EU set to launch an automated border system in October
"This will strengthen security (...) by helping us identify overstayers, prevent irregular movements and reduce document and identity fraud," said Magnus Brunner, the EU commissioner for migration.
Fears of longer queues and waiting times
The automated system, which was first agreed to in 2017, will be used in the EU's 27 countries, except for Ireland and Cyprus. Norway, Iceland, Switzerland and Liechtenstein, which are not EU members but are part of the Schengen free movement area, will also apply it.
In March, member states agreed on a phased rollout, which the European Commission said, on Wednesday, would begin on October 12. Under the phased rollout, member states should ramp up toward implementing the system at half of their border crossing points after three months and have it fully deployed by six months.
The commission said that travelers "can expect information campaigns" at airports and other border crossings across the EU in the months leading up to the launch. "With a six-month rollout, member states, travelers and businesses will have the time to adjust to the new system," Brunner said.
The system's introduction has raised fears of longer queues and waiting times for people traveling to Europe on trains, ferries and planes. "EES may take each passenger a few extra minutes to complete so be prepared to wait longer than usual at the border once the system starts," Britain's Foreign Office said in a travel update.
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