Slovakia has to upgrade its Schengen Information System from version SIS I+ to SIS II, and so on Wednesday the government delved into its reserve pot to earmark EUR 3.85 million for the change.
The new second generation system SIS II is more complex and will provide countries in the Schengen Zone with more comprehensive information about the movement of migrants, asylum seekers and criminals, for instance.
The deadline set by the EU for implementing the system is March 2013, and so Slovakia hopes to start the testing phase already this June.
The money earmarked by the government is only half the required amount of EUR 7.7 million, and so the Ministry of Interior will have to come up with the rest.