Changes from plenary report to adopted text

RemovedDRAFT EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION

AddedP10_TA(2025)0141

Changedon the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on a temporaryTemporary derogation from certain provisions of RegulationRegulations (EU) 2017/2226 and Regulation (EU) 2016/399 as regards a progressive start of operations of the Entry/Exit System

Removed(COM(2024)0567 – C100207/2024 – 2024/0315(COD))

AddedCommittee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs

AddedPE770.093

AddedEuropean Parliament legislative resolution of 8 July 2025 on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on a temporary derogation from certain provisions of Regulation (EU) 2017/2226 and Regulation (EU) 2016/399 as regards a progressive start of operations of the Entry/Exit System (COM(2024)0567 – C10-0207/2024 – 2024/0315(COD))

(Ordinary legislative procedure: first reading)

The European Parliament,

– having regard to the Commission proposal to Parliament and the Council (COM(2024)0567),

Changed– having regard to Article 294(2) and Article 77(2)77(2), points (b) and (d)(d), and Article 87(2)87(2), point (a)(a), of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, pursuant to which the Commission submitted the proposal to Parliament (C10-0207/2024),

– having regard to Article 294(3) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

Added– having regard to the provisional agreement approved by the committee responsible under Rule 75(4) of its Rules of Procedure and the undertaking given by the Council representative by letter of 28 May 2025 to approve Parliament’s position, in accordance with Article 294(4) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

▸5 unchanged paragraphs

– having regard to Rule 60 of its Rules of Procedure,

– having regard to the report of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (A10-0082/2025),

1. Adopts its position at first reading hereinafter set out;

2. Calls on the Commission to refer the matter to Parliament again if it replaces, substantially amends or intends to substantially amend its proposal;

3. Instructs its President to forward its position to the Council, the Commission and the national parliaments.

Change 1

RemovedAMENDMENTS BY THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT*

AddedP10_TC1-COD(2024)0315

Removedto the Commission proposal

AddedPosition of the European Parliament adopted at first reading on 8 July 2025 with a view to the adoption of Regulation (EU) 2025/… of the European Parliament and of the Council on temporary derogations from certain provisions of Regulations (EU) 2017/2226 and (EU) 2016/399 as regards the progressive start of operations of the Entry/Exit System

Removed---------------------------------------------------------

Added(As an agreement was reached between Parliament and Council, Parliament's position corresponds to the final legislative act, Regulation (EU) 2025/1534.)

RemovedREGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL

Removedon a temporary derogation from certain provisions of Regulation (EU) 2017/2226 and Regulation (EU) 2016/399 as regards a progressive start of operations of the Entry/Exit System

RemovedTHE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

RemovedHaving regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Article 77(2) points (b) and (d) and Article 87(2) point (a), thereof,

RemovedHaving regard to the proposal from the European Commission,

RemovedAfter transmission of the draft legislative act to the national parliaments,

RemovedActing in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure,

RemovedWhereas:

Removed(1) Article 66(1) of Regulation (EU) 2017/2226 of the European Parliament and of the Council, establishing the Entry/Exit System (‘EES’), provides that the Commission is to decide the date from which the EES is to start operations, provided that certain conditions are met.

Removed(2) However, the Commission has not received all notifications pursuant to Article 66(1), point (c), of Regulation (EU) 2017/2226, which is one of the conditions for deciding on the start of operations of the EES.

Removed(3) Regulation (EU) 2017/2226 only allows for a full start of operations, requiring all Member States to start using the EES fully for all third-country nationals subject to registration in the EES and to use the EES simultaneously at all their border crossing points. However, a full start of operations of all EES functionalities at all border crossing points simultaneously constitutes a risk for the resilience of the EES as a whole and for passenger flows at the external borders.

Removed(4) In order to ensure a smooth launch of the EES and facilitate its timely roll-out in all Member States, to provide Member States with the necessary flexibility to start using the EES within a clearly defined period of time and to facilitate technical and operational adjustments when starting to operate the EES, it is necessary to lay down rules for a progressive start of operations of the EES during which Member States should be able to opt for a phased roll-out of the EES. To ensure these adjustments take account of potential travel flows and seasonal peaks, such a progressive start should have a duration of 180 calendar days.

