New border control tele-information system costing euro 5mln is launched

A Border Guard (SG) central tele-information system was launched yesterday. Strategically important border crossings, particularly on the eastern border, already use 14 tele-information connections, and another 20 are planned by the end of this year. Col. Cezary Zalewski, Director of SG Headquarters' Communication and Information Office, said that next year portable terminals will also allow controllers to check passengers crossing the border by train. The system, costing euro 5 million, funded by PHARE, will allow access to domestic coded databases. In the future, it will be used by other EU countries' border guards, with the advantage of access to the vast databases of Schengen group countries. According to Gen. Marek Bienkowski, SG general commandant, all border crossings will be equipped with electronic terminals checking the authenticity of passports, visas, and whether passengers and cars are allowed to cross the border. (Rzeczpospolita, p. A 5) K.K.