Regulation (EU) 2019/817 of the European Parliament and of the CouncilShow full title

CHAPTER II U.K. European search portal

Article 6 U.K. European search portal

1. A European search portal (ESP) is established for the purposes of facilitating the fast, seamless, efficient, systematic and controlled access of Member State authorities and Union agencies to the EU information systems, to Europol data and to the Interpol databases for the performance of their tasks and in accordance with their access rights and the objectives and purposes of the EES, VIS, ETIAS, Eurodac, SIS and ECRIS-TCN.

2. The ESP shall be composed of:

(a) a central infrastructure, including a search portal enabling the simultaneous querying of the EES, VIS, ETIAS, Eurodac, SIS, ECRIS-TCN as well as of Europol data and the Interpol databases;

(b) a secure communication channel between the ESP, Member States and Union agencies that are entitled to use the ESP;

(c) a secure communication infrastructure between the ESP and the EES, VIS, ETIAS, Eurodac, Central SIS, ECRIS-TCN, Europol data and the Interpol databases as well as between the ESP and the central infrastructures of the CIR and the MID.

3. eu-LISA shall develop the ESP and ensure its technical management.

Article 7 U.K. Use of the European search portal

1. The use of the ESP shall be reserved to the Member State authorities and Union agencies having access to at least one of the EU information systems in accordance with the legal instruments governing those EU information systems, to the CIR and the MID in accordance with this Regulation, to Europol data in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2016/794 or to the Interpol databases in accordance with Union or national law governing such access.

Those Member State authorities and Union agencies may make use of the ESP and the data provided by it only for the objectives and purposes laid down in the legal instruments governing those EU information systems, in Regulation (EU) 2016/794 and in this Regulation.

2. The Member State authorities and Union agencies referred to in paragraph 1 shall use the ESP to search data related to persons or their travel documents in the central systems of the EES, VIS and ETIAS in accordance with their access rights as referred to in the legal instruments governing those EU information systems and in national law. They shall also use the ESP to query the CIR in accordance with their access rights under this Regulation for the purposes referred to in Articles 20, 21 and 22.

3. The Member State authorities referred to in paragraph 1 may use the ESP to search data related to persons or their travel documents in the Central SIS referred to in Regulations (EU) 2018/1860 and (EU) 2018/1861.

4. Where provided for under Union law, the Union agencies referred to in paragraph 1 shall use the ESP to search data related to persons or their travel documents in the Central SIS.

5. The Member State authorities and Union agencies referred to in paragraph 1 may use the ESP to search data related to travel documents in the Interpol databases, where provided for and in accordance with their access rights under Union and national law.

Article 8 U.K. Profiles for the users of the European search portal

1. For the purposes of enabling the use of the ESP, eu-LISA shall, in cooperation with Member States, create a profile based on each category of ESP user and on the purposes of the queries, in accordance with the technical details and access rights referred to in paragraph 2. Each profile shall, in accordance with Union and national law, comprise the following information:

(a) the fields of data to be used for querying;

(b) the EU information systems, Europol data and the Interpol databases that are to be queried, those that can be queried and those that are to provide a reply to the user;

(c) the specific data in the EU information systems, Europol data and the Interpol databases that may be queried;

(d) the categories of data that may be provided in each reply.

2. The Commission shall adopt implementing acts to specify the technical details of the profiles referred to in paragraph 1 in accordance with the ESP users' access rights under the legal instruments governing the EU information systems and under national law. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 74(2).

3. The profiles referred to in paragraph 1 shall be reviewed regularly by eu-LISA in cooperation with Member States, at least once per year, and if necessary updated.

Article 9 U.K. Queries

1. The ESP users shall launch a query by submitting alphanumeric or biometric data to the ESP. Where a query has been launched, the ESP shall query the EES, ETIAS, VIS, SIS, Eurodac, ECRIS-TCN, the CIR, Europol data and the Interpol databases simultaneously with the data submitted by the user and in accordance with the user profile.

2. The categories of data used to launch a query via the ESP shall correspond to the categories of data related to persons or travel documents that may be used to query the various EU information systems, Europol data and the Interpol databases in accordance with the legal instruments governing them.

3. eu-LISA, in cooperation with Member States, shall implement an interface control document based on the UMF referred to in Article 38 for the ESP.

4. When a query is launched by an ESP user, the EES, ETIAS, VIS, SIS, Eurodac, ECRIS-TCN, the CIR, the MID, the Europol data and the Interpol databases shall in reply to the query provide the data that they hold.

Without prejudice to Article 20, the reply provided by the ESP shall indicate to which EU information system or database the data belong.

The ESP shall provide no information regarding data in EU information systems, Europol data and the Interpol databases to which the user has no access under the applicable Union and national law.

5. Any queries of the Interpol databases launched via the ESP shall be performed in such a way that no information shall be revealed to the owner of the Interpol alert.

6. The ESP shall provide replies to the user as soon as data are available from one of the EU information systems, Europol data or Interpol databases. Those replies shall contain only the data to which the user has access under Union and national law.

7. The Commission shall adopt an implementing act to specify the technical procedure for the ESP to query the EU information systems, Europol data and Interpol databases and the format of the ESP replies. That implementing act shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 74(2).

Article 10 U.K. Keeping of logs

1. Without prejudice to Article 46 of Regulation (EU) 2017/2226, Article 34 of Regulation (EC) No 767/2008, Article 69 of Regulation (EU) 2018/1240 and Articles 12 and 18 of Regulation (EU) 2018/1861, eu-LISA shall keep logs of all data processing operations in the ESP. Those logs shall include the following:

(a) the Member State or Union agency launching the query and the ESP profile used;

(b) the date and time of the query;

(c) the EU information systems and the Interpol databases queried.

2. Each Member State shall keep logs of queries that its authorities and the staff of those authorities duly authorised to use the ESP make. Each Union agency shall keep logs of queries that its duly authorised staff make.

3. The logs referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 may be used only for data protection monitoring, including checking the admissibility of a query and the lawfulness of data processing, and for ensuring data security and integrity. Those logs shall be protected by appropriate measures against unauthorised access and erased one year after their creation. If, however, they are required for monitoring procedures that have already begun, they shall be erased once the monitoring procedures no longer require the logs.

Article 11 U.K. Fall-back procedures in case of technical impossibility to use the European search portal

1. Where it is technically impossible to use the ESP to query one or several EU information systems or the CIR, because of a failure of the ESP, the ESP users shall be notified in an automated manner by eu-LISA.

2. Where it is technically impossible to use the ESP to query one or several EU information systems or the CIR, because of a failure of the national infrastructure in a Member State, that Member State shall notify eu-LISA and the Commission in an automated manner.

3. In the cases referred to in paragraphs 1 or 2 of this Article, and until the technical failure is addressed, the obligation referred to in Article 7(2) and (4) shall not apply and Member States shall access the EU information systems or the CIR directly where they are required to do so under Union or national law.

4. Where it is technically impossible to use the ESP to query one or several EU information systems or the CIR, because of a failure of the infrastructure of a Union agency, that agency shall notify eu-LISA and the Commission in an automated manner.