EES faces fresh political pressure despite security gains

Airport and airline operators continue to be at loggerheads over the EU’s EES system as a first-person account sheds light on the issue. Meanwhile, the UK and France brokered a deal to ease challenges with the Entry/Exit System.

France and Greece among signers of joint letter

EU member states Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal and Switzerland have signed a joint letter requesting that emergency safeguards stay in place after September 6.

The nine countries want the EU to extend the current temporary flexibility to suspend the EES border checks beyond its September 6 amnesty. The European Commission has previously said blanket exemptions and extended durations for such suspensions lack legal underpinning.

EU authorities are under pressure, however, as the nine countries’ petition follows that of a similar one from an airline lobby group, which called for the suspension for the EES over the busy summer holiday period, and for the ability to suspend it again whenever it becomes burdensome.

The new joint letter emphasizes the “significant difficulties” experienced due to the full EES rollout and the bloc’s unreadiness. “The scheduled end of the partial suspension mechanism on 6 September is a source of serious and legitimate concern,” the letter says, as reported by Euronews.

This concern is “shared not only by several member states, irrespective of their level of preparedness, but also by the transport sector as a whole,” the signatories say. “We consider it essential that, beyond September 6, member states retain this [capability].”

Even as the EES is intended to do away with manual checks, reduce burdens and automate border checks, some places are needing more bodies on the ground to smooth things over.

The UK brokers deal for French border guards for EES checks

The UK is getting more French border guards at British checkpoints to avoid the kind of long delays that have dogged the system.

UK Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander brokered the agreement for the extra French manpower with her French counterpart Philippe Tabarot in preparation for the busier summer period.

According to The Times, some border crossings are apparently collecting the same biometric scans multiple times. Since leaving the EU, British travellers must register as third country nationals when entering the bloc with Britain pushing for an expanded French presence at EU border checks in the UK, such as at the Port of Dover in southeast England.

“As well as the over £20 million [US$26.7 million] we have given to increase booths for passport checks and minimize disruption, I have raised holidaymakers’ concerns directly with the EU commissioner for transport to make sure they are playing their part to reduce delays during the busiest travel period of the year,” Alexander said.

A government minister also said UK officials have urged France to “prioritize flow” during the peak summer holiday period. This stress on the movement of people over compliance is also one that airline chiefs share, although the language used is more blunt.

EasyJet chief executive Kenton Jarvis, for example, has called border queues “completely unacceptable” while Alexander Zinell, his counterpart at Fraport Greece, which operates 14 airports across Greece, has claimed there are “fundamental flaws” in the border controls.

“Border authorities must make full use of the permitted flexibilities now, and if this cannot be done effectively, the system must be reviewed and those flexibilities extended beyond their September cliff edge, to ensure our customers do not continue being disrupted,” Jarvis said.

EES border security blocks almost 44,000 people

A big reason why the EU persists with the EES is due to its faith in the system as a security upgrade. New figures released by the European Commission highlights this effect.

Border security checks under the EES have blocked nearly 44,000 people from entering the Schengen Area since the system’s phased launch in October 2025, the Commission has said.

The EU maintains that EES is a necessary upgrade to border security. Since its partial launch, the system has screened around 110 million travellers at the bloc’s external borders. Of the 43,728 people denied entry, 16,383 lacked sufficient justification for travel and 8,739 would have overstayed their permitted time in the Schengen Area, according to figures shared with Politico.

Earlier data showed nearly 7,000 travellers were blocked during the rollout for potential overstays, underscoring the importance of the 90/180‑day rule. More than 400 people were stopped for attempting to enter with counterfeit documents. A full breakdown will be published in the annual state of Schengen report, typically released in May.

Eurostat figures published last year showed that nearly 400 Britons and Americans were refused entry to France in 2025.

As for the travel delays, in a letter shared with AFP, European Commissioner for Internal Affairs and Migration Magnus Brunner said the bloc would “redouble its efforts” to support countries struggling with implementation.

Brunner defended the system, saying it “works well” and that many delays stem from staffing shortages and inadequate airport infrastructure rather than EES itself. He said the Commission would increase assistance to member states still facing problems.

A reporter who has closely tracked the rollout of Europe’s new Entry/Exit System (EES) says repeated technical slowdowns at biometric kiosks are a major driver of the long airport queues now facing non‑EU travellers.

Passport scanners causing delays, according to first-person accounts

Gunnar Olson of Thrifty Traveler told NPR that when the system works smoothly, travellers scan their passports, provide facial and fingerprint biometrics, and move on within seconds. But the first step can be problematic.

According to Olson, passport scanners can take “up to five minutes” to read a document, forcing travellers to try repeatedly before the kiosk accepts it. He said he experienced the issue leaving Italy, and his colleague encountered the same problem several times.

With hundreds of passengers from a wide‑body aircraft funnelling into kiosks that each take minutes per person, “that’s a long line in and of itself,” he said.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) had urged the EU to postpone full implementation until after summer to avoid severe congestion. The EU rejected that request.

Brussels believes the slowdown is temporary and will ease once more travellers have enrolled their biometric data and member states improve staffing and infrastructure. IATA, however, argues that airlines need immediate relief to prevent hourslong queues and disrupted itineraries.

“The European Union basically said, look, this isn’t perfect, but we’re going to have to go through this at some point. We might as well endure the pain right now,” Olson told NPR.

Article Topics

biometrics  |  border security  |  Entry/Exit System (EES)  |  Europe  |  identity verification