The latest ‘target date’ for the start of the EU’s new digital border checks came and went almost two weeks ago – so what is the state of play now?
Many will be wondering if it is still set to start this year, and whether it will cause longer queues at ports, stations and airports around the end-of-year holidays.
Officially, we still do not know. Unofficially, it is considered unlikely the system will now launch in 2024.
Here we look at what is known, with the latest information from the EU authorities.
Several countries were not ready
Following several previous postponements, the European Entry Exit System (EES) had been set to start on November 10, but in October a European commissioner confirmed that France and two other EU countries had reported they were not ready for this.
She also referred to concerns over ‘resilience’ of the central IT systems that are set to collect the data sent from border points around the Schengen area.
She said the ‘target date’ of November 10 that she had announced in the summer was now ‘off the table’, but did not give a new date. She said the commission would investigate the legal possibility of the checks being ‘phased in’, initially at some Schengen border points and not others.
Reactions were mixed, with Dover District Council expressing relief and saying that congestion on the roads would have resulted in “carnage” if the system had started on November 10, as planned.
Read more: November 10 start date would have been utter carnage, Lords told
Eurostar and Channel Tunnel operators Getlink, however, said they had worked to be ready on time. Getlink was reported to be considering legal action over expenses that it will face as a result, notably having recruited especially.
What is EES?
The new controls are due to be carried out at all points where non-EU citizen visitors to the Schengen area cross the area's borders, in or out.
The first travel in or out after launch will involve the collection of non-EU citizen visitors’ passport details, a facial image and a scan of fingerprints. Some basic questions will also be asked about the nature of the trip. A database entry will be retained and used to log a person’s future entries and exits.
Those with EU residency cards and visas will be exempt but are expected to be caught up in the queues as border police will take longer to check travellers. EES should track the 90/180 days rule, where applicable, so passport stamping may be phased out.
What is happening now?
EU-Lisa – the European agency in charge of the central IT systems – has been working towards a launch in ‘autumn 2024’ and this ‘timeline’ obtained political approval from the European Council’s Justice and Home Affairs (JHA) formation (home affairs ministers from the EU member states).
At present there has been no formal announcement that the ‘autumn 2024’ timeline has changed.
A European Council spokesman said it is likely that in coming weeks the commission will present proposals to amend the EES regulations to allow for ‘phasing in’. If so, the change will have to be adopted by the Council and the European Parliament.
(Editor’s note: this being the case it is considered unlikely anything will now start this year, especially as starting just before the Christmas holidays would be unpopular).
The next meeting of the JHA will be on December 12 by which point the ‘autumn’, which ends on December 21, will be almost over.
The council spokesman said there will be some further communication at that stage, possibly including an official announcement of a new strategy, and retracting the previous endorsement of the ‘autumn’ timeline.
A commission spokesperson said declarations of readiness from all member states is a legal requirement to start the operation of the system and, as reported, three countries had not provided this.
“Very specific conditions have to be met” to be able to declare readiness and as implementing EES is a “complex operation”, “delays could not be completely excluded”, the spokesperson added.
Read more: French ferry ports: ‘IT and tablets not ready for EES border changes’
“It is a priority for the commission to start operating the EES as soon as possible given the benefits for the EU and the important investments already made by the member states, EU-LISA, operators of infrastructure of the border crossing points and other stakeholders.
“The commission is now assessing the feasibility of a progressive approach, as requested by the EU-LISA Management Board on September 25. This means introducing flexibility in the start of operations of the EES, allowing member states to deploy the system gradually.
“This would allow for a period of adjustment for authorities and travellers, while ensuring the security and efficiency of border checks at the external borders.
“This approach was discussed in the JHA Council on October 10 and it has been considered the best way forward for swift progress.
“The commission is now working on the next steps.”
