EU rejects suspending biometric border controls despite 20 ‘difficult spots’
Summary
The European Union has decided not to pause the new fingerprint and facial recognition border controls, despite problems at about 20 locations causing long waits. The system, which tracks non-EU travelers entering and leaving the Schengen area, started last October and aims to improve security and border management.Key Facts
- New border controls require non-EU passengers to register fingerprints and facial images when entering the Schengen area.
- These biometric checks verify travelers each time they leave and re-enter the Schengen zone.
- Airports and airlines asked to suspend the controls due to delays and chaos in popular summer holiday spots like Spain, Portugal, Italy, Greece, and Belgium.
- The EU says a partial suspension is not possible because it would cause problems with travelers being wrongly recorded as overstaying.
- Only 20 out of 1,500 border crossing points report significant difficulties with long queues.
- Some airports have improved wait times by adding extra staff and border agency workers.
- The system has logged 110 million journeys and stopped about 44,500 people from entering illegally since its start.
- A separate EU travel authorization system, like the US ESTA, has been delayed.
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