Removed(5) To enable a progressive start of operations of the EES it is ▌necessary to derogate from certain provisions of Regulation (EU) 2017/2226 and Regulation (EU) 2016/399 of the European Parliament and of the Council (‘Schengen Borders Code’). Other rules set out in Regulation (EU) 2017/2226 that are not affected by this Regulation apply as provided for in that Regulation. In particular, the data recorded in the EES throughout the progressive start of operations follow the rules set out in Regulation (EU) 2017/2226 and are considered reliable and accurate. This Regulation does not affect the validity of the notifications already provided to the Commission by Member States under Article 66(1) of Regulation (EU) 2017/2226.

Removed(6) Member States that do not intend to use the EES simultaneously at all their border crossing points from the start of operations, should progressively start operating the EES to record, on entry and exit, the data of third-country nationals subject to registration in the EES at one or more border crossing points, or at one or more lanes of such border crossing points. If possible and applicable, Member States should include a combination of air, land and sea border crossing points. To ensure a controlled launch of the EES and to better manage and avoid potential long waiting times at the borders, where relevant, and if necessary, Member States should deploy all the functionalities of the EES progressively and register the data of all third-country nationals subject to registration in the EES gradually. To ensure the full use of the EES at all border crossing points in the Union, where Member States choose a progressive start of operations it should be implemented in phases, which should set the minimum requirements to be reached by Member States. Member States will retain the possibility to accelerate implementation at national level or start operating the EES fully from the start of operations. The gradual processing of data in the EES should be carried out in full respect of the rights of data subjects as set out in Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council1a and should not lead, directly or indirectly, to any form of discrimination or profiling. The Commission, in consultation with the European Data Protection Supervisor, should issue guidelines on the processing of personal data in the EES during the progressive start of operations.

Removed(7) To facilitate a smooth deployment of the EES, the European Union Agency for the Operational Management of Large-Scale IT Systems in the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice (eu-LISA) should develop a high-level roll-out plan to support the effective and continuous operation of the EES Central System, include fall-back procedures for the functioning of the EES Central System and provide guidance to the end-users, including the Member States and Union agencies on planning and executing the EES deployment during its progressive start of operations and should submit it to the European Parliament, the Commission, Member States and Union agencies. ▌

Removed(8) To facilitate a smooth deployment of the EES, Member States should develop national roll-out plans in consultation with the Commission and eu-LISA and present those plans to the Commission. For each of the phases of the progressive start of the EES operations, the national roll-out plans should include the information on the set thresholds and requirements, in particular: (i) the date from which the EES will operate at each border crossing point; (ii) the percentage of the estimated number of border crossings to be registered in the EES out of the total number of third-country nationals subject to registration in the EES; and (iii) where applicable, the biometric functionalities to be operated at each selected border crossing point. When preparing their respective national roll-out plans, Member States should appropriately coordinate with the operators of infrastructure where border crossing points are located. and inform relevant stakeholders of the border crossing points where they plan to start operating the EES and of their planned use of the biometric functionalities of the EES. To monitor compliance with the progressive start of operations, Member States should provide the Commission and eu-LISA monthly reports on the implementation of their roll-out plans unless and until the EES is used fully for all third-country nationals subject to registration in the EES and is used simultaneously at all border crossing points in the Member State. Such monthly reports should include corrective measures, where necessary, to ensure compliance with the progressive start of operations. The Commission should issue guidelines to facilitate the adoption of national roll-out plans and monthly reports by the Member States that are concise and proportionate.

Removed(8a) To facilitate a smooth deployment of the EES, it is important that neither the start nor the end of the progressive start of operations of the EES coincide with the peak travel seasons in summer, June to August, or winter, December to February.

Removed(9) Due to the progressive start of operations of the EES and resulting incompleteness of the data recorded in the EES, travel documents of third-country nationals should be systematically stamped on entry and exit during the progressive start of operations of the EES. National authorities should take into account the possible incompleteness of entry/exit records or of refusal of entry records and should consider stamps as prevailing over the information registered in the EES. In addition, when providing information to third-country nationals about the maximum remaining duration of their authorised stay, national authorities should base their assessment on the stamps affixed in the travel documents. The data recorded in the EES should be used in the calculation of maximum remaining duration only in case a stamp is missing.

