Border management: Council gives green light to progressive start of Entry/Exit system 11:15 The Council adopted a regulation regarding the progressive start of the Entry/Exit[...]

Today, the Council adopted an EU law that will make it possible to start the new Entry/Exit digital border management system (EES) in a gradual way over a period of six months.

The EES will improve the effectiveness and efficiency of controls at the EU's external borders. The new system will digitally record entries and exits, data from the passport, fingerprints, and facial images of non-EU nationals travelling for short stays in an EU member state.

Thanks to this system, relevant authorities ranging from border guards to law enforcement bodies will have access to data enabling to verify the third-country nationals' identity and information on whether they comply with the authorised period of stay in the Schengen area. As a result, the EES will significantly reduce the likelihood of identity fraud and overstay.

Main features of the new law:

• The new rules enable those member states who wish to implement the EES gradually over a 180 days period to do so, while making it possible for others to start operating the system fully from day one.
• EU countries should all reach full registration, including biometric data, of all individuals in the EES by the end of the six months period.
• Until the end of the transition period, member states will also continue to manually stamp travel documents.
• Member states may fully or partially suspend operating the EES at certain border crossing in exceptional circumstances (for instance when traffic intensity would lead to very high waiting times).

Next steps

The regulation enters into force on the third day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the EU. The EES will start operating progressively at a date to be determined by the European Commission.

Background

The EES Regulation, adopted in 2017, required all member states to start using the EES fully and simultaneously. To ensure a smooth launch of the EES and facilitate its timely roll-out in all member states - and because of concerns that a full start of the system could constitute a risk factor for the resilience of the IT system - the Commission proposed a gradual start.

A new regulation was necessary to make such progressive start possible.

• IT systems to fight crime and secure EU borders (background information)
• Border management: Council and EP strike agreement about progressive launch of Entry/Exit system (press release), 19 May 2025