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The European Commission will launch new talks with EU member states as part of efforts to ensure the bloc's new main border control system does not cause major delays for holidaymakers throughout the summer.
In a letter sent Friday and obtained by POLITICO, EU Migration Commissioner Magnus Brunner told airport and airline executives that the Entry/Exit System (EES), which has been gradually introduced since October last year, aims to "keep our citizens safe, without unnecessary concerns for visitors from outside the Schengen area."
Trade groups, including Airlines for Europe and the International Air Transport Association, had written to the Commission expressing serious concerns about long queues at the border and delays for those travelling to and from the EU.
Under the rules, which were developed over eight years before coming into force, non-EU citizens are fingerprinted and photographed instead of having their passports stamped in a traditional way. However, their implementation, which is the responsibility of national governments, has been plagued by technical problems and has seen waiting times for foreign visitors increase.
Brussels has previously denied widespread flaws in the system, but Commission President Ursula von der Leyen acknowledged on Friday that "technical problems" would require considerable work to resolve.
While Brunner said the EES "works well" in most member states and at most EU airports, he acknowledged that passengers were being forced to wait longer at certain destinations, blaming factors such as "insufficient staff or lack of appropriate infrastructure".
Currently, capitals can temporarily suspend the requirement to collect biometric data in order to speed up the process. However, the commissioner continued, "the Commission will now make additional efforts to help those Member States that still encounter problems" and officials will work with governments to overcome the bottlenecks.
According to figures shared with POLITICO, the EES has seen 43,728 people banned from entering the EU for violating the rules since October 2025. Some 16,383 of them were traveling without sufficient justification, 8,739 were said to have overstayed their visas, and more than 400 were attempting to cross the border with forged documents.
After a gradual implementation, the EES became mandatory for all non-EU travelers entering the Schengen free travel area for short stays from April 10.
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