Overview
- Brussels has informally permitted France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Greece, Malta, Portugal, Italy and Switzerland to delay or waive full EES enforcement to keep border flows moving.
- The EES system, which records facial images and fingerprints instead of passport stamps, produced long summer queues at some airports with waits reported up to seven hours and some passengers missing flights.
- The commission says the legal rules have not changed and it has registered more than 192 million entries and exits under EES, more than 66,000 entry refusals and about 1,700 individuals flagged for security concerns.
- Airlines and industry groups have urged longer flexibility and extra operational support, with some calling for the derogation to be extended through the winter or into spring 2027 and for additional border staff or Frontex deployment.
- The temporary grace that let states suspend checks when queues built up formally ended on 6 September, and the commission has asked affected countries to intensify technical, organisational and communication measures as they work to stabilise processing.