The Entry/Exit System (EES) is among the measures undertaken as part of the Security Union and will help achieve the objectives of the European Agenda on Security and the European Agenda on Migration in particular regarding border management and preventing cross-border crime and terrorism.
Over the past years we have been working to strengthen and protect our external borders to safeguard and increase the security of the Schengen area. It is an important step towards achieving more effective border management and better oversight of who is crossing the EU’s external borders.
European Commission statement
The European Agency for the operational management of large-scale IT systems in the area of freedom, security and justice (eu-LISA) is responsible for developing and managing the system, which is expected to be operational by the end of September 2022.
The EES is an automated IT system for registering travellers from third-countries, both short-stay visa holders and visa exempt travellers, each time they cross an EU external border. The system will register the person’s name, type of the travel document, biometric data (fingerprints and captured facial images) and the date and place of entry and exit, in full respect of fundamental rights and data protection.
It will also record refusals of entry. EES will replace the current system of manual stamping of passports, which is time consuming, does not provide reliable data on border crossings and does not allow a systematic detection of over-stayers (travellers who have exceeded the maximum duration of their authorised stay).
The new system will contribute to prevent irregular migration and help protect the security of European citizens. It will also help bona fide third-country nationals to travel more easily while also identifying more efficiently over-stayers as well as cases of document and identity fraud. In addition to this, the system will enable a wider use of automated border control checks and self-service systems, which are quicker and more comfortable for the traveller.
