From October, manual checks are planned passport checks upon entry from a non-Schengen country to an EU country to be abolished and only machine checks to be used. This was announced today by a spokesperson of the European Commission in response to questions, quoted by BTA.
He specified that in the coming days EU countries are expected to confirm their readiness for the introduction of the new system, and then a date will be set for switching to fully machined passport border checks.
The EC has already announced that it aims for the new system to come into effect on November 10, the spokesman said. The system provides for connection of the different databases. Millions of visitors to Europe will travel faster and easier. With the implementation of this system, passports will no longer be checked manually, this will speed up the movement of queues and electronic checks, he added.
The speaker noted that in the spring of next year, the system for advance application for travel to the EU by the citizens of more than 60 countries around the world, for which a visa is not required for a short-term stay, is expected to be operational. The approvals issued by this system will be valid for three years or until the expiry of the validity of the passport whose number is indicated when applying for them.
At automated border checks, passengers use machines that read the data in their biometric passports and compare them to the passerby's face and fingerprints. In some EU countries, it is also possible to pass these checks with ID cards with a built-in chip.