The Finnish authorities have said that the country is actively contributing to the development of interoperability within border and visa policies as part of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs UMPIO project.
The UMPIO project, short for interoperability, focuses on coordinating information and data that are related to internal security, border security, and migration management within the European Union information systems for security.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland, this project aims to develop a “detector” for the Visa Information System that will be used to check identity, travel documents, and biometric data.
The same emphasises that the main goal of this project is to identify people who are registered in multiple information systems throughout the EU, thus effectively detecting identities that are associated with the same set of biometric data.
By being able to detect multiple identities with the same biometric data, Finland wants to ensure a more secure system when processing visa applications.
The UMPIO project is developing a detector for the Visa Information System for checking identity, travel documents and biometric data to identify individuals who are registered in several EU information systems. This enables the detection of multiple identities linked to the same set of biometric data, which is important for the processing of visas.
As the Ministry explains, the UMPIO project is part of a broader project that includes collaboration between the member states of the EU, Schengen Community, as well as important EU agencies like Europol, Frontex, eu-LISA, and the EU Agency for large-scale IT systems.
The same highlights that the goal is to establish interoperability that will help to strengthen and accelerate the border and visa policies across the bloc.
Interoperability will consolidate border and visa policies.
The project is implemented by the Immigration Process and System team in cooperation with the Visa Unit of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the visa information supplier.
Financial support has been secured for this initiative to be successful. The UMPIO project has been granted over €1,800,000 through the Border Management and Visa Instruments.
As the Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs disclosed, the funding will be utilised between February 1, 2022, and January 31, 2025, ensuring the successful development and implementation of the project.
Taking into account the current challenges that the EU is facing in security and migration, the involvement of Finland in this project reflects the efforts of the country to enhance the efficacy of the region’s border and visa systems. This initiative will contribute not only to Finland but also to the security of the EU as a whole.
