EU delays new biometric travel checks as IT systems not up to speed

BRUSSELS – The European Union has delayed the introduction of a new biometric entry-check system for non-EU citizens, which was due to be introduced on Nov 10, after Germany, France and the Netherlands said border computer systems were not yet ready.

“Nov 10 is no longer on the table,” EU Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson told reporters. She said there was no new timetable, but that the possibility of a phased introduction was being looked at.

The Entry/Exit System (EES) is supposed to create a digital record linking a travel document to biometric readings confirming a person’s identity, removing the need to manually stamp passports at the EU’s external border.

It would

require non-EU citizens arriving in the Schengen free-travel area

to register their fingerprints, provide a facial scan and answer questions about their stay.

But a spokesperson for the German Interior Ministry said the three countries, representing 40 per cent of the affected passenger traffic, were not ready to implement EES because the “necessary stability and functionality of the EES central system to be provided by the EU agency EU-Lisa is not yet in place”.

EU-Lisa is the agency responsible for the implementation of large-scale information technology systems within the EU.

The French Interior Ministry said that while France was convinced of the usefulness of EES, its introduction must be prepared properly.

The Dutch government did not immediately respond to a request for comment. REUTERS