Removed(10) Considering that the data registered in the EES during the progressive start of operations of the EES might be incomplete, national authorities should not take into account the results provided by the automated calculator on the maximum remaining duration of the authorised stay of third-country nationals registered in the EES. Similarly, when carrying out their tasks, national authorities should not take into account the automated mechanism to identify or flag the lack of exit records following the date of expiry of an authorised stay or the records for which the maximum duration of authorised stay was exceeded, as well as the generated lists of persons identified as overstayers.

Removed(11) To provide Member States with the necessary time to adjust to the start of the EES, for the first 60 calendar days of the progressive start of operations, the use of biometric functionalities at border crossing points should not be mandatory. However, Member States are encouraged to make use of those functionalities during that period in order to support a smooth operational transition and to enable the timely detection and resolution of any potential implementation issues. No later than the 90th calendar day of the progressive start of operations, Member States should operate the EES with biometric functionalities at least at half of their border crossing points. Providing biometric data should not be an entry condition for third-country nationals subject to registration in the EES at the border crossing points where the EES is operated without biometric functionalities.

Removed(12) To accommodate the need to progressively deploy the EES with biometric functionalities at some border crossing points, the biometric verification of third-country nationals subject to registration in the EES should only be carried out at the border crossing points at which the EES is operated with biometric functionalities.

Removed(13) To ensure coherence of the operations of the interoperability between the Visa Information System (VIS) established by Regulation (EC) No 767/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council and the EES, the VIS should only be accessed directly at those border crossing points at which the EES is not operated. At the border crossing points at which the EES is operated, border authorities should make use of the interoperability between the EES and the VIS.

Removed(14) Third-country nationals whose data are to be recorded in the EES should be informed about their rights and obligations regarding the processing of their data in the form of a template as provided in Article 50(5) of Regulation (EU) 2017/2226. The information to be provided to third-country nationals subject to the EES registration should refer to the progressive start of operations of the EES. Third-country nationals should be informed in the template of their obligation to provide biometric data at border crossing points where it constitutes an entry condition. They should be made aware in the template of the consequences of not providing biometric data. They should be informed in the template that it will not be possible for them to verify the remaining duration of the authorised stay by automated means. National authorities should make all reasonable efforts to provide those third-country nationals with details of the duration of their authorised stay based on the stamps in their travel documents.

Removed(15) To reflect the progressive start of operations of the EES, the Commission should, at least every month, introduce relevant updates on the EES website.

Removed(16) The aim of raising awareness among third-country nationals on their specific rights and obligations would be best achieved if Member States customise the implementation of the campaign based on how the EES will operate at their borders at which the EES is operated in accordance with Article 4 of Regulation (EU) 2017/2226. The information materials developed by the Commission, in cooperation with the supervisory authorities and the European Data Protection Supervisor, and with the support of Member States in the context of Article 51 of Regulation (EU) 2017/2226 should therefore be adapted to carry out the information campaign accompanying the progressive start of operations.

Removed(17) During the progressive start of operations of the EES, the web service will not enable third-country nationals to electronically verify the exact duration of their authorised stay.

Removed(18) This Regulation does not affect the obligations of air carriers, sea carriers and international carriers transporting groups overland by coach as set out in Article 26(1) of the Convention implementing the Schengen Agreement and Council Directive 2001/51/EC. In this respect, carriers should verify the stamps affixed in travel documents. To ensure effective communication with carriers about the distinct application of the EES at the border crossing points, ultimately benefiting travellers, it is crucial that Member States are transparent about the deployment of the EES at their border crossing points.

Removed(19) Article 22 of Regulation (EU) 2017/2226 and Article 12a of Regulation (EU) 2016/399 provide for a transitional period and transitional measures referring to the start of operations of the EES. It is necessary to derogate from those Articles to ensure that the transitional period and the transitional measures apply only as of the end of the progressive start of operations. That derogation should cease to apply 5 years and 180 calendar days after the date decided by the Commission in accordance with Article 66(1) of Regulation (EU) 2017/2226.

