With three of Europe’s biggest gateways saying computer systems are not yet ready to handle it, the EU has once again postponed the start of its electronic entry/exit system, or EES. It was to have started in less than a month, on November 10.
France, Germany and the Netherlands all called for the halt, saying that the EU’s EU-Lisa central data system was not ready to handle the system’s volume. Under the EES, passengers crossing the Schengen zone’s borders would be required to register biometrics to allow automated tracking at borders, replacing manual inspection and passport stamping.
EU Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson told press late last week that “Nov. 10 is no longer on the table,” and said that there was no new timetable. She indicated that the possibility of a phased introduction, involving only a limited number of airports, was being looked at.
That approach would answer the qualms of travel operators who feared full-scale implementation of a system that had never been piloted. There are also hints that rather than requiring fingerprints and biometrics on first entry the system might shift to taking either one but not requiring both.
First announced in 2016 with a 2018 start date, it has now been postponed so many times that most people have lost count. Equipment for it has been installed in many airports and ferry terminals, but fears of long backups have fueled previous postponements.
