Member state ambassadors to the EU (Coreper) are expected to reach political agreement on Wednesday 25 April on the ETIAS, the European travel authorisation system for visitors from countries that are not part of the EU, closely resembling the American ESTA (see EUROPE 11943).
Approval of the compromise on the table comes after 14 meetings with the European Parliament. The Parliamentary civil liberties committee is also expected to approve the compromise on the same day.
Under the terms of the agreement, as set out in a document on 18 April, any person wishing to travel to the EU will have to apply online on a dedicated member state internet site for the authorisation, which will cost €7. Initially the Council of the EU wanted a charge of €5 and Parliament €10.
All travellers will have to apply for authorisation, including minors through application by parents or guardians. Those under 18 or over 70 years of age will not have to pay the €7 charge.
The travel authorisation will allow member state authorities to better monitor the background of persons entering their territory from countries whose nationals are exempt from the visa requirement. The goal is to prevent terrorist threats.
The ETIAS proposal was presented by the Commission in November 2016 (see EUROPE 11669) in the wake of a series of terrorist attacks in Europe.
According to the compromise agreed, the member states will ask applicants to provide a range of personal information, their contact details, professional status and the first address at which they will stay during their visit – mirroring the ESTA questions.
Negotiators have agreed that, beyond terrorism-related monitoring, some authorities – immigration, for example – will also be able to access the ETIAS database on issues relating, for instances, to returns.
The interoperability envisaged between ETIAS and other European systems, such as the Schengen Information System (SIS), will also make it possible to identify persons who might be flagged up in the SIS.
The personal data recorded by the ETIAS must not be retained any longer than necessary, the text states, adding that, for the ETIAS to work properly, applicants’ data will have to be retained for the length of time the authorisation remains valid. After that period of validity, the data must not be stored without the explicit consent of the applicant and only in order to simplify any further application process following the expiry of the validity of the ETIAS travel authorisation.
On the other hand, when the decision is taken to refuse authorisation because of security risks, suspicions of illegal immigration or a high risk of epidemic, the data will be retained for five years from the date of the decision. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)