EU Officials Mull Remote Biometric Registration Ahead of Likely EES Delay

The implementation of the European Union’s planned biometric border control system is all but certain to be delayed again.

Citing “EU diplomat sources”, The Guardian reports that there is “very little chance” that the Entry-Exit System will launch in early November, and that officials will be “briefed on contingency plans” at a meeting of home affairs ministers this week.

There have been plenty of hints that a delay was coming since European Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson insisted several weeks ago that the EES would go live November 10. Most recently, officials from France, Germany, and the Netherlands were leaking concerns that key IT infrastructure would not be ready in time for that launch date.

The overarching aim of the EES is to modernize border management by replacing traditional passport stamps with biometric data collection, such as fingerprint and facial scans, for non-EU travelers entering and exiting the Schengen Area. Such data will be stored for up to five years, improving security, reducing processing times, and helping authorities monitor visa overstays and potential security threats.

The system was originally meant to launch in 2022, with multiple delays pushing the launch date to May of 2023, then November of 2023, and then November of this year. It isn’t yet clear what the next target date could be in the event that it is delayed again.

Apparently a few different contingency plans are now being considered. One option is a phased launch that would see the biometric border checks implemented piece by piece across different ports. Another is an “EES Lite” idea that would collect passport data from European Union member states into a centralized database, and commence the actual biometric border screening later.

A third idea is to change European Union rules to let travelers upload their biometric data remotely, perhaps through an app, rather than at the border checkpoints themselves.

Speaking candidly to The Guardian, one source described the situation as “a bit of a mess”.

Source: The Guardian

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October 10, 2024 – by Alex Perala