EES has not been tested in France, say border authorities

No chance of testing new systems, longer queues, new equipment and new costs are the biggest challenges for French border agents at Normandy’s Channel ports as the November deadline to introduce the European Union’s Entry-Exit System (EES) border control system approaches.

Ports de Normandie manages three ports in France that process British and Irish passengers traveling on ferries. Both the UK and Ireland are outside the Schengen area, meaning that travelers will need to submit biometric and biographic data as part of the new EES regime.

“The problem for the moment is we have not had any tests,” Jérôme Chauvet, Ports de Normandie development and promotion director, told The Connexion in an interview.

After Brexit, France and the UK engaged in in-depth dialogues on new customs procedures which included dry-run tests. During the past year, however, the country has been preoccupied with the Olympics and Paralympics with the French Interior Ministry mandating no tests from May to September.

The biggest concern for Ports de Normandie, however, is the time that new EES procedures will take. Transport providers have noted that aside from submitting biometric data, registration kiosks may ask additional questions to travelers, including on accommodation and funds.

“If it is necessary for passengers to respond to such questions it will take longer for them to pass the border which is not good news,” says Chauvet.

The French government has provided port authorities with tablets and kiosks used for EES registration. But Ports de Normandie estimates that additional costs will amount to several hundreds of thousands of euros per year, per port.

Another issue for border authorities is whether the equipment and data validation will work. The ports plan to use a combination of kiosks and tablets. Tablets will register biographic and biometric data and check it against a European database.

We are more concerned about arrivals from the UK as we do not know how well the tablets will work,” says Chauvet.

On Thursday, the UK government issued a warning of increased waiting times due to the introduction of the EES at some ports in the South of England, including Dover, Eurotunnel and St Pancras. The UK government has also promised £10.5 million (US$13.8 million) for new registration kiosks.

The EU has set the expected time for the EES launch on November 10th but the exact timeline is still to be confirmed.

The EU is currently working on a mobile app for EES pre-registration. No news, however, is available on when the app will be launched.

Ports de Normandie foresees another issue: The legal framework for UK passengers to use an app on their own is not yet clear. Currently, a border guard has to supervise pre-registration. French ports would like the process to be completed during the ferry trips from the UK. However, there are no treaties that would allow French border guards on ferries outside of the country’s territory, Chauvet explains.

eu-Lisa to support EES

eu-LISA, the European Union agency tasked with managing large-scale IT systems, will have growing responsibilities with the upcoming Entry/Exit System (EES), according to its interim Executive Director Marili Männik.

Männik spoke to the European Parliament’s Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) Committee in Brussels this week, laying out how the system will further enhance border security within the Schengen Area. eu-LISA is the “digital heart of Schengen” which supports internal security, border management, and justice cooperation across the EU, she added.

eu-LISA will hold the annual Heads of Agencies meeting in December, during which the Network Justice and Home Affairs Agencies’ Network (JHAAN) Presidency of 2024 will be handed over to the EU’s Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA).

The agency has also announced an industry roundtable in November focusing on AI solutions, including biometrics.

eu-LISA manages five major EU information systems, including the Schengen Information System (SIS), the Visa Information System (VIS), Eurodac (European Dactylography), and e-CODEX.

Article Topics

biometric identification  |  biometrics  |  border security  |  Entry/Exit System (EES)  |  EU  |  eu-LISA  |  France  |  UK