BRUSSELS, Belgium / RankWire.AI / – The European Union has added a new information alert to the Schengen Information System to strengthen the fight against terrorism and serious organised crime. The change took effect on October 15. It makes information from third countries and international organisations on suspected terrorists and serious criminals available across the EU in real time. Member States can now enter this trusted information into the system. Europol supports them in the process.
The alert covers foreign terrorist fighters, suspects in serious crime investigations and individuals suspected of terrorist activities. Member States can issue an information alert on the basis of data received from external partners. Border guards and police officers will see the alert when they check a person against the system. The European Commission said the upgrade will help officers detect more criminals and terrorists. It will also make cooperation between law enforcement authorities easier.
Commissioner for Internal Affairs and Migration Magnus Brunner said Europe’s security is only as strong as the information behind it. The system is managed by eu-LISA, the EU agency for large-scale IT systems. It handled 17.76 billion searches in 2025, an 18% rise on the previous year. It held more than 94.6 million alerts at the end of that year. Member States also reported nearly 365,000 hits on alerts issued by other countries.
Europol vets intelligence from external partners
The new category rests on Regulation (EU) 2022/1190, which EU lawmakers adopted on July 6, 2022. The rules close a gap in how intelligence from outside the bloc reaches officers. Until now, information on suspects held by third countries and international organisations was often shared only with Europol. Officers who checked a person at a border or during a police stop could not see it. The alert is designed to bring that information directly to them.
Europol analyses and verifies information received from external partners before proposing an alert. A Member State then decides at its own discretion whether to enter it into the system. Only Member States can create the alerts, and they may concern only third-country nationals. The suspected offences must fall within Europol’s mandate, which covers terrorism and other serious crime. The agency has warned that serious criminal networks still pose a high threat across the EU.
Existing alert categories remain in place
The information alert adds to the categories already available in the system. Member States can continue to issue alerts linked to arrest warrants. They can also enter alerts for refusals of entry or stay on non-EU nationals. Officers who find a match on an alert contact the issuing country through the network of national SIRENE Bureaux. Those offices exchange supplementary information and coordinate the next steps between the national authorities involved in each case.
The upgrade is now active across the countries connected to the system. National authorities will decide case by case which partner information to enter as an alert. The European Commission said the change will help border guards and police officers act on shared intelligence more quickly. It presented the alert as a way to deepen cooperation between law enforcement authorities. Officers can see the new alerts during routine checks from October 15.