Border security: agreement on gradual roll-out of Entry-Exit System

This article is brought to you in association with the European Parliament.

• Entry-Exit System will register non-EU nationals’ external border crossings for short stays 
• Aim is to improve security, speed up border checks and reduce queues 
• Gradual launch of system over 180 days to allow EU countries to prepare 

Parliament and Council have reached an agreement on gradually rolling out the Entry-Exit System (EES) at the EU’s external borders.

Negotiating teams from the European Parliament and the Polish presidency of the Council have reached an agreement on how to introduce the Entry-Exit System (EES) at the EU’s external borders.

Once operational, the system will register data, including biometric data such as facial images and fingerprints, of third‑country nationals entering and leaving the Schengen area on short‑stay visas. The aim is to improve security, speed up the border check process, and reduce queues.

Roll-out over 180 days

The idea behind gradual implementation over 180 days is to prevent a simultaneous launch in all countries from compromising the system. During the roll-out period, the launch could be temporarily suspended if waiting times become too long or there are technical issues.

The co-legislators adjusted the Commission’s original proposal for the plan’s timeline: 10% of crossings must be recorded in the system by the 30th day (as opposed to the 1st day) and 35% by the 90th day (as opposed to 50%). The idea is to ramp up implementation exponentially, making up for a slow start with faster progress later.

MEPs succeeded in negotiating contingency measures in case of problems with the system’s central roll-out, and improved coordination between the central and national plans. It was also agreed that the gradual roll-out should remain voluntary, meaning that EU countries can roll the system out all at once if they prefer. Finally, MEPs ensured that missing entries in the EES cannot be the only justification for a decision adversely affecting a traveller.

Quote

Rapporteur Assita Kanko (ECR, Belgium) said: “This agreement on the Entry-Exit System marks an important step towards making the EU’s external borders more secure and ensuring that legitimate travellers don’t face unnecessary hurdles. We worked on the new law at top speed and secured a more realistic launch timetable to allow the system to be put in place as soon as possible. Now we call on the remaining member states to finish their preparations and issue declarations of readiness, so that the roll-out can begin in earnest.”

Next steps

The result still needs to be adopted formally by both co-legislators. On the Parliament side, this means a Civil Liberties Committee vote followed by a plenary vote.

Once the legislation has entered into force, the Commission will decide when to launch the 180-day roll-out period.

Background

The Entry-Exit System (EES) is one of the EU’s interoperable databases for border management and security. Once it is fully operational, physical stamping of passports will be replaced by entries in the EES, to be accessible for real-time consultation by other Schengen area member states, in line with their security needs. The EES has been developed by the European Union Agency for the Operational Management of Large-Scale IT Systems in the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice (eu-LISA), which will also develop the central roll-out plan.

This is first time that biometric data, including fingerprints and facial images, will be collected systematically at EU external borders. The system is expected to reduce violations of entry rules.