Frontex holds second International Conference on Biometrics for Borders

Last week, Frontex, the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, held a second edition of the conference biometric for borders, which brought together experts from border guard authorities responsible for border management in the EU and around the world, EU policy-makers and agencies, as well as research and industry representatives.

This year, the virtual edition of the International Conference on Biometrics for Borders focused on the implementation of the Entry/Exit System (EES) at the European Union’s external borders.

Starting in February 2022, the EES will record the entry, exit and refusal of entry information of non-EU nationals crossing the external borders of the Member States.

“The implementation of the EES brings a number of challenges for European border management authorities. We are committed to supporting national authorities in developing capacities and preparing for the practical implementation of the EES. With this virtual conference, we aimed to provide an online platform for dialogue that will help implement the system,” said Frontex Director Fabrice Leggeri in his opening remarks.

From changes to business processes at the EU’s external border crossing points to new technical solutions such as mobile devices and self-service kiosks in support of the enrolment of biometric data, the implementation of the EES brings a number of challenges for European border management authorities.

To help Member States address them, Frontex is conducting a number of activities to deliver targeted and, above all, practical support. During the event, experts discussed such topics as the development of national processes and identification of operational scenarios; relevant technologies and infrastructures presented during a virtual industry exhibition; guidelines/best practices and baseline minimum requirements for new technical solutions to be used at border crossing points and the development of relevant training for border guards.

The conference was organised in cooperation Ministry of Interior of the Republic of Croatia and the German Presidency of the Council of the European Union, delivering the two keynote speeches at the opening of this first virtual conference on Biometrics for Borders. Crucial perspectives were also offer by international partners from the United States and Australia.