Estonian-President-visits-euLISA

The President of the Republic of Estonia Kersti Kaljulaid met with the Executive Director of eu-LISA Krum Garkov today in the headquarters of the Agency in Tallinn, Estonia. The principle purpose of the meeting was to discuss the evolving role of the large-scale IT systems in contributing to safety and security in Europe.

Mr Garkov welcomed President Kaljulaid and thanked her on behalf of the Agency for the interest and support demonstrated by the high-level visit. According to the Executive Director it gives a clear sign that the issues of an open, yet safe and secure European Union are high up on the European agenda. Likewise are matters related to innovation, digital transformation and information technology, which increasingly affect the way we manage EU justice and home affairs. Since eu-LISA is the Agency that has a role in both EU values and modern technologies, the importance of eu-LISA for Member States and for the EU as a whole will continue to grow.

President Kaljulaid and the Mr Garkov discussed the impact of transformations in the area of EU freedom, security and justice, which has become increasingly reliant on modern technologies and information sharing.  The Executive Director elaborated on the eu-LISA 2017 priorities related to the evolution of the existing IT systems and the integration of new ones in line with their respective legal basis. Both of these major task areas are linked to the revision of the Agency’s mandate and with legal proposals that are currently being negotiated at institutional level.

During a brief tour of the Agency’s current headquarters, located in the EU House in Tallinn, the President and Mr Garkov spoke about progress on the new headquarters building that will house eu-LISA in Tallinn. The expanded tasks of the Agency related to the current as well as the new systems have made the need for a larger working space increasingly evident.

President Kaljulaid also met and spoke to the staff of eu-LISA, with the offices in Strasbourg and Brussels connected via video conference.

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Contact:

Mare Haab

Head of External and Internal Communication

e-mail: press@eulisa.europa.eu

mob: +372 588 78 668

for general information: info@eulisa.europa.eu