Nine European countries have urged the EU to extend the current temporary flexibility to suspend the new Entry/Exit System (EES) border checks, warning that the bloc isn’t ready to fully implement the controls.
In a joint letter, Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal and Switzerland have requested the emergency safeguards remain in place after 6 September.
It comes as the chief executive of 14 Greek airports calls for the “unpleasant and dangerous” biometric checks to be overhauled, while easyJet’s boss brands the border queues “completely unacceptable”.
‘Source of serious and legitimate concern’
The letter from nine European countries warns that the initial months of the full EES rollout have exposed "significant difficulties" when the system is under pressure, which “should not be underestimated”.
