[Sun] The EU suddenly amplified the trick, from October 12, Chinese tourists entered Europe no longer have a "chapter" to cover? do you dare to believe? all the Chinese traveling to Europe, the familiar Schengen chapter on the passport no longer see!
(Source: News – attention to European travelers! these new measures are implemented at European airports)
This EES system coverage is extensive, including France, Germany, Italy, and even Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein, the four non-EU countries that have joined the Schengen area.
However, there are exceptions. Ireland and Cyprus have become "special elements" in the border management of Schengen Area because they have not joined the Schengen Area and still retain the traditional manual seal.
In fact, the launch of the EES system has been foreshadowed and was not a whim decision by the European Union. As early as 2017, the EU passed relevant regulations and began to promote this reform.
In the past, manual stamping methods were really troublesome: sometimes the staff were quick and the stamps were unclear, or the recorded entry and exit times were wrong, which made it easy for passengers to calculate incorrectly the number of days of stay.
More importantly, the entry records of various countries cannot be shared in real time. The information about your entry into France may not be available at the German border. This situation simply cannot keep up with the current needs of border management.
With the increasing global movement of people over the years, the Schengen area needs more robust management to deal with the risks of irregular migration, terrorism and organized crime, so after years of preparation, the EES system has finally landed.
As planned, it will be gradually opened within six months, and by 10 April 2026 the system will be used on all the external borders of the Schengen area.
As soon as the system goes online, the most direct feelings are non-EU citizens, including Chinese tourists. People entering the country with this system for the first time have to press the fingerprints of ten fingers in front of the self-service machine at the border, and take qualified photos in front of the camera.
The whole process takes about 3 to 5 minutes, which is really troublesome than before when you handed your passport and stamped it.
Fortunately, it is convenient to re-enter the country for the second time. With the already stored biometric information, you can pass by taking the fast track by "brushing your face and pressing your fingerprint", which can make up for some time.
But the early "melting problem" was also obvious, and there were row congestion at many major European airports.
Frankfurt Airport in Germany is very typical. The system has just been launched, and some passengers spend 40 minutes just waiting for their fingerprints to be entered. Those who are in a hurry to transfer flights are so anxious that their itineraries are affected.
This is actually understandable. The number of self-service terminals is not enough, the staff are not proficient in operating them, and passengers are not familiar with the new process, which will inevitably lead to chaos for a while.
However, from the perspective of border management, the advantages of the EES system are obvious: it automatically collects passport information, facial images and fingerprints, and accurately records the time and place of entry and exit and no longer needs to worry about artificial recording errors.
More useful is that it can accurately calculate how long passengers can stay in the Schengen area and reduce the root cause of overstaying. This information can also be shared between the border agencies of the 29 Schengen countries and Europol. The previous situation of "each country managing its own affairs" has been broken, and transnational cooperation in arresting crimes has become more efficient.
But the accompanying privacy issues also make many people beat drums in their hearts. According to EU regulations, the collected face and fingerprint information should be kept for three years. Such sensitive biological data is stored in the library and flows between different countries, so anyone will worry about security.
Although the EU has repeatedly stressed that the data is used for high-strength encryption, only for border management and security enforcement, and absolutely not abuse, but we can still worry: will there be vulnerabilities in the system? data will not be abused?
In the face of various voices, the EU has been very confident of the system, saying it fully meets its highest data protection standards, the collection of information is legal, and specialized monitoring mechanisms to prevent abuse. On the issue of airport row, the EU also responded quickly, promising to install more self-help terminals, train staff, optimize operating processes and make customs more smooth.
In the final analysis, the launch of EES system is a great change of border management in Schengen area from "handwritten stamping" to "digital management".
It does make regional security more secure and management more efficient, but also gives non-EU travellers more process trouble and privacy concerns. For Chinese travellers, to go to Europe in advance to learn how to use self-help terminals, also pay attention to whether the official will not have new tips.
Whether the EU can find a balance between managing borders and protecting passengers 'privacy and solve these initial problems is directly related to whether the system can operate smoothly for a long time.
