011: Update 2015)
targets defined by the Frontal image type • Validation of data
legal base container(s)
• accuracy measured Fingerprints • Submission to EES
Low quality EES data
centrally on actual data • 4 fingers
can be updated later !
captured • 500 or 1000 ppi
• multi-modal fusion • 256 grey levels
eu-LISA PUBLIC
Interoperability
Interoperability components´ go-live step-by-step;
to be finalised by the end of 2023

Central
Repository
for
Reporting
and
Statistics

Increases the effectiveness of identity checks and reduces the number of multiple identities
Gives faster access to data in IT-systems
Ensures that border guards and police officers have access to the right information whenever and
wherever they need it to perform their duties
eu-LISA PUBLIC
Future interoperability architecture

Member States / Union Agencies

Central Repository CBS

Statistics / Reports
European Search Portal
Integrated CBS
VIS Eurodac
SLTDL TDAWN EUROPOL

MID CIR
Subject to Agreement
EES ETIAS ECRIS-TCN

sBMS
Existing central Systems for
SIS Border, migration, security
Future Central Systems

(1) Regulation (EU) 2019/817 - framework for interoperability between EU information systems in the field of borders and visa
(2) Regulation (EU) 2019/818 - framework for interoperability between EU information systems in the field of police and judicial
cooperation, asylum and migration
eu-LISA PUBLIC
Shared Biometric Matching Service

Entry-Exit System
4-print flat, live FI
FP FI
processor processor O
Visa Information System
R
10-print flat, FI
C
G
H
A
E Schengen Information
T
S System
E
Entry-Exit System T 10-print flat, 10-print rolled,
W
R latent prints (*), FI
A
A
VIS Y
T
SISII O EURODAC
EURODAC R 10-print flat, 10-print rolled, FI
ECRIS-TCN
ECRIS-TCN
> 700 million template records (*) 10-print flat, FI
eu-LISA PUBLIC
 Main challenges for sBMS
Data quality Response times Accuracy
 FP and FI legacy data  Different SLA per business domain  Different thresholds per business
domain and/or use-case (FMR,
 Variety of data capture devices  Different SLA per transaction FNMR, FPIR, FNIR)
and technics
 Measurement of overall sBMS
 Timing issue for recapture Availability accuracy
 Non-harmonized data quality,  99.995% EES BMS (priority 1)  Measurement of accuracy per
different thresholds per business  Smooth data migration from the business domain
domain legacy systems  Measurement of accuracy per
 Different failure to enrol rates specific interoperability use case
(FTE)
Data containers  Potential bias across domains
 FI - no age limit in EES for
 Different NIST containers per
children  Accuracy testing (GDPR
system, conversions are needed
constraints)

eu-LISA PUBLIC
 Thank you for your attention!

cab@eulisa.europa.eu
www.eulisa.europa.eu

@eulisa_agency @agencyeulisa euLISAagency company/eu-lisa

eu-LISA PUBLIC