SECTION 1 — General principles
Reports in EUROSUR
1. Reports shall be transmitted between two or more entities, units, bodies or agencies for the purposes of contributing to the establishment of the different situational pictures, to contribute to risk analysis, or to support reaction capabilities.
2. Reports shall be composed of:
(a)
data containing the basic information;
(b)
meta-data containing additional information that contributes to the understanding of the dataset in a wider context and supports its processing in EUROSUR.
3. Reports may take the form of:
(a)
indicators as referred to in Article 8;
(b)
single event reports as referred to in Article 9;
(c)
reports on own assets as referred to in Article 10;
(d)
reports on operational plans as referred to in Article 11;
(e)
reports on environmental information as referred to in Article 12;
(f)
risk analysis reports as referred to in Article 13;
(g)
requests for information as referred to in Article 14;
(h)
watchlists as referred to in Article 15.
Roles in reporting
1. The national coordination centres, the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (‘the Agency’) or the entities managing the specific situational pictures, referred to as ‘the originators of the reports’, shall transmit reports in EUROSUR.
2. The owner of the situational pictures, referred to as the ‘owners’, shall be the recipients of the report and shall be responsible for processing it in accordance with the applicable rules.
3. Reports in EUROSUR may originate from the national sources referred to in Article 25(2) and Article 26(2) of Regulation (EU) 2019/1896 or from the Agency’s own sources.
Links
1. Where the originator of a report establishes a relationship between reports or with other elements of the situational picture that can facilitate the understanding of the overall situation and context, it shall link this report to the relevant elements.
2. The owners of a situational picture may add or modify the links related to the situational picture he is managing.
SECTION 2 — Event reporting
Reporting events in EUROSUR
1. Each national coordination centre shall ensure that the national authorities of Member States responsible for border management, including coast guards to the extent that they carry out border control tasks, report in the event layer of relevant situational pictures all events detected while conducting border control activities, performing situational awareness and risk analysis as well as events related to unauthorised secondary movements, where available.
2. When carrying out border control tasks, the Agency and, where relevant, the international coordination centres shall be subject to the obligation referred to in paragraph 1.
3. Events in EUROSUR shall be reported as indicators or as single event reports or both.
Indicators on events at external borders
1. The national coordination centres and, when relevant and as provided for in the operational plans, the international coordination centres, shall report indicators on events at external borders to the Agency as set out in Annex 1 and provided at the times specified in that annex.
2. The data corresponding to the indicators may be derived from information and statistics available to national authorities including through searches of relevant Union databases and large-scale information systems, in accordance with the legal framework applicable to those databases and systems.
3. Indicators relating to illicit cross-border movement of goods and associated illicit trafficking shall be obtained in cooperation with competent national authorities taking due account of other reporting obligations or restrictions and the role of the Commission.
4. In addition to the reporting obligation referred to under paragraph 1, an originator of a report may send a specific report:
(a)
to alert on an abnormal change of the values observed;
(b)
to inform on a specific modus operandi or pattern which has been detected;
(c)
in the case of situations referred to in point (b), the report may be linked to a specific risk analysis.
5. Where the Agency obtains any of the indicators referred to in paragraph 1 by its own surveillance assets or through cooperation of the Agency with Union institutions, bodies, offices and agencies and international organisation or cooperation of the Agency with third countries, it shall report the indicators in the European Situational Picture and shall inform the national coordination centres thereof. In this case and for these indicators, the reporting obligation of Article 7(1) shall not apply.
Single events reports
1. The national coordination centres and, when relevant and as provided for in the operational plans, the international coordination centres, shall report the single events to the Agency.
2. Single events shall be reported in EUROSUR wherever:
(a)
a timely reaction is needed for to the single event;
(b)
the specific event has an impact on external borders which is high or very high; or
(c)
the event is listed in Annex 2.
3. Unless specified otherwise in Annex 2, the originator of the report shall send the first report on the event no later than 24 hours after relevant competent authority became aware of an event has occurred or is likely to occur.
4. The originator of the report shall submit additional reports as appropriate for the purpose of complementing or updating a single event report. They shall be linked to the initial single event report and to the event reported in the situational picture.
5. Reports prepared under this Article shall contain a description of the response of the authorities to the events reported, including any action taken or planned to be taken.
6. Without prejudice to the first operational response, the owner of the report and the originator of the report may request further information and risk analysis as provided for in Article 14, in order to:
(a)
complete the information corresponding to the event;
(b)
increase the confidence level referred to in Article 16;
(c)
update the impact level attributed;
(d)
update the situation related to the event.
7. On the basis of the reports received, the owner of the situational picture may close the event where it is considered that:
(a)
the suspected event did not take place;
(b)
the estimated impact of the event does not justify the reporting;
(c)
the situation described in the event has ended.
In case an event is closed, the event and the various reports linked to it shall be stored and shall remain accessible in the situational picture for risk analysis purposes.
8. Where the Agency obtains sufficient information on single events by its own surveillance assets or through cooperation of the Agency with Union institutions, bodies, offices and agencies and international organisation or cooperation of the Agency with third countries, it shall report this information in the European Situational Picture and shall inform the national coordination centres thereof. In this case, the reporting obligation of paragraph 1 shall not apply.
