The European Union’s new scheme called Entry/Exit System (EES), an innovation that will eliminate passport stamps is likely to become operational by 2022. With the EES, the registration of entry and exit data, the refusal of entry data of nationals from third-country trying to cross the external borders of the EU Member States will be facilitated. The system can also determine the conditions for access to the EES to aid in law enforcement. It will also do away with passport stamps when it starts to register and store entry and exit data.
It could be recalled that in October 2017, when the EES was adopted by the EU Commission, 2020 was given as the target date of its full implementation. Now, the EU through its communication officer has told noi.md, an independent information portal from Moldova, that the EES is expected to be in operation by 2022.
“It is expected that the EES entry-exit registration system will be put into operation in 2022,” the officer replied when asked about the deadline for the implementation of the new scheme.
No explanation was given on why the system launch was pushed two years. However, the European Union has earlier postponed the launching of the European Travel Information and Authorization System (ETIAS), an electronic system that keeps track of foreigners that do not need a visa to the Schengen Zone.
The EES has been adopted by the European Union in an effort to modernize external border management through the improvement of the efficiency and quality of controls of Schengen Area external borders. It aims to support the Member States to cope with the increasing number of persons who travel to their countries without the need to increase border guards. It is help determine third-country nationals who either do not fulfill the requirements or who no longer fulfill the conditions for entry.
When the EES starts to be operational, it will be the main tool for all embassies and other authorities tasked to process visa applications to consult in making decisions to revoke, annul, or extend the validity of issued visas. The registration and storage of the entry and exit info into the EES will render the stamps on the traveler’s passport a thing of the past.
