On 21 September 2022, EMSA held a Virtual Open Day dedicated to the current and future Node Owners of CISE. In order to acquire more in depth knowledge about various aspects of CISE and its Transitional Phase the participants had the opportunity to join the thematic slots of their choice.

The workshop was organised in the context of the approaching end of the CISE Transitional Phase (December 2023) to support the Node Owners to get ready for the operational phase. During the workshop EMSA presented all the necessary steps required to start the actual exchange of information in an operational context. Among these steps, EMSA emphasized the need for stakeholders to establish their information sharing plans, namely, to identify the types of data they would like to share in the network and the information they would like to receive from others to enhance their maritime surveillance activities. Furthermore, in preparation for the operational use of CISE it is essential that the operators in the Maritime Operations Centres are also involved in this process.

The presentation dedicated to the Cooperation Agreement (CA) explained why it is necessary to set rules for the exchange of information. The CA is a multilateral agreement that has to be signed by each stakeholder before they start sharing information within the network. EMSA informed that this agreement guarantees amongst other things, the reliability of the data exchanged, the protection of data ownership and intellectual property. Once the agreement is signed and the information exchange in the network begins, the participants will be encouraged to follow the “Responsibility to Share” principle, which was also presented during the workshop. This principle is based on the idea that stakeholders will voluntarily share any information they deem useful, with any other stakeholder, in order to improve overall performance of the network.

From a technical perspective, the participants to the workshop were able to acquire a better understanding of how CISE works. EMSA presented in detail the features of the building blocks (CISE Node and adaptors) that interconnect and enable the exchange of information between the existing ICT systems (legacy systems) across sectors and borders. The emphasis was put on the security aspects of the network. EMSA presented the CISE Security programme including the accreditation process to enable the sharing of classified (up to EU-RESTRICTED) information, which will be a crucial feature of CISE to foster the cooperation between civil and military organizations.

Other topics addressed during the workshop were related to the ongoing work on the standardization of the CISE Data and Service model led by the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI), funding opportunities for the CISE implementation, available trainings, and communication material.

The workshop was attended by more than 30 participants representing 13 different EU/EEA Member States and 5 EU Agencies and institutions.