Countries like France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Greece, Malta, Portugal and Switzerland are said to have delayed the implementation of EES to “maintain border fluidity”, as reported by The Sunday Times.

There were previous talks about implementing the EES in Schengen Area countries, with an official start in October 2025 and implementation the following April. However, after software failures, officials guaranteed a 150-day grace period, with no need to collect biometric data, to avoid travel chaos, especially during the high season. This exception was meant to end on 6 September, as the Portuguese Prime Minister announced; nevertheless, nine Schengen countries told the European Commission they would not implement the system until all systems are working correctly.

In response, Brussels informally permitted those countries to suspend EES, with a dispensation that seems to have no time limit, according to The Sunday Times. Quoted by the same source, Gwendoline Cazenave, the chief executive, said the acceptance is meant to “maintain border fluidity.”

Pressure on Brussels

This climbdown is followed by pressure on Brussels from airlines, airports and ports, with companies such as Ryanair asking to extend the EES derogation. The European Union continues to say that EES is working properly, despite the comments from travel companies.

The Sunday Times also reports that the European Union's step back follows pressure from the United Kingdom. Apparently, Apostolos Tzitzikotas, the European commissioner for sustainable tourism, told Heidi Alexander, transport secretary, privately earlier in the summer that the EES would not be enforced beyond 6 September.

Different systems

EES works differently in the countries. For example, Portugal and Sweden made available an app that allows passengers to upload their biometric data. These data are linked to a portal overseen by eu-LISA, a 400-person European Union agency based in Estonia, which manages large-scale IT systems.

The biometric data - facial scan and fingerprint information - and the passports are still scanned, and information is also uploaded to that same data centre in Estonia. The system then matches it with the passport information available.

The next time a non-EU traveller enters a Schengen country, the system collects limited information and matches it to the central records kept by eu-LISA.