The Civil Liberties Committee MEPs have given the green light to the gradual rollout of the EU’s new border system – the Entry/Exit System (EES).
By launching the EES in a gradual manner, MEPs said that the member states will be given the chance to start operating it in stages and make sure that everything is ready for the complete implementation, Schengen.News reports.
Once operational, the system will replace manual passport stamping, requiring foreign nationals to provide biometric data, including fingerprints and facial scans.
The EES will speed up the process and reduce queues, and it will also make it easier for the authorities to keep track of people entering and leaving the bloc, detecting overstayers and those using fake identities, among others.
The system will register data of third‑country nationals, including biometric data such as facial images and fingerprints, as they enter and leave the Schengen area on short-stay visas. This is intended to improve security, speed up the process, and reduce queues.
Initially, the plan was to introduce the system all at once. However, taking into account the problems that occurred along the way and the unreadiness of some member states, it was proposed by the EES to be launched gradually.
The plan for the gradual rollout was adopted with 54 votes in favour, two against, and with ten abstentions.
Entry/Exit System Is More Important Than Ever, MEP Kanko Said
Commenting on the endorsement of the gradual rollout of the EES, rapporteur Assita Kanko, who made this position, said that the new system is more important than ever.
According to her, threats have increased in the last years and this measure will help the authorities to make the EU citizens safer.
The purpose of the Entry-Exit System is to make EU citizens safer. In the eight years since the EES legislation was adopted, security threats have only increased, meaning that the system is now more important than ever.
At the same time, Kanko emphasised that with the new approach, the goal is to get the system up and running as soon as possible.
Prior to the endorsement of MEPs, the EU member states had already agreed to a phased rollout of the EES.
The agreement was reached during a meeting held in Brussels earlier in March, during which the Polish Minister of Interior, Tomasz Siemoniak, said that “October is our horizon”. By making such a statement, Minister Siemoniak suggested that the EES is likely to start operations this autumn.
Under the phased implementation, the member states will be able to launch the new system progressively across a six-month transition period.