The European Commission maintains that the new digital system for controlling the EU's external border (EES) is functioning normally at most passenger crossings and considers that the already foreseen "flexibility," which allows for temporary suspension of biometric registration during periods of high influx, is sufficient. Therefore, it deems it "impossible" to completely halt the model this summer to reduce waiting times, as demanded by major airlines and several airports.
Community sources explained this a few hours before the meeting scheduled for this Tuesday afternoon in Brussels between representatives of the Community Executive and the air sector, convened after the letter sent last week by the Airports Council International (ACI), Airlines for Europe (A4E), and the International Air Transport Association (IATA), in which they requested the suspension of the system due to the "pressure" inherent in the holiday season.
"It is impossible to fully suspend the system, first because it is not necessary and, second, because it is not possible. The system simply does not work if you suspend it completely at one of the entry or exit points (of the European Union)," community experts point out, warning that this would break the two-way control, both at entry and exit.
The same sources indicate that a total interruption would generate problematic situations, for example, a traveler from a third country being denied entry to the EU because their departure was not recorded on a previous trip, due to the digital control being deactivated at the point where they left the community territory.
The EES system was supposed to start being applied in the autumn of last year, but delays by several Member States, including Germany and the Netherlands, forced the EU to grant a six-month extension to give leeway to the most delayed and allow for a staggered implementation until April of this year.
Brussels also emphasizes that the system, which replaces traditional passport stamping with digital control and biometric registration, was not launched until "all Member States formally notified they were ready for it." Problems still detected, such as prolonged queues at some airports, are attributed to "operational aspects and those related to available resources" due to the lack of resources allocated by the authorities, and not to technical or security failures of the EES.
Community services also recall that the model already incorporates significant "flexibility" which several countries continue to use when large queues form at airports or other border crossings, allowing them to temporarily stop biometric registration, one of the slowest procedures.
This option will be maintained until the end of summer to facilitate the management of controls during peak season, but the Commission does not plan to extend it beyond September, as proposed by the airline industry, and stresses that "no Member State" has so far requested to extend that calendar.
Commission experts maintain regular contact with both national administrations and companies in the sector to promote the smoothest possible implementation. In addition, additional resources have been enabled to support the most lagging countries at an operational level, and a pre-registration 'app' has been launched that allows passengers to complete most of the necessary data before arriving at border control.
In this scenario, community representatives insist that truly effective measures to reduce bottlenecks at controls, which can end up causing delays or missed flights, largely depend on the industry itself, which they urge to "continue investing more" in supporting national authorities and in finding the best way to "organize the flow of passengers" on the most critical dates and time slots.