Within the framework of working to control its external borders, the European Union seeks to adopt a unified information system in order to monitor the movement of arrivals from outside the bloc countries, and while the new system has met with opposition from some organizations, it will help to better store and track traveler data.
The European Union is seeking a new system to digitize its borders in order to monitor travelers visiting from outside the bloc.
The new system will include imposing a fee of seven euros on all visitors from outside the EU countries, in addition to the necessity of filling out forms for travelers before their arrival in Europe.
The new system will also replace the process of stamping the passports of those heading to Europe, and will be replaced by automated kiosks that will perform biometric registration of travelers' data, in addition to photographing and fingerprinting each visitor.
The records of the EU countries will keep the data of non-European visitors for a period of three years for travelers who leave before the expiration of the time period that allows them to stay, and five years for those who exceed the legal residence period of citizens of countries who are exempt from obtaining a visa to enter the bloc.
Proponents of the project say it will save time and help better store and track passenger data, rather than searching for arrival and departure stamps, which can be forged.
The new system will also help reduce tensions that occurred between the countries of some countries of the bloc as a result of the free movement of some refugees within Europe after their illegal arrival on the continent.
If approved, the implementation of the new system, known as the “Entry and Exit System” (EES), is scheduled to begin at the end of this year, after several delays over the past two years.
opposition
However, the new system faces opposition among some EU countries such as Austria, which said that "the additional tasks resulting from the EES regulations will result in a sharp increase in operation times".
Germany said that "passenger flows at border crossing points were analyzed in close cooperation with the aviation industry. It is estimated that control times for passengers will be significantly increased by the introduction of EES."
The scheme is also being criticized by digital rights NGOs, experts, advocates and academics in the European Digital Rights Group (EDRi).
EDRi's senior policy advisor Chloe Berthelemy called for "a ban on mass biometric surveillance and other biometric surveillance practices that disproportionately limit rights and freedoms."
It also warned against "securitizing immigration issues and enhancing the risks posed by potential cyber-attacks on centralized digital identity databases."
However, a spokesperson for the European Commission told Euronews that "safeguards are in place to ensure the rights of travelers in relation to the protection of their privacy and personal data. Their personal data will only be kept in the Eastern European region for as long as necessary and for the purposes for which it was collected.