The Council of the European Union and the European Parliament reached a provisional agreement on Monday, May 19th, to introduce the Entry/Exit System (EES) gradually over a six-month period. EES is designed to track the movements of non-EU nationals entering and exiting the Schengen Area. It will collect biometric data, including fingerprints and facial images, as well as travel history and document details.
“Thanks to this agreement, member states will be able to deploy the new border management system for registering the entry and exit into the Schengen area of non-EU nationals,” said Tomasz Siemoniak, Poland’s Interior Minister. “This is good news and will support our efforts to keep our borders safe.”
The regulation offers flexibility: member states can opt for a gradual or immediate rollout. Although no fixed launch date has been set, the European Commission will later determine the official start through a separate decision.
The EES was initially slated for launch at the end of 2024, but delays and technical concerns prompted the European Commission to propose a new, phased approach. The new regulation was necessary because the original EES framework required all member states to begin using the system simultaneously.
