eu-LISA Newsletter Bits & Bytes 1/2026

Today marks the completion of the progressive roll-out of the Entry/Exit System (EES) across the Schengen Area. As of 10 April 2026, all Schengen countries have deployed the system at their external borders, concluding a coordinated 180-day implementation phase following its entry into operation in October 2025.

This milestone represents the delivery of one of the EU’s most complex IT programmes —...

On 18 March 2026, eu-LISA’s Management Board met online to review progress across the Agency’s activities and address key strategic, operational and governance matters.

Members were updated by the Chairs of the Advisory Groups on progress across all large-scale IT systems under eu-LISA’s management. Discussions covered the state of implementation of the interoperability framework and its...

eu-LISA has released its Outlook 2026: What’s Ahead?, outlining the Agency’s priorities and key deliverables for the coming year across the justice and home affairs domain.

Following the progressive roll-out of the Entry/Exit System (EES) in 2025, 2026 will be marked by further important developments. The new Eurodac and ETIAS are scheduled to enter into operation, contributing to a more connected...

eu-LISA has launched the first wave of its 2026 internship campaign, opening applications for a wide range of IT-related profiles at the heart of the Agency’s operational activities.

This first wave is fully dedicated to technical and IT-oriented roles, alongside a targeted call for women in IT functions. It reflects eu-LISA’s commitment to attracting fresh talent and promoting greater gender...

The EU Innovation Hub for Internal Security has published a new policy brief on the independent evaluation of biometric technologies in the European Union, highlighting the need to strengthen EU-level capabilities to ensure accuracy, transparency and trust in the use of such systems. The work was coordinated by eu-LISA.

Biometric technologies, including facial recognition and fingerprint systems,...

The next edition of the Industry Roundtable, titled ‘Data Management’, will take place on 9-10 September 2026 in Strasbourg, France, under the patronage of the Irish Presidency of the Council of the EU. The event is organised in a hybrid format allowing for both in-person and online participation. This new iteration will focus on the benefits of new methodological trends in data management, and...

Independent evaluation is one of the most effective means to ensure that biometric systems deployed in the EU meet the necessary requirements for accuracy, robustness and transparency, according to standard performance metrics. However, today, the evaluation of biometric technology in the EU is fragmented and inconsistent.

This Policy Brief argues that establishing an independent capability for...

The year ahead is set to be just as significant as 2025, with the rollout of the new Eurodac, alongside ETIAS and ECRIS-TCN, marking the next key milestones in building a modern interoperability architecture for the EU’s domain of justice and home affairs.

As always, we will continue to ensure a high level of responsiveness and availability across all existing Justice and Home affairs information...

On 1 October 2025, eu-LISA held in Tallinn, Estonia, and online, its annual High-Level Conference on “Strategic Autonomy in Action: Keeping Europe and its Borders Secure with Trusted Technology” attended by approximately 300 senior stakeholders from the national authorities, EU institutions, industry and academia.

Key topics relating to technological sovereignty of critical systems, rule of law...

This annual report, pursuant to Article 40(1) of the Eurodac Regulation, covers the operational management activities as well as developments in the areas of security and data protection during 2024.

In addition, as per Article 8(2) of the Eurodac Regulation, eu-LISA also publishes the annual statistics report, and the annual update of the list of designated authorities which have access to...