As the full deployment of April 2026 is nearing, the deeper impact of the EES system on the movement of people in Central Europe remains to be considered.
(Source: News – attention to European travelers! these new measures are implemented at European airports)
This EES system coverage is extensive, including France, Germany, Italy, and even Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein, the four non-EU countries that have joined the Schengen area.
However, there are exceptions. Ireland and Cyprus have become "special elements" in the border management of Schengen Area because they have not joined the Schengen Area and still retain the traditional manual seal.
In fact, the launch of the EES system has been foreshadowed and was not a whim decision by the European Union. As early as 2017, the EU passed relevant regulations and began to promote this reform.
In the past, manual stamping methods were really troublesome: sometimes the staff were quick and the stamps were unclear, or the recorded entry and exit times were wrong, which made it easy for passengers to calculate incorrectly the number of days of stay.
More importantly, the entry records of various countries cannot be shared in real time. The information about your entry into France may not be available at the German border. This situation simply cannot keep up with the current needs of border management.
With the increasing global movement of people over the years, the Schengen area needs more robust management to deal with the risks of irregular migration, terrorism and organized crime, so after years of preparation, the EES system has finally landed.
As planned, it will be gradually opened within six months, and by 10 April 2026 the system will be used on all the external borders of the Schengen area.
As soon as the system goes online, the most direct feelings are non-EU citizens, including Chinese tourists. People entering the country with this system for the first time have to press the fingerprints of ten fingers in front of the self-service machine at the border, and take qualified photos in front of the camera.
The whole process takes about 3 to 5 minutes, which is really troublesome than before when you handed your passport and stamped it.
Fortunately, it is convenient to re-enter the country for the second time. With the already stored biometric information, you can pass by taking the fast track by "brushing your face and pressing your fingerprint", which can make up for some time.
But the early "melting problem" was also obvious, and there were row congestion at many major European airports.
Frankfurt Airport in Germany is very typical. The system has just been launched, and some passengers spend 40 minutes just waiting for their fingerprints to be entered. Those who are in a hurry to transfer flights are so anxious that their itineraries are affected.
This is actually understandable. The number of self-service terminals is not enough, the staff are not proficient in operating them, and passengers are not familiar with the new process, which will inevitably lead to chaos for a while.
However, from the perspective of border management, the advantages of the EES system are obvious: it automatically collects passport information, facial images and fingerprints, and accurately records the time and place of entry and exit and no longer needs to worry about artificial recording errors.
More useful is that it can accurately calculate how long passengers can stay in the Schengen area and reduce the root cause of overstaying. This information can also be shared between the border agencies of the 29 Schengen countries and Europol. The previous situation of "each country managing its own affairs" has been broken, and transnational cooperation in arresting crimes has become more efficient.
But the accompanying privacy issues also make many people beat drums in their hearts. According to EU regulations, the collected face and fingerprint information should be kept for three years. Such sensitive biological data is stored in the library and flows between different countries, so anyone will worry about security.
Although the EU has repeatedly stressed that the data is used for high-strength encryption, only for border management and security enforcement, and absolutely not abuse, but we can still worry: will there be vulnerabilities in the system? data will not be abused?
In the face of various voices, the EU has been very confident of the system, saying it fully meets its highest data protection standards, the collection of information is legal, and specialized monitoring mechanisms to prevent abuse. On the issue of airport row, the EU also responded quickly, promising to install more self-help terminals, train staff, optimize operating processes and make customs more smooth.
In the final analysis, the launch of EES system is a great change of border management in Schengen area from "handwritten stamping" to "digital management".
It does make regional security more secure and management more efficient, but also gives non-EU travellers more process trouble and privacy concerns. For Chinese travellers, to go to Europe in advance to learn how to use self-help terminals, also pay attention to whether the official will not have new tips.
Whether the EU can find a balance between managing borders and protecting passengers 'privacy and solve these initial problems is directly related to whether the system can operate smoothly for a long time.
As the full deployment of April 2026 is nearing, the deeper impact of the EES system on the movement of people in Central Europe remains to be considered.