JHA Ministers Advance Border Technology and Security Coordination

When EU home affairs ministers met in Brussels on 5 March 2025 for the Justice and Home Affairs (JHA) Council, border technology dominated the agenda. The headline outcome was a joint position on how to switch on the long-awaited Entry/Exit System without overwhelming border posts, alongside a refreshed timetable for the wider family of EU information systems. For travellers, the meeting offered the clearest signal yet of when the new digital border will actually arrive.

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A phased start for the Entry/Exit System

Ministers agreed a general approach – the Council's joint negotiating position – on a regulation that allows the Entry/Exit System (EES) to start operating progressively. The EES is the IT system that digitally registers the entry and exit of non-EU nationals making short stays in the Schengen area, replacing the manual stamping of passports.

Rather than flipping a single switch, the law would let member states phase the system in over a six-month transition period before it runs at full capacity. During that window, border authorities could begin registering travellers gradually and build up the biometric records the system relies on, instead of attempting a single overnight cut-over. Once the European Parliament settles its own position, the two institutions can open negotiations on the final text. The cautious, staggered design is meant to avoid the long queues and technical strain that a sudden, continent-wide launch could create, and to give airports, ports and land crossings time to adapt their processes.

A revised roadmap pointing to ETIAS in late 2026

Ministers also approved a revised roadmap for the EU's interoperability architecture – the interconnected set of IT tools used for border management and law enforcement. Adopted by the management board of eu-LISA, the agency that builds the infrastructure, the roadmap sets out a clear sequence: the EES starts progressively in October 2025, the upgraded Eurodac biometric database enters service in June 2026, and the European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS) launches in the final quarter of 2026.

For visa-exempt visitors, ETIAS is the change that will be felt most directly, since it adds a quick pre-travel authorisation step before departure. If you want the traveller-facing detail behind these dates, our overview of how ETIAS works walks through the practical steps.

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Returns, Schengen and wider security cooperation

Beyond the technology files, ministers worked on the human side of border management. They discussed how to make return systems more effective, pointing to gaps in resources, limited cooperation from some countries of origin and transit, and the under-use of information-sharing tools such as the Schengen Information System. The Council adopted a decision setting out recommendations from the 2024 thematic Schengen evaluation on returns, emphasising proactive planning of resources and better coordination between national and European actors. The Commission presented its Schengen Barometer with a situational overview of the area.

The agenda stretched wider still. Ministers examined the migration impact of the change of regime in Syria, met counterparts from the Latin American Committee on Internal Security to agree a joint declaration on law-enforcement cooperation, and reviewed the Commission's new action plan on protecting undersea cables after a series of incidents in the Baltic Sea. Together, the decisions underline a consistent theme: the EU is tightening the link between modern border technology and coordinated security action across the Union.