EU border tech problems
The EU’s new Entry/Exit System is already causing friction at external Schengen borders, with more than 27,000 refusals of entry logged in its early rollout. (euroweeklynews.com)
The European Union’s new Entry/Exit System has logged more than 27,000 refusals of entry as it moved from a phased launch to full operation on April 10. (home-affairs.ec.europa.eu, euroweeklynews.com) The Entry/Exit System started operating on October 12, 2025, and the European Commission said it had already registered more than 45 million border crossings before the bloc switched to full implementation across 29 countries on April 10, 2026. (home-affairs.ec.europa.eu, travel-europe.europa.eu) The system replaces passport stamps for non-European Union nationals on short stays and records each entry, exit, or refusal with travel-document details, fingerprints, and a facial image. (home-affairs.ec.europa.eu, travel-europe.europa.eu) The change affects the European Union’s external Schengen borders, where border guards now check a digital record instead of ink stamps to see whether a traveler has already used up the 90 days allowed in any 180-day period. (home-affairs.ec.europa.eu, travel-europe.europa.eu) European Union officials say the database is meant to spot overstayers automatically and standardize checks across the countries using the system, while travelers are being warned to expect delays during the first days of full operation. (home-affairs.ec.europa.eu, euronews.com) Frontex, the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, has also pushed a “Travel to Europe” mobile app that lets non-European Union travelers pre-register passport data and a facial image before they reach a checkpoint. (frontex.europa.eu, frontex.europa.eu) The early refusal figures reported this week were described as aggregated operational data shared with member states, with cases spread across countries including Spain, France, Italy, Germany, Greece, Portugal, and the Netherlands. (euroweeklynews.com) The rollout is separate from the European Travel Information and Authorisation System, a travel pre-clearance program that Frontex and the Commission have presented as the next layer in the bloc’s digital border overhaul. (frontex.europa.eu, travel-europe.europa.eu) For travelers arriving now, the practical change is simple: the passport stamp is gone, the biometric check is in, and any mismatch or overstay can trigger a refusal on the spot. (home-affairs.ec.europa.eu, home-affairs.ec.europa.eu)