9. The Agency shall include or update these events as appropriate in the European situational picture.
SECTION 3 — Operational reporting
Reports on own assets
1. Each national coordination centre and where applicable the relevant international coordination centre and the Agency shall ensure that their units participating in border control operations report on own assets in the European situational picture.
2. The reports on own assets in EUROSUR shall comprise:
(a)
the operational status of the national coordination centres including their ability to perform the tasks listed in Article 21(3) of Regulation (EU) 2019/1896 and, when relevant, the operational status of the international coordination centres. Any significant change in operational status of the national coordination centre shall be reported to the Agency in real time;
(b)
the position and operational status of the command and control centres used for border control operations;
(c)
the areas of responsibility for border surveillance and for the checks at border crossing points;
(d)
the type and distribution of border control units and their status.
Reports on operational plans
1. Each national coordination centre shall ensure that the units participating in border control operations report their operational plans in the national situational pictures.
2. National coordination centres, and, where relevant, the international coordination centres, shall report the operational plans in the European situational picture where the impact levels at the borders sections are high or critical or in the case of joint border operations/rapid border interventions.
3. The reports on operational plans shall contain:
(a)
a description of the situation;
(b)
the operational aim and the anticipated duration of the operation;
(c)
the geographical area where the operation is to take place;
(d)
a description of the tasks, responsibilities and special instructions for the teams and units participating, with modus operandi and objectives of the deployment;
(e)
the composition of the deployed staff including numbers of staff deployed and their profiles;
(f)
command and control plans, including the operational status of the command and control centres, the function performed and corresponding systems and communication tools;
(g)
the technical equipment to be deployed, including specific requirements such as conditions for use, requested crew, transport and other logistics;
(h)
the schedule of border surveillance patrols, including the patrolling area and number of assets engaged;
(i)
detailed procedures on event reporting.
Reports on environmental information
1. The relevant authorities, services, agencies and programmes at national and EU level may report environmental information in the operational layer of the relevant situational pictures.
2. The reporting on environmental information in EUROSUR may contain:
(a)
real-time images provided by video cameras, radar systems and other detection devices;
(b)
meteorological observations and weather forecasts;
(c)
oceanographic information and drifting model services;
(d)
geospatial products;
(e)
other operational pictures, which may help understand the situation at external borders or monitor a specific border operation.
SECTION 4 — Risk analysis reporting
Reports related to risk analysis
1. The national coordination centres, the Agency and, where relevant, the international coordination centres, shall ensure the provision of risk analysis reports with a view to updating the analysis layers of the situational pictures.
2. The risk analysis reports shall include one or more of the following: analytical products such as briefing notes, analytical reports, third country analysis and risk profiles, and specific earth observation reports using geospatial information systems.
3. The risk analysis reports shall be used for:
(a)
facilitating the understanding of events and incidents at external borders and, where available, their relation to unauthorised secondary movements and the analysis and forecast of related trends;
(b)
facilitating the targeted planning and conduct of border control operations;
(c)
strategic risk analysis.
Request for information
1. Where there is a need to obtain further reports on a specific event, or to update the situational picture, the national coordination centres, the Agency or the entities managing the specific situational pictures, may send a request for information to one or several sources referred to in Article 25(2) and 26(2) of Regulation (EU) 2019/1896.
2. A request for information made pursuant to paragraph 1, may be subject to a classification level or other specific data policy restrictions.
3. The risk analysis reports in response to a request for information shall be linked to the original request for information.
4. The principle of originator’s consent shall apply both to the requests for information and to the reports made in response thereto.
Watchlists
1. The Agency shall establish and maintain watchlists for the purposes of enhancing the detection and risk analysis capabilities of the European Border and Coast Guard and trigger appropriate reaction capabilities.
2. Watchlists shall be composed of:
(a)
entities, assets, behaviours or profiles, which, on the basis of risk analysis, are suspected to be connected with illegal immigration and cross-border crime, or that may endanger the safety of life of migrants;
(b)
a suggested reaction in case of detection, including data policy restrictions applicable to the reports.
3. Watchlists may include:
(a)
suspected vessels;
(b)
suspected aircrafts;
(c)
suspected airports of origin, and other places known or suspected to be places of origin of external flights;
(d)
suspected ports of origin, anchorages, awaiting berths and other places known or suspected to be places of origin of maritime traffic;
(e)
suspected operators.
SECTION 5 — Provisions common to the ‘events layer’ and the ‘risk analysis layer’
Confidence levels
1. The originator of an event report or of a risk analysis report shall assess the confidence level in the reported information as part of the metadata forming part of the report.
2. The confidence level shall be assessed on the basis of the following criteria:
(a)
the credibility of the reported information;
(b)
the reliability of the source;
(c)
the validation status of the report.
3. The owner shall take into account the confidence level associated with the report to update the situational picture accordingly.
Attribution of impact levels
1. The originator of an event report or of a risk analysis report shall assess the impact level of the reported information as part of the metadata forming part of the report.
