The CISE Virtual Open Day was held on 19 September, attracting almost 60 participants from across Europe and representing various fields of expertise in the maritime domain. The CISE Team at EMSA provided an overview of what CISE is and how it brings added value to maritime surveillance operations at sea.

With its third edition, the CISE Virtual Open Day has already became a standard point of September’s agenda. This special webinar is open to anyone interested in the Common Information Sharing Environment (CISE), including maritime authorities, industry, academia, and others. It provides a great opportunity to obtain a cross-cutting understanding of the different aspects of CISE directly from CISE experts.

This time, the workshop focused on the recently launched Operational Phase of CISE and the start of actual information exchange through the CISE network among the connected authorities. In the current context of increasing maritime security threats, it was highlighted that CISE can help maritime authorities in obtaining an enhanced maritime picture and better awareness of what is happening at sea. This can be achieved thanks to closer cooperation among civil and military actors which CISE facilitates.

The aspect of close cooperation across sectors and borders was further highlighted in the context of the CISE Stakeholders Group (CSG) presented during the workshop. EMSA explained that the CSG comprises members nominated by the EU/EEA Member States and various EU bodies involved. With support of different Working Groups, the CSG oversees the execution of all the CISE activities. This way, CISE is a tool not only created for maritime authorities but also by them, ensuring that it is fit for purpose.

For those interested in joining CISE, EMSA presented all the steps to be taken and the support provided by EMSA to each stakeholder in this process. The participants got also acquainted with the technical setup and learnt how to connect an existing system to the CISE network. They were also informed about the ongoing work to establish the exchange of classified information through CISE.

Finally, the participants were invited to follow the latest updates on CISE via the CISE webpage and EMSA social media. Many thanks to all the participants for joining the workshop and for all the interesting questions!

The presentations from the workshop can be found under the Meetings and workshops section.