Two months after the launch of the new biometric border control system in Europe, passengers are still standing in long queues and facing different procedures. A Frontex representative warns that full stabilization of the Entry/Exit System may take up to two years.
The new European Entry/Exit System (EES) was supposed to modernize border control, but several months after its launch, travelers are still facing chaos and confusion.
Now, an EU representative has acknowledged that it may take up to two years for the controversial system to operate smoothly — a prospect that the tourism industry has called 'very painful.'
The Frontex agency, which helps manage the EU's external borders, admitted that the collection of biometric data is one of the key issues causing initial failures in the system's operation.
Frontex's Deputy Executive Director Uku Sirekanno stated that fingerprinting travelers from non-EU countries upon their first entry into the Schengen Area is 'probably the most challenging part' of the implementation.
'We expect the situation to stabilize in a year or two, as the most difficult part is the initial data entry,' Sirekanno said while speaking at an event of the British Association of Travel Agents and Tour Operators (ABTA) in London.
He criticized the practice of requiring some travelers to provide fingerprints on subsequent trips, even though the EES rules do not stipulate this.
'We are striving for a uniform approach to border procedures,' Sirekanno added.
'We are making significant efforts to standardize practices.'
In response to the two-year timeline announcement, ABTA CEO Mark Tanzer called this warning 'very painful.'
A serious problem at launch was that individual countries chose different approaches to implementing the system.
As of mid-April this year, the EES is supposed to be fully operational at all borders of the Schengen Area of free movement, but long queues are forming in popular tourist destinations, including Spain, Portugal, and France.
Greece effectively suspended checks for British citizens but recently abandoned this idea. At the end of May, the country's Foreign Ministry stated that it had no information that 'representatives of any nationalities are temporarily exempt from the relevant procedure.'
Sirekanno acknowledged that the asynchronous and country-specific launch of the system in the EU affects how quickly it can be fine-tuned.
'There are countries that are managing quite successfully and allocating special resources to comply with all procedures,' he said. 'But there are also those who are still experiencing serious difficulties.'
To the dismay of travelers on the brink of the summer season, he added that there are no plans to expand the powers of individual countries to suspend EES procedures to reduce queues during peak periods.
Nevertheless, the Frontex representative expressed hope that the main issues would be resolved by September.
However, his statements did not reassure all officials.
Later, Airlines UK Chief Tim Alderslade stated: 'We still have a lot of work to do.'
