• The European Parliament has made appropriate changes to the ETIAS rule.
  • The electronic visa waiver for Schengen nations, which will be available in November 2023, is now more secure and easier to maintain.

18-11-2022

The European Union has reached an agreement on a number of critical ETIAS regulatory modifications. The recently agreed-upon reforms will make it easier for authorities to evaluate data about travellers entering the Schengen Area from various databases.

The agreement achieved between the European Parliament (EP) and the European Council now allows ETIAS to begin operations in November 2023.

Background checks will be able to cross-reference information across all EU security databases with remarkable ease according to freshly adopted ETIAS legislation. A single query will now be able to compare data stored in one EU information system to data stored in another.

Furthermore, new modifications have established that only the ETIAS Central System can analyse criminal convictions. These flags must be deleted 15 years after they were created, and only flags related to terrorism will be kept in the system for a period of 25 years.

A MAJOR STEP FORWARD FOR ETIAS IMPLEMENTATION

The acceptance of the ETIAS regulatory modifications constitutes a significant step forward for the project as a whole. The legislation governing the system’s technological implementation were one of the final key challenges for EU policymakers to clear.

The legislative frameworks required to manage data are now in place, thanks to the clarification and agreement of the ETIAS amendments by the EP and European Council. This permits ETIAS’s technical implementation to continue ahead of its scheduled November 2023 debut date.

Many EP members, including rapporteur Jeroen Lenaers MEP, who played a key role in negotiating the crucial amendments, applauded the achievement.

“Today’s vote was critical,” Lenaers said on Twitter. “We have put in place a risk assessment system that allows us to know who is entering the EU.” Travel will be restricted to individuals who constitute a security risk. We protect our EU borders and our citizens.”

WHAT DO THE ETIAS CHANGES MEAN FOR TRAVELLERS?

The approved legal amendments will have little impact on the user experience for ETIAS travellers because most of the necessary changes will take place behind the scenes. They will, however, make ETIAS data management more secure and easier to handle.

Furthermore, the ability of EU institutions to cross-reference passenger data will help to protect both visitors and residents of the bloc. The agreed-upon changes will make it easier for systems to detect any potential discrepancies or issues with a passenger’s criminal, immigration, and travel history.

WHAT NEW ETIAS AMENDMENTS HAVE BEEN ADDED BY THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT?

The European Parliament accepted two further changes on Tuesday, June 8, 2021, following further talks with the European Council:

  • Only the ETIAS Central System can see flags about criminal convictions
  • The flags must be removed after 15 years, or 25 in case of terrorist offences

Furthermore, it has agreed to revisions to a third article on ETIAS access to the European Criminal Records Information System on Third-Country Nationals, ECRIS-TCN, which sets the technological foundation for the travel authorization system. The ECRIS-TCN database provides information on foreign nationals and stateless people convicted of major crimes or terrorist offences.

According to the press release, “the Central System will now alert Member State systems about erroneous hits arising from automated processing in a way that ensures data subjects’ confidentiality.”

False hits were previously feared to be a problem with the new ETIAS legislation. Issues will be avoided with the most recent amendments.

HOW IS DATA HANDLED BY ETIAS?

ETIAS is a new security and border control system that will be available to Schengen nations in November 2023. It will allow authorities to screen third-country travellers who enter the passport-free zone.

Passenger data will be gathered and analysed before they go to the free travel zone in order to protect against possible threats and guarantee the integrity of Schengen’s external borders.

The ETIAS revisions adopted by the EP and Council in April 2021 will allow the legislative framework to be updated, ensuring that all systems function properly.

The European Search Portal, created by the European Parliament, allows ETIAS data to be compared to data from other EU information systems. The ETIAS Central System will also warn member state systems about false alarms while ensuring data confidentiality, according to new modifications.

“Access to pertinent data in these systems will enable authorities to assess the security or immigration risk of applicants and determine whether to provide or reject a travel authorization,” the Council stated of the newest accord.

WHY DOES THE EU CHECK THIS DATA?

Once ETIAS is operational, third-country nationals will require a visa waiver, and the data will be cross-checked across a variety of EU information systems. This allows border police like FRONTEX to more efficiently assess security or immigration concerns posed by incoming travellers. This also makes issuing or declining travel authorizations easier.

WHICH SECURITY DATABASES WILL AUTHORITIES CHECK?

Prior to the applicant’s acceptance or denial, passenger information supplied during an ETIAS visa waiver application is cross-referenced against data from a number of criminal, travel, and informational databases.

During the process, the following systems will be consulted:

The recently authorised improvements should guarantee that ETIAS meets its security aims while being simple to use. As a result, the system is able to overcome its last barriers to being efficiently and successfully deployed, while also assisting the EU in ensuring the safety of its inhabitants and tourists.