The EU has once again delayed the rollout its new electronic border control system after Germany, France and the Netherlands warned the bloc’s central IT infrastructure is not ready.
The long-delayed Entry-Exit System (EES) had been due to launch on 10 November, however EU home affairs commissioner Ylva Johansson on Thursday confirmed the November date is ”no longer on the table”, according to multiple reports. In a meeting of EU interior ministers, Johansson said the commission does not yet have a new timeline for the start of EES, but that it is now considering ”a phased approach… not a big bang of all border crossing points at the same time”.
EES is a biometric system which will use digital photographs and fingerprints for registering travellers from non-EU countries, including the UK, when they cross the EU’s external border. It will apply to both short-stay visa holders and visa-exempt travellers.