Vision-Box webinar encourages EU collaboration for biometric borders project

A two-day, online seminar organized by biometric digital identity technology provider Vision-Box last week highlighted the importance of EU stakeholders’ collaboration in order to effectively deploy the upcoming Schengen Entry/Exit System (EES).

Becoming mandatory in early 2022, the EES’s purpose is to register entry and exit data of non-EU nationals crossing the external borders of EU Member States. The initiative is intended to strengthen and protect the external borders of the Schengen area, as well as safeguard and increase the security for its citizens.

Vision-Box’s Smart Borders Explained webinar series focused on the need for digital innovation and collaboration and the impact these will have across individual countries’ Air, Land, and Sea borders.

The event was moderated by Jeff Lennon, Head of Strategic Sales & Global Partnerships at Vision-Box, and included a number of expert speakers.

Nikos Mertzanidis, Director at the European Government Affairs, Krum Garkov, Executive Director at eu-LISA, and Serge Hanssens, Advisory Partner at PwC, took part in the discussions.

Over 250 participants logged in to watch the webinars, with delegates from Rome Airport, Finavia, Fed Pol Germany, Her Majesty’s Passport Office UK, and more.

The webinars tackled a variety of issues related to the upcoming adoption of EES, with an emphasis on reducing the complexity of integrating human-machine-operated systems into pre-existing national security measures.

The goal should be achieved while also fostering interoperability procedures between the current and future EU-wide IT systems, including for biometric data.

“Although there is still much more work to be done,” Lennon said at the event, “we are confident that by the time 2022 arrives, the industry, all Travel operators, and the Schengen member states will be gradually in the best possible position to deliver an efficient travel experience like no other, enhance the GDP’s growth of each Member State while further securing the Schengen borders.”

Article Topics

biometric data  |  biometrics  |  border management  |  digital identity  |  Entry/Exit System (EES)  |  EU  |  facial recognition  |  interoperability  |  national security  |  Vision-Box