Two months after the European Union launched its new biometric Entry/Exit System (EES) at Schengen borders, the rollout remains plagued by long queues and inconsistent procedures. Now, a senior official from Frontex, the EU border agency, has warned that the system could take up to two years to fully stabilise — a timeline the travel industry has described as “very painful”.
Speaking at an event organised by ABTA, the UK travel agents’ association, in London, Uku Särekanno, deputy executive director at Frontex, acknowledged that the collection of fingerprints from non-EU travellers on their first entry to the Schengen Area is “probably the most challenging part” of the rollout. “We expect the situation will stabilise in one or two years because the most challenging part is the first enrolment,” Särekanno said.
The EES, which replaced manual passport stamping with digital registration of biometric data, was meant to modernise border controls across the 27-nation Schengen zone. But since mid-April, when the system was supposed to be fully operational, travellers have faced lengthy queues at popular entry points in Spain, Portugal, and France. Greece initially suspended checks for British citizens but later reversed that decision, with the foreign ministry stating in late May that it had no information about any temporary exemptions for specific nationalities.
Inconsistent Implementation Across Member States
Särekanno noted that the uneven rollout across EU member states is compounding the problem. “There are some who are managing it rather well and have dedicated resources for them to follow the processes,” he said. “There are others who are still struggling.” He also criticised instances where travellers have been asked to provide fingerprints after their first visit — a practice not required by EES rules. “We’re trying to ensure there’s a coherent approach to the border procedures,” he added. “We’re putting in a lot of effort to ensure practices are harmonised.”
The lack of uniformity has frustrated both travellers and industry stakeholders. Mark Tanzer, chief executive of ABTA, called the two-year stabilisation warning “very painful”. The travel sector, already under pressure from post-pandemic recovery and rising costs, now faces the prospect of continued disruption during the peak summer season.
In what will be unwelcome news for holidaymakers, Särekanno confirmed that there are no plans to allow individual countries to temporarily suspend EES procedures to ease queues during particularly busy periods. Nevertheless, he expressed hope that by September the system’s teething problems would be largely resolved.
The EES is part of a broader EU effort to tighten external border security while maintaining the free movement of people within the Schengen area. However, the current chaos underscores the challenges of implementing a unified digital system across 27 member states with varying levels of infrastructure and administrative capacity. The situation also highlights the tension between security objectives and the smooth flow of travellers — a balance that the EU has struggled to strike in recent years.
For now, travellers heading to the continent this summer should brace for potential delays, particularly at land borders and major airports. The European Commission has not yet commented on the Frontex official’s remarks, but the issue is likely to be raised at upcoming meetings of interior ministers.
