Digital border system targets crime and irregular migration
People without a passport from an EU country will soon face a new digital border system that will record much of their personal information. The so-called Entry/Exit System aims to increase security, but EU DECODED explains that it can also act as a tool to prevent irregular migration.
READ MORE : http://www.euronews.com/2025/05/13/digital-border-system-targets-crime-and-irregular-migration
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People without a passport from an EU country will soon face a new digital border system that will record much of their personal information. The so-called Entry/Exit System aims to increase security, but EU DECODED explains that it can also act as a tool to prevent irregular migration.
READ MORE : http://www.euronews.com/2025/05/13/digital-border-system-targets-crime-and-irregular-migration
Subscribe to our channel. Euronews is available on Dailymotion in 12 languages
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NewsTranscript
00:00People without a passport from a new country will soon face a new digital border system.
00:20Personal information and travel details will be registered online before they enter the free movement area.
00:28The so-called entry asset system aims to increase the security, but can also be a tool to prevent irregular migration.
00:36In the development for eight years, this regulation is at the heart of this EU decoded.
00:42The regulation will apply to non-EU citizens traveling on holiday or business for a stay of up to 90 days in a 180-day period.
00:50But EU leaders want to tackle the risks that they'll outstay their welcome becoming irregular migrants.
00:56They also argue that they want to better detect crime victims, namely of human trafficking and offenders, including those who pose a terrorist threat.
01:04The decision to advance on this legislation came after the terrorist attacks in France in 2015 and Belgium in 2016.
01:13Photographs with biometric data and fingerprints are some of the elements that will be registered in the system.
01:19We ask Europeans what they think about this.
01:22That's right, the rules.
01:26There's lots of people traveling around pretending to be tourists, but we're not sure they all are.
01:32We are quite happy to give information as long as that information is kept safe and secure.
01:37The controls that we have right now seem effective.
01:40So I don't think we necessarily need controller, passport, stronger passport controls.
01:45We're from Canada and we travel to Europe because it's easy and we love the transit.
01:50So I worry that putting in some extra regulation would just make it a bit more complicated for us.
01:56What I should do is have a more strict regulation, but not at the level of what comes and what comes and what comes.
02:08But maybe help the people who are already here.
02:11There has to be a control, otherwise everyone will enter and you don't know who comes.
02:14I don't think so much control, so exhaustive.
02:19That can cause many injustices.
02:22Euronews reporter Vincenzo Genovesi has been following this dossier.
02:27The proposal for this regulation appeared in 2017.
02:31Why did it take so long to come to the point now of implementation?
02:36According to my understanding, the issues were more at the technical level.
02:40Because the regulation for entry exit system was agreed just one year after the proposal.
02:47But then every country concerned has to submit to present a declaration of readiness.
02:54And apparently it took a time, it took a while to build up the system.
02:58The system will register the person's name, the type of travel document and biometric data.
03:06So, fingerprints and facial images.
03:11They will also check at which moment they enter and exit.
03:15The regulation is presented as means to increase security, but isn't it also a tool for migration control?
03:22It's definitely a tool for migration control in my opinion, because we know that a large part,
03:29maybe even the largest part of irregular migrants in the European Union come in a regular way.
03:35So, with this system, national authorities will be able to check when the permit of a person is over, is expired.
03:45Once the European Commission sets a date, which might be in autumn, we heard that progressive implementation may take up to six months.
03:53Is this a technical issue? Which countries will probably be more proactive?
03:58Yes, indeed. The Polish Presidency of the Council set a goal to start in October.
04:05Then countries have a choice. They can adopt a gradual approach or they go straight into full application.
04:15I guess that there will be some countries faster than others, but I cannot make any predictions at this stage.
04:23I also expect that it will be easier to enforce this in the airports, for example,
04:29and it will be more difficult to enforce this system at other crossing points like the land border crossing points.
04:3725 EU member states will use this scheme, except Cyprus and Ireland that will continue to stamp passports manually.
04:44It also applies to four Schengen-associate countries, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.
04:51The data will be accessible for border control authorities, the police authorities of each country and Europol,
04:57that is the EU agency for law enforcement cooperation.
05:01With us is the Rapporteur for this regulation in the European Parliament, Asita Canco,
05:06Belgian member of the European Conservatives and Reformists.
05:10Welcome, Madam. How confident are you that this system will be in place without creating too much cyber security risks
05:18and maybe even long queues for users, notably the tourists?
05:22Well, it is the goal even of this legislation that there would be less queues for the users,
05:30so shorter time at the airport, but also more safety.
05:34The gradual implementation will allow member states to phase in at their own tempo
05:39and see if there is anything that needs to be fixed or changed or modified,
05:44so there are also contingency plans foreseen.
05:47France, the Netherlands and Germany are the three last ones that need to be ready,
05:50and we are going to go in trilogue and negotiate with the Council
05:54and look at where there are still concerns and how we can fix them.
05:58What impact do you expect in controlling international crime, for example, which is a priority?
06:03Yeah, exactly. Thanks to the EES, we are going to give the opportunity to our law enforcement agents
06:08to look live into simultaneous data to track criminals.
06:13Can you imagine the agents sitting on a pile of paper and trying to find something?
06:17Then the criminal is already very far away.
06:19And we should not forget that this legislation came first into life eight years ago
06:24after the terror attacks of Brussels, Zaventem and Paris.
06:28But eight years have passed and we are still not capable of protecting our citizens
06:33against what happened then because we did not implement our legislation
06:37and we are worried about other kinds of threats, but we need to be ready to fight terrorism.
06:42Illegal migration is also a topic important here because there is illegal migration
06:47and there is also maybe a risk of restricting the rights of asylum seekers
06:52that don't have a way to comply with bureaucracy when they are fleeing for protection in another country.
06:59I think the point here with the EES is to protect European citizens
07:03and to protect our cities and home against terrorists
07:06and to make sure that if you have bad intentions or if your data is not clear
07:11that you cannot cross the border.
07:13However, I believe that the most important thing for an asylum seeker is to be safe.
07:18When people need protection, of course, there are procedures that already exist
07:22and it is the member states that can actually follow these procedures
07:27and analyze every case, case by case.
07:30Boulder security will continue to be a priority with new legislation next year.
07:35The European Travel Information and Authorization System will apply to people from 59 visa-exempted countries.
07:43They will have to demand authorization online and pay a fee in a scheme similar to the ones used
07:49at the United Kingdom and the United States.
07:52People are traveling more and more, but they are also facing increasing controls at the borders.
07:57The European Travel Information And Mastermind
07:59WhileEsperger's