EU inches towards gradual rollout of biometric border controls

The EU’s biometric Entry-Exit System is set for a 180 day rollout after Members of European Parliament on the Civil Liberties Committee endorsed a draft position on the gradual launch.

The position was adopted with a 54-2 vote, with 10 abstentions. MEPs on the Committee were concerned that a simultaneous launch across all member states could compromise the system.

To avoid this, they propose targets for 10 percent of border crossings to be registered within 30 days of the launch, and 35 percent within 90 days. The launch remains set for October.

The EES will record face and fingerprint biometrics from people entering the Schengen area on short-stay visas, with the intention of reducing violations of the entry rules.

Another vote by the Committee authorized the beginning of negotiations with the European Council on the final legislation. The graduated rollout should not pose a stumbling block in those negotiations, as the Council called for a six-month introduction in March.

“In the eight years since the EES legislation was adopted, security threats have only increased, meaning that the system is now more important than ever,’ says Belgian MEP and Rapporteur Assita Kanko. “Unfortunately, the system is still not operational, as not all member states are as yet ready for its full launch. With this gradual roll-out, we aim to get the system up and running as soon as realistically possible, and I’m glad about the broad support in Parliament for my position.”

‘The slowest pupils’

The negotiations will start on May 12, The Connexion reports. Kanko told the publication that “the slowest pupils” would not be allowed to “hold the whole class back,” referring to France, Germany and the Netherlands, which have yet to declare their readiness to implement EES.

France is working on updating its Parafe biometric gates used at airports and Eurostar Eurotunnel terminals to recognize foreign nationals who have legal residency in France as not requiring EES registration.

A representative from the Union des Aéroports Français (UAF) suggests regulatory hurdles that could be thrown up by data protection authority CNIL or the Conseil d’état could further delay the country’s readiness.

Switzerland is not part of the EU, but is part of the Schengen zone, and is also working towards introducing face biometrics at its airports.

Geneva Airport CTO Massimo Gentile told public broadcaster RTS that his organization is looking towards biometric check-ins that would enable the use of biometrics at all touchpoints where passports or boarding passes are currently required, SWI reports.

Other airports in the country are also interested, according to the report, but a revision to the Civil Aviation Act would be necessary, and is not expected until late in 2026.

Geneva Airport already has all the necessary hardware, having deployed biometric hardware from SITA but left the biometric capability switched off, pending regulatory authorization.  Zurich Airport has face biometric gates operational at customs, and has been working on EES readiness with Secunet technology since 2022.

Article Topics

biometric identification  |  biometrics  |  border security  |  Entry/Exit System (EES)  |  EU  |  Europe  |  France  |  legislation  |  Switzerland