18/03/2021 (Agence Europe) – On Thursday, 18 March, negotiators from the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union reached a political agreement on the provisions regarding the interoperability of the European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS) with other European databases such as the Schengen Information System, VIS, or ECRIS-TCN.
ETIAS—which aims to better monitor the arrival of non-EU travellers who do not need a visa for short stays in the EU—will be operational by the end of 2022. This system is the European equivalent of the American ESTA. It will cost 7 euros and be valid for 3 years.Full interoperability of the information systems is expected to be in place by the end of 2023. Eventually, it will be possible to search all of the databases simultaneously by entering the identity of a person to be checked.
The European Commission was pleased with this trilogue agreement, which will have to be formally confirmed. Rapporteur Jeroen Lenaers (EPP, Netherlands) also welcomed this agreement, which allows Europeans to “better secure external borders and identify risks”. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)