Removed(20) To ensure that national authorities and EU agencies, in the performance of their tasks, avoid taking decisions exclusively based on data registered in the EES, they should take into account that individual files registered in the EES may contain incomplete data sets and should in any case not take decisions adversely affecting individuals exclusively on the basis that a registration of an alleged entry or exit is absent in the EES. That derogation should cease to apply 5 years after the date decided by the Commission in accordance with Article 66(1) of Regulation (EU) 2017/2226 to reflect the 5-year retention period for data sets for which the exit record is missing as set out in Article 34(3) of that Regulation.

Removed(21) When ensuring compliance with the provisions in Regulation (EU) 2017/2226 on the amendment of data and advance data erasure, Member States should complete the incomplete data to the extent permitted by the limited availability of the sets of data registered in the EES during the progressive start of operations.

Removed(22) The European Border and Coast Guard Agency should refrain from using data registered in the EES during the progressive start of operations for carrying out risk analyses and vulnerability assessments due to the incompleteness of the data that could lead to misleading risk and vulnerability assessments.

Removed(23) To ensure effective management of the external borders during the progressive start of operations of the EES, at the border crossing points at which the EES is not operated, border checks should be carried out in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2016/399 as applicable [the day before the date from which the EES is to start operations as decided by the Commission in accordance with Article 66(1) of Regulation (EU) 2017/2226]. At the border crossing points at which the EES is operated, border checks should be carried out in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2017/2226 and the Schengen Borders Code. However, specific derogations from these Regulations should apply with regards to the verification at the border crossing points at which the EES is operated without biometric functionalities to enable the progressive start of operations. This should happen without prejudice to verifications of visa holders by using fingerprints, in accordance with Regulation (EC) 767/2008.

Removed(24) To enable an effective adjustment of technical and organisational arrangements ▌and to address potential exceptional circumstances of failure of the EES Central System, national systems or communication infrastructure, or excessive waiting times at their borders, during the period of the progressive start of operations of the EES, Member States should have the possibility to suspend the operations of the EES at certain border crossing points, fully or partially. In case of partial suspension, the registration of biometric data in the EES should be suspended. In case of full suspension, no data should be registered in the EES. In both cases, Member States should promptly inform the operators of infrastructure hosting border crossing points and carriers. No later than 6 hours after the start of the suspension, Member States should notify to the Commission and eu-LISA the reason for the full or partial suspension and its expected duration.

Removed(24a) To mitigate additional risks related to the deployment of the EES with biometric functionalities, Member States should have the possibility, in exceptional circumstances leading to traffic of such intensity that the waiting times at borders become excessive, to suspend the registration of biometric data in the EES after the end of the progressive start of operations. Such a suspension should be possible for a limited period of 60 days after the end of the progressive start of operations of the EES.

Removed(25) eu-LISA should publish reports on the statistics on the use of the system, which should serve to evaluate the system’s performance, assess Member States compliance with the eu-LISA high-level roll-out plan and the national roll-out plans, identify areas for improvement, monitor compliance with the progressive start of operations of the EES, and support decision-making relating to the system’s further development and optimisation. Furthermore, eu-LISA should continue its regular reporting to its Management Board, which will in turn oversee the gradual roll-out of EES operations.

Removed(26) The preparatory work related to the roll-out plans should be triggered by the date of the entry into force of this Regulation. Member States which have not yet submitted their declaration of readiness are urged to do so within 30 days after the entry into force of this Regulation. The progressive start of operations should apply from the date decided by the Commission in accordance with Article 66(1) of EES Regulation. As this Regulation provides for temporary derogations, it should cease to apply 180 calendar days after the date decided by the Commission in accordance with Article 66(1) of Regulation (EU) 2017/2226. However, the derogatory rules on the application of transitional period and transitional measures, access to EES data, verification by the carriers of stamps affixed in the travel documents and the suspension of the EES should apply for a limited period after the end of the progressive start of operations.