A new app is intended to help reduce the drastic increase in waiting times at the EU’s external borders from the autumn. Its use is voluntary, says Frontex.
All visa-free travellers from third countries are to provide their biometric data when crossing the EU border. This is the aim of the new European “Entry/Exit System” (EES), which is due to go into operation in autumn after years of preparation. Four fingerprints and a facial image will be required – regardless of the reason why people are travelling to the EU. The EU Agency for the Operational Management of Large-Scale IT Systems (eu-LISA) in Tallinn is responsible for setting up and operating the EES.
The new control system leads to significantly longer waiting times for entry checks. The EU interior ministers have therefore postponed the introduction until after the Olympic Games in France; the launch is now planned for October. The German government is lobbying in Brussels to postpone the date once again, as otherwise the German tests of the EES cannot be completed in full. Other EU countries are also behind schedule, with only eight of them having reported successful integration.
In order to further reduce control times, Frontex is planning to introduce a “Quick Border App”, which travellers can use to register in advance before crossing the border. To do this, users send their name, date of birth, passport number and a facial image taken with their mobile phone to the relevant authorities.
The EU Border Agency has developed a similar app together with the German Federal Police and has already tested it in Munich and Gibraltar. However, there was never any mention of a facial image: According to Frontex, travellers were only asked to answer questions about their journey, such as whether they were planning to take up work and how much cash they were carrying. As a reward, users could then use separate control lanes with short queues.
“It is important to emphasise that this is not a mandatory application for travellers or member states,” said Frontex when asked by “nd”. The EU states can therefore decide for themselves whether they want to offer the entry app collectiing facial images at their land, air and sea borders. The governments must then also bear the costs of implementation. However, all expenses for servers and the further development of the app will be financed from the Frontex budget.
According to Frontex, the “Quick Border App” is currently being tested at Arlanda International Airport in Sweden’s capital Stockholm. The German Federal Police also provided “valuable suggestions and feedback” during the preparatory phase. After the pilot phase, the system is to go into regular operation for the first time in Stockholm from September 2024.
Published in German in „nd“.
Image: The German Federal Police has developed a border app for Frontex to make travellers use a control zone with short waiting times. It was not previously known that it would also contain facial images (Federal Police).
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