EU delays new biometric travel checks as IT systems not up to speed

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The European Union has delayed the introduction of a new biometric entry-check system for non-EU citizens, which was due to be introduced on Nov. 10, after Germany, France and the Netherlands said border computer systems were not yet ready.

“Nov. 10 is no longer on the table,” EU Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson told reporters. She said there was no new timetable, but that the possibility of a phased introduction was being looked at.

The Entry/Exit System (EES) is supposed to create a digital record linking a travel document to biometric readings confirming a person’s identity, removing the need to manually stamp passports at the EU’s external border.

It would require non-EU citizens arriving in the Schengen free-travel area to register their fingerprints, provide a facial scan and answer questions about their stay.

But a spokesperson for the German interior ministry said the three countries, representing 40% of the affected passenger traffic, were not ready to implement EES because the “necessary stability and functionality of the EES central system to be provided by the EU agency EU-Lisa is not yet in place”.

EU-Lisa is the agency responsible for the implementation of large-scale IT systems within the EU.

The French interior ministry said that, while France was convinced of the usefulness of EES, its introduction must be prepared properly.

The Dutch government did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

(Reporting by Charlotte Van Campenhout, additional reporting by Gabriel Stargardter in Paris, Andreas Rinke in Berlin; Editing by Kevin Liffey)