Belgium has postponed biometric data registration under the EU Entry/Exit System after tests caused long airport queues, while the UK’s Port of Dover and Eurotunnel face a second delay to biometric border checks due to connectivity problems between fingerprint terminals and French central databases. Both setbacks come ahead of the April 10 full implementation deadline.
Belgium Interior Minister Bernard Quintin and Migration Minister Anneleen Van Bossuyt announced the postponement, stating that technological and infrastructural conditions for biometric registration are not in place. Belgian tests led to significant increases in waiting times at border controls. Belgium joins the Netherlands and France in delaying biometric registration.
UK officials told the BBC that fingerprint and facial-recognition terminals at Dover cannot reliably exchange data with French servers. Motorists will not have to provide biometric data for at least another six weeks, though lorry drivers and coach passengers remain subject to EES registration.
The system’s chaotic launch in October saw queues lasting up to 90 minutes and technical failures at multiple border crossings. The EU announced the October 12 launch date with full enforcement by April 10, 2026, but implementation has faced persistent technical challenges.
The EES collects four fingerprints and a facial image from non-EU nationals. The system began gradual rollout on October 12, 2025, with full implementation due April 10, 2026. EU rules allow member states to pause EES checks for up to 90 days after rollout, with a 60-day extension available.
France has enrolled only about one-third of non-EU travellers, below the 50 percent target for March 10. Just days before these latest delays, Austria extended its EES contract to 2029 citing a decade of postponements at the European Commission level.
Sources: Belga News Agency, BBC News, Kent Online
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By Ji-seo Kim