2. The impact level shall reflect the overall impact of the reported information on:
(a)
the detection, prevention and combating of illegal immigration;
(b)
the detection, prevention and combating of cross-border crime;
(c)
the protection of and saving the lives of migrants.
3. Originators of a report referred to in paragraph 1 shall attribute an impact level to each event and risk analysis report.
4. Where a report relates to an event already reported in the situational picture, the originator shall link the report to that event.
5. Owners shall attribute an impact level to the events or modify them based on the reports received and on their own risk analysis.
SECTION 6 — Reporting in the context of specific border control activities
Reporting related to unauthorised secondary movements
Where this information is available, Member States shall:
(a)
display the analysis related to unauthorised secondary movement on their territory in a specific sublayer of the national situational picture. This specific sublayer shall be shared with the Agency;
(b)
report single events related to unauthorised secondary movements as provided for in Article 9, in line with their national procedures;
(c)
report specific indicators related to unauthorised secondary movements.
Reporting related to maritime border surveillance
1. Each national coordination centre shall ensure that the units participating in maritime border surveillance report on vessels:
(a)
suspected of carrying persons circumventing or intending to circumvent checks at border crossing points, where such circumvention relates to illegal migration;
(b)
suspected of being engaged in smuggling activity by sea or other cross-border crime related activities;
(c)
in cases where lives of migrants could be at risk;
(d)
on the watchlists or which are subject to requests for information. In the case of reports relating to point (d), the reporting shall take into account the data policy restrictions provided for in Article 14(2) and Article 15(2)(b).
2. The participating unit shall transmit the information to its own national coordination centre and, in the case of a joint operation or a rapid border intervention, to the corresponding international coordination centre in accordance with the operation plan.
3. The national coordination centres and, when relevant, the international coordination centres shall update their respective situational pictures and report this information to the Agency with a view to update the European situational picture.
Events related to Search and Rescue at sea
1. While performing maritime border surveillance, Member States authorities rendering assistance to any vessel or person in distress at sea, in accordance with their obligation under international maritime law shall take into account and transmit all relevant information and observations related to a potential Search and Rescue incident to the respective responsible Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre and inform their national coordination centre with a view to updating that event in the relevant situational pictures.
2. If Member States authorities clearly establish that the Search and Rescue incident is not related to the protection and saving of migrants’ lives or to cross-border crime, they may decide not to inform the national coordination centre.
3. While performing maritime border surveillance operations and in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 656/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 15 ) , the Agency shall be subject to the same obligation as the one referred to in paragraph 1.
4. During a Search and Rescue operation, the competent national coordination centre shall update the national situational picture and report this information to the Agency with a view to update the European situational picture.
5. The situational pictures shall be regularly updated:
(a)
to support the planning and conduct of the next operational phase once the Search and Rescue operation is concluded;
(b)
to assess the impact levels attributed to the corresponding incident and to the overall maritime border section;
(c)
to update the relevant indicators referred to in Article 8.
6. The competent national coordination centre shall report to the Agency about the termination of a Search and Rescue operation at the latest within 24 hours after the operation is terminated.
Reporting related to air border surveillance
1. Each national coordination centre shall ensure that the national agencies and bodies involved in air border surveillance report on external flights:
(a)
suspected of carrying persons circumventing or intending to circumvent checks at border crossing points, if the incident relates to illegal migration;
(b)
suspected of being engaged in smuggling by air or other cross-border crime;
(c)
where lives of migrants could be at risk;
(d)
on the watchlists or which are subject to requests for information. In the case of reports relating to point (d), the reporting shall take into account the data policy restrictions provided for in Article 14(2) and Article 15(2)(b).
2. The national agencies and bodies involved in air border surveillance shall transmit that information to their own national coordination centre or, in the case of a joint operation or a rapid border intervention, to the corresponding international coordination centre in accordance with the operational plan.
3. The national coordination centre or the international coordination centre shall update their respective situational pictures and report this information to the Agency with a view to update the European situational picture.
SECTION 7 — Reporting quality control in EUROSUR
Reporting quality of data in EUROSUR
To monitor the quality of data in EUROSUR the Agency shall establish and maintain the following indicators:
(a)
the number and frequency of reports received per border section and per border crossing points;
(b)
the timeliness of the reporting;
(c)
the completeness and consistency of the reports.
Reporting quality of service in EUROSUR
1. In monitoring the technical and operational functioning of EUROSUR in accordance with Article 23 of Regulation (EU) 2019/1896, The Agency, in close cooperation with the competent national authorities, may establish technical indicators and the requirements for single event reporting, to monitor the operational status and quality of service offered by the various systems and networks of Member States and of the Agency connected to and forming part of the technical component of EUROSUR as defined in Article 27.
2. The indicators shall be used:
(a)
to monitor the status of the various technical components of EUROSUR in real time;
(b)
to support the identification and response to incidents and failures identified in the functioning of EUROSUR;
(c)
to ensure the data security of EUROSUR.
3. The Member States and the Agency shall report on any single incident affecting the technical components of EUROSUR or the data security of EUROSUR.
Source: EUR-Lex (Publications Office of the EU), © European Union, reuse permitted under Commission Decision 2011/833/EU.
