Source: European Parliament
The statistical data collected by the European Union Agency for the Operational Management of Large-Scale IT Systems in the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice (eu-LISA) and by the statistical office of the European Union (Eurostat) have different scope and cover different time periods[1].
The data collected by eu-LISA include return alerts entered in the Schengen Information System (SIS)[2]; Member States may refrain from entering such alerts in some cases[3].
The statistics on SIS hits only cover the cases where the person subject to a SIS return alert left the territory of the Member States through a different Member State than the one that issued the alert.
Teams composed of Commission and Member States’ experts evaluate the application of the Schengen acquis by Member States in accordance with Council Regulation (EU) 2022/922[4], including in the areas of return and of the large-scale information systems supporting the application of the Schengen acquis, such as SIS.
While, according to eu-LISA’s annual statistics for 2023, all Member States that participate in Regulation (EU) 2018/1860 created return alerts, some experienced delays and, in some cases, return decisions were not systematically followed by a SIS alert.
As follow-up to the Schengen evaluations, the Commission is working with Member States to ensure a seamless connection between return case management systems and the SIS to avoid delays and inconsistencies.
The Commission does not collect statistics on the number of cases where a Member State executes the return decision issued by another Member State.
- [1] Eurostat statistics cover the period between 1 January 2023 and 31 December 2023 while the eu-LISA statistics cover the period between 7 March 2023 and 31 December 2023.
- [2] Article 3 of Regulation (EU) 2018/1860 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 28 November 2018 on the use of the Schengen Information System for the return of illegally staying third-country nationals, OJ L 312, 7.12.2018, p. 1-13.
- [3] Article 3(2) of Regulation (EU) 2018/1860.
- [4] Council Regulation (EU) 2022/922 of 9 June 2022 on the establishment and operation of an evaluation and monitoring mechanism to verify the application of the Schengen acquis, and repealing Regulation (EU) No 1053/2013, OJ L 160, 15.6.2022, p. 1-27.