The system “makes E.U. citizens more secure while keeping the impact for legitimate non-E.U. travelers to a minimum,” a European Commission spokesperson said in a statement after the meeting, noting that the system had already registered 110 million trips and refused 45,000 visitors.
E.E.S. applies in the 29-country Schengen area, which includes 25 European Union members as well as Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. Anyone who isn’t a national of a country using the system, or a citizen of Ireland or Cyprus, is required to pass through its checkpoints.
Since the system began to roll out across Europe in October, travelers have encountered an inconsistent set of procedures, taking anywhere from a few minutes to several hours. Some airports have self-service kiosks where travelers can register their biometrics. At others, border control officers manually register travelers. Only two countries, Sweden and Portugal, currently allow travelers to use a dedicated app. E.E.S. is intended to be an automated system, eventually.
“At present, the system is failing to deliver one of its core objectives: facilitating efficient border crossings while maintaining the smooth functioning of Europe’s transport network,” the aviation officials wrote in the open letter urging the European Union to act.