A provisional deal agreed today between the Council and the European Parliament allows member states to gradually introduce the Entry/Exit digital border management system (EES) over a period of six months.
| “Thanks to this agreement member states will be able to deploy the new border management system for registering the entry and exit into the Schengen area of non-EU nationals. This is good news and will support our efforts to keep our borders safe.” |
| — Tomasz Siemoniak, Polish Minister of the Interior and Administration |
The EES is an IT system that will digitally record entries and exits, data from the passport, fingerprints, and facial images of non-EU nationals travelling for short stays in an EU member state. Thanks to this system EU countries will have real-time access to third-country nationals’ personal data, travel history and information on whether they comply with the authorised period of stay in the Schengen area. As a result, the EES will significantly reduce the likelihood of identity fraud and overstay.
The phased introduction of the EES allows member states to start benefitting from its security features and gives border authorities and the transport industry more time to adjust to the new procedure.
Progressive start
Under the phased deployment, member states will progressively start operating the EES and work towards a minimum registration of 10% of border crossings after the first month. For the first 60 days, member states may operate the EES without biometric functionalities. After three months, member states should operate the EES – with biometric functionalities – at a minimum of 35% of their border crossing points. EU countries should reach full registration of all individuals by the end of the six months period of the progressive start of EES operation.
Until the end of this transition period, member states will also continue to manually stamp travel documents.
EES roll-out and start date
The gradual roll-out takes the diverse needs of member states into account. The new rules enable those who wish to implement the EES gradually over a 180 days period to do so, while making it possible for others to start operating the system fully from day one.
The regulation does not set a date for the start of the progressive deployment of the system. This will require a separate European Commission decision.
Suspension
The co-legislators agreed that during the progressive start of operations of the EES, member states may fully or partially suspend operating the EES at certain border crossing in exceptional circumstances (for instance when traffic intensity would lead to very high waiting times).
After the end of the progressive start, and again in exceptional circumstances, member states may also suspend operating the EES at a certain border crossing point for 6 hours.
Next steps
The agreement reached today is provisional. It will have to be confirmed by the Council and the Parliament before it can be formally adopted by both institutions.
Background
In October 2023, the Justice and Home Affairs Council endorsed plans to launch the EES at the end of 2024. As this deadline could not be met – and because of concerns that a full start of the system could constitute a risk factor for the resilience of the IT system – the Commission proposed a gradual start.
Because the EES regulation requires all member states to start using the EES fully and simultaneously, a new regulation was necessary to make a progressive start possible.