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The new agreement provides for the entry-exit system to be introduced gradually.
The European Union countries agreed on Wednesday to finally launch the Entry/Exit System (EES), an automated register for short-term travelers that has been repeatedly delayed due to technical problems and a lack of preparation.
The agreement reached by the interior ministers in Brussels paves the way for a launch in the fall, although no fixed date has been set.
The Member States now have two options: They can introduce the new system at once or operate it in several phases during a six-month transition period. At the end of the transitional period, the EES should carry out all registrations at border crossings.
The phased introduction was not foreseen in the original legislation. However, following a comprehensive meeting in November, it was proposed as a viable alternative to overcome the protracted standstill and introduce the long-awaited system.
Poland, the country currently holding the rotating presidency of the EU Council, will lead the negotiations with the European Parliament to reach a final agreement on the amended law, which should go smoothly.
“October is our horizon,” Tomasz Siemoniak, Poland’s Minister of Internal Affairs and Administration, said Wednesday morning.
The system “will provide member states’ services with completely new tools to control who enters and leaves the Schengen area, for the police and border guards. This is an absolutely crucial issue”.
What is the Entry/Exit System?
The EES is a comprehensive reform that dates back to 2016 and has been repeatedly delayed. Its main aim is to modernize controls at the EU’s external borders and replace the traditional stamping of passports.
The system will apply to non-EU citizens who come to the EU for a visit, vacation or business trip and stay for up to 90 days within a 180-day period.
Once the system is up and running, visitors must present their passports on arrival, have their faces photographed, and have their fingerprints scanned electronically.
All entries and exits from the passport-free Schengen area will be recorded.
Collecting biometric data and sharing information in real time should help the authorities take action against those who do not comply with their short-term visas and commit identity fraud.
All Member States except Cyprus and Ireland and four Schengen Association countries – Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland – will participate in the system.
Passports in Cyprus and Ireland will continue to be stamped manually.
- source: de.euronews.com/picture: Image by jacqueline macou from Pixabay
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