Brussels: Europe and the Arabs
A provisional agreement reached between the Council and the European Parliament allows member states to gradually implement the Digital Border Management System (EES) over a period of six months. According to a statement issued by the EU institutions in Brussels, a copy of which we received, "Thanks to this agreement, member states will be able to deploy a new border management system to record the entry and exit of non-EU citizens into the Schengen Area. This is good news and will support our efforts to maintain the security of our borders." According to Tomasz Siemoniak, Polish Minister of the Interior and Administration, whose country currently holds the rotating EU Presidency,
The Digital Border Management System (EES) is an information system that digitally records the entry and exit of non-EU citizens traveling for short periods in an EU country. Thanks to this system, EU countries will have immediate access to the personal data of third-country nationals, their travel records, and information on their compliance with the permitted period of stay in the Schengen Area. As a result, the EES will significantly reduce the likelihood of identity theft and overstay. The gradual implementation of the eVisa System (EES) allows Member States to begin benefiting from its security features and gives border authorities and the transport sector more time to adapt to the new procedure. The European statement said, "Under the phased implementation, Member States will gradually begin operating the e-Visa system (EES) and work to register at least 10% of border crossings after the first month. During the first 60 days, Member States may operate the e-Visa system without biometric functions. After three months, Member States must operate the e-Visa system (EES)—with biometric functions—at at least 35% of their border crossing points. EU countries must achieve full registration of all individuals by the end of the six-month phased implementation of the e-Visa system (EES). Until the end of this transition period, Member States will also continue to manually stamp travel documents."
EES rollout and rollout date
The phased implementation takes into account the diverse needs of Member States. The new rules enable those wishing to gradually implement the e-Visa system over 180 days to do so, while enabling others to fully implement the system from day one.
The regulation does not specify a date for the start of the phased rollout of the system. This will require A separate decision by the European Commission.
Participating legislators agreed that during the phased rollout of the EES system, Member States may suspend its operation in whole or in part at a specific border crossing in exceptional circumstances (for example, when heavy traffic leads to very long waiting times).
After the phased rollout ends, and also in exceptional circumstances, Member States may also suspend the operation of the EES system at a specific border crossing for six hours.
According to the European statement, the agreement reached Monday is provisional. It will need to be approved by the Council and Parliament before being formally adopted by the two institutions.
It is worth noting that in October 2023, the Justice and Home Affairs Council approved plans to launch the European Energy Services (EES) system by the end of 2024. Given that this deadline was unattainable, and given concerns that full deployment of the system could pose a risk to the resilience of the IT system, the Commission proposed a phased rollout.
Since the EES Regulation requires all Member States to fully and simultaneously launch its use, it was necessary to develop a new regulation to enable the phased rollout.