EU approves progressive start to Entry/Exit border control system

European Union minister adopted on July 18 an EU law that will make it possible to start the new Entry/Exit digital border management system (EES) in a gradual way over a period of six months, a statement by the Council of the EU said.

The EES will improve the effectiveness and efficiency of controls at the EU’s external borders, the statement said.

The new system will digitally record entries and exits, data from the passport, fingerprints, and facial images of non-EU nationals travelling for short stays in an EU member state.

“Thanks to this system, relevant authorities ranging from border guards to law enforcement bodies will have access to data enabling to verify the third-country nationals’ identity and information on whether they comply with the authorised period of stay in the Schengen area,” the statement said.

As a result, the EES will significantly reduce the likelihood of identity fraud and overstay, it said.

The new rules enable those member states who wish to implement the EES gradually over a 180 days period to do so, while making it possible for others to start operating the system fully from day one.

The statement said that the main features of the new law included that EU countries should all reach full registration, including biometric data, of all individuals in the EES by the end of the six months period.

Until the end of the transition period, member states will also continue to manually stamp travel documents.

Member states may fully or partially suspend operating the EES at certain border crossing in exceptional circumstances (for instance when traffic intensity would lead to very high waiting times).

The regulation enters into force on the third day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the EU. The EES will start operating progressively at a date to be determined by the European Commission.