EES will replace stamps in physical passports by digitally registering the data of non-EU citizens whenever they enter and exit external Schengen borders
European Union Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson has announced that the EU’s new Entry-Exit System (EES) is set to be launched on November 10.
According to Johansson, Europe will deploy the “most modern digital border management system in the world” with this new step as the biometric system will use fingerprints and digital photos for identification.
This is predicted to fundamentally change how non-EU travellers are processed at the bloc’s external borders. It will equally apply to visa-exempt travellers and those with short-stay visas.
On launch, the EES will replace stamps in physical passports by digitally registering the data of non-EU citizens whenever they enter and exit external Schengen borders, according to the statement.
The EU says that the new system will ensure travellers do not stay in the Schengen area for more than 90 days in any 180-day period. They will also be required to submit fingerprint and face biometrics on their first crossing.
Subsequent EES crossings will only require a passport scan at a self-serve kiosk to match the ID document against enrolled biometric data.
Ylva Johansson
“After intense dialogues with Member States, with you, with the different stakeholders, I have decided that the Entry/Exit System will enter into operations on November 10 Different steps are legally required before the Commission could take the formal decision, but I am proud to reveal the target day,” says Johansson.
The main aim of the system is to modernise border management, prevent irregular migration to the bloc and protect European citizens, among others.
The EES will also help identify overstayers as well as those who attempt to enter the EU using forged documents.
“We will know exactly who enters the Schengen Area with a foreign passport. We will know if people stay too long, countering irregular migration. And the Entry/Exit System will make it harder for criminals, terrorists or Russian spies to use fake passports, thanks to biometric identification with photos and fingerprints. There will be an immediate warning, this person is not who he says he is,” says Johannson.
In addition to registering the entry and exit of travellers, the system will also record entry refusals.
Johannson also touched upon the forthcoming launch of the European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS), which is set to go live in 2025.
ETIAS will require visitors from 60 visa-free countries to apply for authorisation ahead of travel to 29 European nations and to pay a fee of EUR 7.
Once the EES launches, all foreigners will have to register into the system. The data of travellers will be stored in a safe database for three years. This means that travellers will not be required to undergo the registration process every time they enter and leave the bloc.
The long-delayed biometric border system’s original launch target was 2021. It was delayed to accommodate the Olympics and due to some technical and logistical issues.
700 million travellers will be affected each year by EES
Once the EES becomes effective, Commissioner Johansson said that 700 million people travelling to Europe would be affected every year.
At the same time, she emphasised that the system would ensure that 450 million Europeans would feel safer.
“Over 700 million people will be affected by your work. Because last year more than 700 million tourists travelled to Europe. And 450 million Europeans will sleep safer thanks to your work,” adds Johansson.
However, many have flagged concerns that biometric identity EES checks will lead to long queues at borders, notably for travel between England and France, which sees some 11 million people cross every year.
Former head of the British Border Force, Tony Smith, says the EU should allow travellers to perform biometric fingerprint scans in advance through an app to avoid ‘chaos’ at busy border checkpoints. Others have floated the idea of a postponement or soft rollout.
Current estimates put the time required to do biometric border checks at around seven minutes per car, much too long, says Smith, for crossings at the Eurotunnel or Port Dover.
"
