By Decision 2002/192/EC, and in accordance with Article 4 of Protocol No 19 on the Schengen acquis integrated into the framework of the European Union, annexed to the Treaty on European Union and to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (‘Protocol No 19’), the Council authorised Ireland to participate in certain provisions of the Schengen acquis.

In accordance with Article 4(1) and 4(3) of Decision 2002/192/EC, the provisions referred to in Article 1 of that Decision are to be put into effect, between Ireland and the Member States and other States for which those provisions have already been put into effect, when the preconditions for the implementation of those provisions have been fulfilled in all of those Member States and other States, by an implementing decision taken by the Council, acting with the unanimity of its members as referred to in Article 1 of Protocol No 19 and of the representative of the Government of Ireland. The Council may set different dates for the putting into effect of different provisions by subject area.

On 8 January 2018, Ireland expressed its intention to commence implementation of the following parts of the Schengen acquis: the Schengen Information System (‘SIS’) and the related data protection rules.

Ireland thus indicated that it was now ready to provisionally put into effect the provisions of the Schengen acquis referred to in Article 1 of Decision 2002/192/EC in so far as they relate to the functioning of SIS (‘the provisions related to the functioning of SIS’), judicial cooperation, drugs cooperation, police cooperation and Article 26 of the Schengen Convention, with the exception of Article 27 of the Schengen Convention as well as Decisions 2008/149/JHA and 2011/349/EU and the Decision of the Executive Committee of 22 December 1994, which should be implemented at a later stage.

Compliance with data protection requirements is a precondition for the provisional application of the provisions related to the functioning of SIS. In line with Regulation (EU) No 1053/2013, and based on the Commission’s multiannual and annual evaluation programmes established pursuant to that Regulation, the data protection evaluation took place between 19 and 23 November 2018, and the Commission adopted an evaluation report on 9 August 2019.

The evaluation report concluded that Ireland meets the necessary conditions for the application of the provisions of the Schengen acquis referred to in point (a)(ii) of Article 1 of Decision 2002/192/EC in so far as they relate to data protection, therefore allowing those provisions, to be put into effect by Ireland.

Since Ireland has made the necessary technical and legal arrangements to process SIS data and exchange supplementary information, it is possible to set a date from which the provisions related to the functioning of SIS should be applied on a provisional basis in Ireland. The application of this Decision should allow for SIS data, as well as supplementary information and additional data, to be transferred to Ireland. The concrete use made of these data exchanges would allow for the verification of the correct application of the provisions related to the functioning of SIS in Ireland, through the applicable Schengen evaluation procedures.

Given that the Schengen acquis was conceived and functions as a coherent ensemble, it is the view of the Council that any partial application by Ireland of the provisions of the Schengen acquis in which it participates must respect the coherence of the subject areas which constitute the ensemble of the acquis. Therefore, in order to apply on a provisional basis the provisions related to the functioning of SIS, it is necessary that Ireland, provisionally, put into effect the provisions of the Schengen acquis relating to judicial cooperation, drugs cooperation, police cooperation and Article 26 of the Schengen Convention from the same date as the provisional putting into effect of the provisions related to the functioning of SIS, namely as from the date of application of this Decision.

Within six months of the date of application of this Decision, evaluation visits should be carried out in Ireland to verify whether SIS is functioning properly and whether Decision 2007/533/JHA is being applied correctly. Within 12 months of the date of application of this Decision, evaluation questionnaires should be sent to, and evaluation visits should be carried out in, Ireland, as appropriate, to evaluate the application of the provisions of the Schengen acquis relating to judicial cooperation, drugs cooperation, police cooperation and Article 26 of the Schengen Convention in order to demonstrate that the requirements relating to all relevant legislation and operational activities have been satisfied.

Given the importance of the coherence in the application of the Schengen acquis and the importance of SIS as a compensatory measure in the area of freedom, security and justice, and given the fact that some of the provisions of the Schengen acquis in which Ireland participates should apply on a provisional basis, with the evaluations carried out only at a later stage, a mechanism should be put in place to withdraw the operational access of Ireland to SIS (‘the mechanism to withdraw operational access of Ireland to SIS’) in case those evaluations conclude that the conditions for the application of the provisions related to the functioning of SIS have not been met by Ireland. The same mechanism should apply in case evaluations conclude that the conditions for the application of the provisions of the Schengen acquis relating to judicial cooperation, drugs cooperation, police cooperation and Article 26 of the Schengen Convention necessary for the proper functioning of SIS have not been met by Ireland. In both cases, Ireland should cease to be entitled to have operational access to SIS. The Council should to that effect, by means of an implementing decision, set a date from which the provisions related to the functioning of SIS are to cease to apply to Ireland, and adopt the transitional arrangements necessary to exchange supplementary information concerning alerts issued in SIS before that date. eu-LISA should make the necessary arrangements to disconnect Ireland from SIS.

This Decision should therefore put into effect, provisionally, the provisions related to the functioning of SIS and the remaining provisions referred to in Article 1 of Decision 2002/192/EC, with the exception of Article 27 of the Schengen Convention as well as Decisions 2008/149/JHA and 2011/349/EU and the Decision of the Executive Committee of 22 December 1994 which should be put into effect provisionally at a later stage. Upon successful completion of the evaluations concerning the provisions that are provisionally put into effect, and without prejudice to the mechanism to withdraw operational access of Ireland to SIS, the Council should, within 24 months of the date of application of this Decision, examine the situation with a view to adopting, in accordance with Article 4(1) of Decision 2002/192/EC read in conjunction with Article 4 of Protocol No 19, an implementing decision setting the date for their final putting into effect.

As regards Article 27 of the Schengen Convention and Decisions 2008/149/JHA and 2011/349/EU, Ireland should put them into effect provisionally as from 1 January 2022 at the latest. As regards the Decision of the Executive Committee of 22 December 1994, Ireland should put it into effect provisionally as from 1 July 2022 at the latest. Ireland should notify to the Council the date from which it will commence the application of those provisions accordingly.

In accordance with Article 5 of the Agreement between the European Union, the European Community and the Swiss Confederation on the Swiss Confederation’s association with the implementation, application and development of the Schengen acquis, the Mixed Committee established pursuant to Article 3 thereof has been informed about the preparation of this Decision.