This is bad news for Britons travelling to Europe on holiday this summer, the new chaotic border controls are not going to be suspended until after the summer season. The European Commission has today defended the allegedly smooth implementation of the new digitalised system for EU external border control (EES) at most passenger crossing points and considers the “flexibility” allowing for the suspension of biometric registration at specific times of peak passenger numbers to be sufficient, and therefore deems a total suspension of the system this summer to ease waiting times – as demanded by major airlines and several airports – to be “impossible”.
This was conveyed by EU sources hours before representatives of the European Commission were due to meet with the aviation industry on Tuesday afternoon in Brussels, in response to the letter signed last week by the Airports Council International (ACI), Airlines for Europe (A4E) and the International Air Transport Association (IATA) last week calling for the suspension of the system due to “pressure” during the holiday period.
“It is impossible to fully suspend the system, firstly because it is not necessary and, secondly, because it is not possible. The system simply does not work if you suspend it completely at one of the points of entry or exit (from the European Union),” argue EU experts, as this would disrupt the two-way monitoring of both entry and exit.
A complete suspension, the sources insist, would lead to complicated situations, such as a non-EU traveller being denied entry to the Union because their exit was not recorded on a previous journey, as digital checks were suspended at the point through which they left EU territory.
The EES system was due to come into force last autumn, but delays in preparations by several Member States – including Germany and the Netherlands – led the EU to agree to a six-month extension to give the laggards more time and thus allow for a phased roll-out until April this year.
Brussels also emphasises that the system – which replaces traditional passport stamping with a digital check that includes biometric registration – was not rolled out until “all Member States had formally notified that they were ready for it” and attributes the incidents that still occur – such as long waiting times at some airports – to “operational issues and those relating to available resources” due to a lack of dedicated resources on the part of the authorities, rather than to technical or security problems with the EES.
Furthermore, the EU services emphasise that the system already offers significant “flexibility”, which several Member States still make use of during periods of long queues at airports or other border crossings, allowing them to pause biometric registration – one of the most time-consuming steps. This option is available until the end of summer to help manage border controls during the holiday season, but the Commission does not intend to extend it beyond September – as requested by airlines – and makes it clear that “no Member State” has so far requested such an extension of the timetable.
Commission experts are also in constant contact with both national authorities and the industry to ensure implementation is as smooth as possible; additional resources have been allocated to help those lagging behind become operationally ready, and a pre-registration app has been launched, allowing passengers to complete most of the information required to pass through border control before arriving at the border point.
EU representatives warn that the measures that would truly be effective in tackling queues at border controls – which can lead to delays or missed flights – lie more with the industry, which they are calling on to “continue to invest further” in helping national authorities find the best way to “manage passenger flow” at critical times or on peak dates.