EUROPEAN UNION – EU Council Recommends Stringent Border Security Measures to be Implemented
December 04, 2015
The Council of the European Union, which represents the Ministers of Justice/Internal Affairs of the EU member states, has approved a recommendation regarding aggressive security measures at external borders. The measures are in direct response to last month’s terrorist attacks in Paris.
The Council stated that EU member states should put into practice the following procedures:
- Implement regular security checks for all travelers coming into and out of the European Union. This includes foreign nationals of Schengen member states whose paperwork, in the past, was simply subject to visual checks;
- Improve local contact points of the Schengen electronic border control system to better handle checks against all relevant criminal and national security databases; and
- Systematically register and fingerprint all third-country nationals entering the European Union who are attempting to enter without authorization.
These recommendations are not legal requirements. However, they are indicative of a strong policy position by the European Union and its member states. All EU member states are predicted to implement stricter border security measures in the coming months. Therefore, all travelers, including EU nationals, should expect to face delays when entering the European Union.