Two of the biggest changes in years were heading for British travellers to Europe, and the UK travel association ABTA was pressing hard for clarity. This is what the EES and ETIAS schemes meant, and why the trade wanted answers.
Over two days in Brussels, EU justice and home affairs ministers tackled drug trafficking, migrant smuggling and the future of Europe's border databases, with the EES and ETIAS rollout firmly in view.
Authorities across the EU share information through several large-scale IT systems to secure borders, fight crime, protect citizens and manage migration. Here is how the main systems fit together.
Ryanair and other travel-industry voices have warned that the EU's plan to launch its Entry/Exit System at every frontier on a single day is risky and untested. Brussels insists there will be no soft launch when the biometric border system arrives in autumn 2024.
Holding an approved ETIAS is only part of the picture. To actually cross the external border, visa-free travellers must still meet a set of entry conditions that border guards verify on arrival. Here is what those checks involve.
Once ETIAS launches, visa-exempt travellers will need an authorisation before their trip. But a successful application does not, on its own, guarantee that you will be let into Europe.
On 5 September 2018 the Council of the EU adopted the regulation creating ETIAS, a pre-travel authorisation for visa-exempt visitors to the Schengen area. The text laid out how the system would work and when it should go live.