France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Greece, Malta, Portugal, Italy, and Switzerland have announced that they will not implement the European Union’s controversial Entry-Exit System (EES) until the technology and systems are functioning properly.
The European Union’s (EU) new Entry-Exit System (EES), which mandates fingerprint and facial recognition for entry into the Schengen Area, has been postponed in France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Greece, Malta, Portugal, Italy, and Switzerland due to congestion at airports and technical glitches.
To maintain the flow of passengers at border crossings and prevent potential travel crises—particularly during peak seasons—it was stated that biometric data will not be collected at the border crossings of these nine countries until the infrastructure is fully operational.
Member states had previously been granted a 150-day grace period for the system, which was launched in phases last October and was slated to become fully operational in the first months of this year. With this latest decision, border crossings for travelers arriving from outside the EU will continue under current control procedures until the issues with the system are resolved.
