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On 30 June 2017, EU ambassadors approved the draft regulations of the European Union on the creation of an automatic system, which will register entry, exit and refusal of entry information of third country nationals crossing the external borders of the Schengen area, according to press service of the EU Council.
The document was approved by representatives of the European Parliament and the EU member states.
The entry-exit system will help to reduce border check delays and improve the quality of border checks; it will also ensure systematic and reliable identification of overstayers, as well as strengthen internal security and the fight against terrorism by allowing law enforcement authorities access to travel history records, the report said.
Read alsoEU visa-free travel for Ukraine comes into force June 11The entry-exit system will apply to third country nationals, both those requiring a visa and those visa-exempt, admitted for a short stay of 90 days in any 180 day period. It will register their entry, exit and refusal of entry. It will also store information on their identity and on their travel documents, as well as biometric data (four fingerprints and the facial image). The data will be kept for border management purposes for a period of five years for overstayers and three years for others.
Work will continue at technical level in the coming days to finalise the text of the two draft regulations. Then, the overall agreement will be submitted to EU ambassadors for endorsement on behalf of the Council. Following this, the future regulations will be submitted to the European Parliament for a vote at first reading, and subsequently to the Council for adoption.