Delay of EU Entry-Exit System Roll Out

By Connor Foster

The European Union has once again delayed the official roll out of the Entry-Exit System (EES) past its November 10 deadline. The EES is a system that would use biometric data to confirm the identity of non-EU citizens, eliminating the need to manually inspect and stamp passports at border crossings or major ports of entry. The system, which was initially supposed to launch in 2022, has been delayed for multiple reasons, including concerns about the impact the system would have on travelers during  the Paris Olympics, the Rugby World Cup, and EU school trips.

This latest delay was due to claims from France, Germany, and the Netherlands that the system was not at the level it needs to be to operate smoothly and successfully. However, these three countries claim that the shortcomings do not lie with them, but instead with EU-Lisa, the agency responsible for implementation. The holdout from France, Germany, and the Netherlands is extremely significant for the functioning of the system because 40% of the traffic the EES seeks to monitor is through these countries. Although no new date has been announced, the EU has stated a new plan to implement EES in phases which would hopefully ease the region into the changes. The big questions moving forward are if European countries will continue finding excuses to not make the change and if the EES is launched what the impact will be on non-EU travelers.