On Monday 19 April, eu-LISA had the pleasure of a virtual meeting with Ms Jeanne Barseghian, Mayor of the city of Strasbourg, and other members of her office.
The main purpose of the video conference was to brief Ms Jeanne on the progress the Agency is making in the preparations of our new premises in Illkirch and the extension work going on at our Operational site.
Details were shared regarding the Agency's continued growth in the coming years and its expanding portfolio of tasks. The Mayor assured eu-LISA that it could count on the city's support and that our presence in Strasbourg, as that of the other EU Institutions, is a matter of pride to her administration.
Further to topics related to eu-LISA's premises, talks also focused on the possibility of boosting city transport services in the vicinity of the Agency and collaborating in various public awareness campaigns aimed at increasing local awareness of eu-LISA's direct and indirect contribution to both the local community and the European Union as a whole.
eu-LISA sees collaboration with our host countries and cities as a vital part of our growth and integration. The Agency is always ready and looks forward to contributing to local initiatives and being an appreciated member of the community. Strengthening our relationship with the city of Strasbourg can only bring benefits to both parties.
History and background information
In 2013, eu-LISA was given the former "Centre du Système d'Information Schengen" by the French government and has been running the Agency's large-scale IT systems from there ever since. Some renovation works and the construction of a new building in 2017 met the Agency´s short term need, to host the resources required to operationally manage three IT systems in 24/7 mode.
With eu-LISA's new Establishing Regulation, adopted on 11 December 2018, and the enlarged mandate to improve existing and develop new information systems for security, border management and migration that it brought, the lack of space and infrastructure on the operational site became more evident.
Earlier that same year, during the inauguration event for the renovated site in Strasbourg, Mr Roland Ries, then mayor of Strasbourg, confirmed during his speech that the city would transfer the neighbouring land for the symbolic value of 1€.
On 1 March 2019, the Strasbourg Council of the Eurometropole approved and signed the deliberation that confirmed the land transfer. From the beginning of 2020, with the assistance of the French Interior Ministry the formal handover has been prepared between the local authorities and the French state.
The French authorities and the Agency signed the formalisation of land transfer of the plot adjacent to eu-LISA's current building-complex, the purpose of which is to host the extension of the Agency's operational site, on 28/09/2020.
Further reading:
• eu-LISA to extend its Strasbourg site
