ERA calls for an extended deadline for EES implementation
7 September 2021: The European aviation sector is supportive of these regulations and worked with the European Commission, the Council, the Parliament and the relevant authorities in the Member States, to contribute to their successful adoption. We expect that the EES will modernise the EU’s external border management, help combat terrorism and serious crime while guaranteeing the free movement of people within the Schengen space. Together with the Schengen information system (SIS), the Visa information system (VIS), Eurodac and the European travel information and authorisation system (ETIAS), the EES – if implemented and operated efficiently – will constitute an essential cornerstone of the IT systems in the area of freedom, security and justice and thus of the EU Single Market.
According to Regulation (EU) 2017/2226, the European Commission shall decide the date on which the Entry/Exit System will start operations. This will happen once the technical aspects are defined and completed by eu-LISA and all Member States have validated the technical and legal arrangements to collect and transmit the concerned passengers’ personal data and submitted their declaration of readiness. During the 14 December 2020 meeting of the Home Affairs Council, Ministers analysed the implementation of the interoperability of the IT systems. “Due to delays aggravated by the COVID-19 pandemic” a revised timeline was set out for the operationalisation of the EES and the European Commission was requested to postpone the date of the start of the operations of the EES – initially foreseen for February 2022 – until May 2022.
The undersigned associations agree with the conclusions of the Home Affairs Council and are of the opinion that the conditions for an effective and smooth start of the operations of the EES are not and will still not be met by May 2022, for the following reasons:
Member States’ preparedness: Compliance tests should run from September until December 2021. We believe that the connection of the national border infrastructure to the EES Central System and the National Uniform Interfaces does not fulfil all the technical and legal arrangements to collect and transmit the concerned passengers’ personal data.
As only manual or semi-manual processes will be available in May 2022 for the border control of Third Country Nationals, this will result in extended processing and therefore waiting times with significant impact on operations (including flight delays and compromise of minimum connecting times). Waiting times have already been increased due to the current health and sanitary checks. These will still be in place in May 2022, when the expectation is that traffic will further recover.
Cost: The new EES process, using self-service devices authorised by the EES regulation, requires significant investments for layout, equipment and human resources. As the Council concluded, the COVID-19 crisis has slowed or stopped Member States’ investment in this area. At the same time, European aviation remains one of the sectors hardest hit by the pandemic. Bearing in mind that border control remains the responsibility of Member States and that the European Commission has ensured that enough funding is allocated for the EES/ETIAS instrument, it is assumed that all necessary human and technical resources needed for the entry into operation of EES are to be funded by public authorities at national level.
Space constraints: Implementing new EES infrastructure requires space. The less automated the border process, the more space is required to reorganise queuing before the new border self-service equipment and before the manual border counters. The existing level of automation in the passenger journey achieved over the years through the collaborative work of airlines, airports, and authorities, should be further enhanced with the EES implementation, not degraded.
Pre-departure process when travelling to Schengen: We are concerned that airlines must adapt their operating/IT procedures to a non-standard process when querying travellers’ EES/ETIAS status in the EU system on departure. Furthermore, and in spite of the May 2022 deadline, airlines still lack information on the technical specifications or requirements that would allow them to scope out the work needed to adapt their systems and the level of resources required to do so. It is also of concern that airlines will not be provided with default phone support by the EU to help them to assist passengers. Taken together, the parameters of the EES/ETIAS might undermine the passenger experience, heavily impact airlines’ operations, processes (such as check-in) and systems, ultimately jeopardising the travel and border facilitation benefits expected from the EES/ETIAS program.
Timeframe: Due to the current pandemic, it has not been possible for most airports to fully prepare for the major change the EES will entail – so as to secure a truly operational implementation avoiding an increase in waiting times. Several border authorities have also failed to consider the time required for airports to adapt their infrastructure. In addition, procurement of border kiosks has become a challenge during the crisis as supplies of key components have become scarce. Last but not least, it is relevant to mention that the May 2022 deadline, set right before the summer peak, represents an impractical timeframe to facilitate a smooth implementation of a programme on the scale of EES.
In light of the above, and to ensure a truly effective implementation of EES that benefits Schengen connectivity and border security, we are jointly calling for the European Commission reconsider the May 2022 deadline, adding an extension for the date of the start of the EES operations of between six to eight months - while also avoiding starting implementation during peak traffic periods. This should allow all the relevant stakeholders, including Member States, to better plan, adapt and deploy the necessary resources to comply with the EES requirements in an effective manner, while not hampering the end-2023 target date for full implementation of all systems and their interoperability.