Regulation (EU) 2017/2226 of 30 November 2017 establishing an Entry/Exit System (EES) to register entry and exit data and refusal of entry data of third-country nationals crossing the external borders of the Member States and determining the conditions for access to the EES for law enforcement purposes was published into the Official Journal of the European Union on 9 December 2017.
The regulation applies to NON-EU nationals, both visas required and visa exempt, traveling for short stays (90-days-in-180-days) in the Schengen area.
The EES will replace the current system of the manual stamping of passports and will electronically register identity data, the date and place of entry and exit as well as entry refusals of third-country nationals visiting the Schengen area for a short stay.
The entry-exit system will improve the quality of border checks by automatically calculating the authorized stay of each traveler also ensuring systematic identification of overstayers. By allowing law enforcement authorities access to travel history records, it will also improve internal security and strengthen the fight against terrorism
EU-LISA (European Agency for the operational management of large-scale IT systems in the area of freedom, security, and justice), in cooperation with the member states, is expected to start building the new system. The Commission will then decide the date from which the EES is to start operations.
