On Wednesday 13 February, the Committee of Permanent Representatives of the EU referred to the working groups the follow-up of the amendments made by the Commission to the new rules creating a travel authorisation system in the EU for third-country nationals exempt from visas, the ETIAS.
This was already the subject of an interinstitutional agreement in April 2018 (see EUROPE 12009), confirmed shortly afterwards by the Council and the European Parliament, but amendments of a technical nature were made by the Commission at the beginning of the year to adapt ETIAS to changes in the other European databases to which it must connect, such as the Schengen Information System (SIS) or the ECRIS-TCN system on criminal records, which have recently been revised.
The challenge is to ensure that the ETIAS system is up to date and can provide access to these other modified databases, explains one source. ETIAS is expected to be operational in 2021. It will cost €7 for travellers from third countries exempt from visas to travel to the EU for a short stay. ETIAS is to provide Member States with additional security information on persons entering the EU. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)