The mechanism allows border authorities, in exceptional cases, to temporarily suspend the collection of travelers’ fingerprints and facial scans to ease congestion, while still registering everyone entering and leaving the Schengen area.
In the letter, ministers also request written guarantees from the Commission on this issue before the current flexibility expires.
Commission spokesperson Markus Lammert said the Commission welcomed the countries’ “explicit commitment” to the full implementation of the EES and to the systematic registration of all non-EU travelers.
He reiterated that the legislation already includes built-in flexibilities, including the possibility of suspending biometric data collection over the summer, and said the Commission remains in “close and constructive contact” with the “few member states” experiencing difficulties at certain border crossing points.
“There is a strong joint will to make the system work everywhere,” he added.
The letter comes as airports, airlines and ferry operators sound the alarm that the new system is causing long queues and operational disruption during the summer travel season, with industry groups arguing that technical and operational problems are unlikely to be resolved by early September.
So far, the Commission has given no indication that it intends to extend the current flexibilities beyond Sept. 6 or suspend the mechanism more broadly.
Gabriel Gavin contributed to this report.
