Poland to lead EU talks on stricter border control system
The Polish presidency of the Council of the European Union would like to fast-track talks on the introduction of an electronic entry/exit control system for non-EU citizens, the Polish interior minister has said.
Tomasz Siemoniak made the announcement before a meeting of his European peers in Brussels on Wednesday which he chairs under Poland's EU Council presidency.
"Today we would like to strongly push ahead the talks so that the resolution could be adopted in the autumn," Siemoniak said. "It will give the enforcement services of member states completely new tools to control who is entering and leaving the (visa-free - PAP) Schengen zone."
The proposed system will register the entry, departure or refusal of entry of third country citizens who cross the EU's external borders for a period of 90 or 180 days. The system will involve Border Guard officers scanning fingerprints or taking photos of people crossing the border for the first time and storing the information in a digital file to replace passport stamps.
During the meeting, the EU interior ministers agreed to a phased implementation of the Entry/Exit System (EES), with the corresponding EU regulation set to take effect in October.
EU countries will aim to register at least 10 percent of border crossings in the new system within the first month of its operation, the ministers decided. In the first two months, member states will utilise the EES without the biometric component and after three months of operation the feature will be fully applied to at least half of all crossings.
Member states will continue to stamp passports even after the EES is fully deployed to ensure flexibility.
Siemoniak called the agreement "significant progress towards the control and protection of borders."
"On the one hand, the adopted solution is flexible, and on the other hand it guarantees the security of migratory movements," he said.
The EU Council said that the EES will significantly reduce the probability of identity fraud and instances of overstays. (PAP)
jd/jch
