Europe launches a new border control system: what it means for tourists

European Union countries have reached agreement on a phased rollout of the Entry/Exit System (EES), a digital traveller registry whose development and implementation has repeatedly been postponed due to technical challenges and insufficient readiness among participants.

The agreement was reached by interior ministers at a meeting in Brussels on Wednesday. The system's launch is tentatively planned for autumn, though an exact date has not yet been set.

Member states will be able to choose between two options: launching the new system across their entire territory at once, or rolling it out gradually over a six-month transition period. Once that period ends, all border crossings must be registered exclusively through the EES.

A phased rollout was not originally provided for in the legislation, but was proposed in November as a compromise to overcome the project's prolonged stagnation and speed up the launch of this long-awaited system.

Negotiations with the European Parliament on the necessary legislative amendments will be led by Poland, which currently holds the presidency of the Council of the EU. These negotiations are expected to proceed smoothly.

Poland's Interior Minister Tomasz Siemoniak said on Wednesday that the system is tentatively expected to start operating in October this year. He stressed that the EES will give border and law enforcement agencies fundamentally new tools for monitoring entry and exit of citizens to and from the Schengen Area.

What is the Entry/Exit System?

The EES project was launched in 2016, but its rollout has been repeatedly delayed. Its main goal is to modernise border control at the EU's external borders and move away from traditional passport stamping.

The system will apply to third-country nationals visiting the EU for tourism, business, or short stays of up to 90 days within a 180-day period.

Once the EES launches, travellers arriving in the EU will need to present their passport and undergo digital facial capture and fingerprint scanning. All data on crossings of the Schengen Area border will be logged in the system.

Collecting biometric data and enabling rapid information sharing will help authorities identify overstays and prevent identity fraud.

All EU countries except Cyprus and Ireland, along with the four states associated with the Schengen Area (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland), will take part in the programme. In Cyprus and Ireland, travellers' passports will continue to be stamped manually.