EU borders to be closed in a new way: Ukrainians expect changes already in autumn

The European Parliament has officially approved the implementation of the Entry/Exit System (EES), a new digital platform that will completely change the way third-country nationals cross the EU's external borders. The decision was taken on 8 July 2025: 572 MPs supported the launch of the project, which will start this autumn and last for 180 days.

The essence of the innovation is the automation of border control. The system will register key data of non-EU travellers: their personal information, types of documents, place and time of border crossing, as well as biometric parameters. The new procedure will affect everyone entering the Schengen area with short-term visas or visa-free travel.

To avoid disruption and congestion at border crossings, member states will be able to choose their own pace of transition to EES: from gradual implementation to full launch. According to the plan, the system should cover 10 per cent of border crossings in the first month, 35 per cent by the third month and completely replace the previous control procedure by the sixth month.

The document adopted by the European Parliament is part of the previously agreed package with the EU Council of 19 May. After its formal approval by the Council and publication in the Official Journal of the European Union, the regulation will enter into force on the third day.

The European Commission will handle the coordination of the launch. A centralised plan must be developed within 30 days, and then each member state will have 60 days to formulate a national implementation strategy. The specific start date of the 180-day implementation period will be decided by the European Commission.

The EES system was originally supposed to go live as early as 10 November 2024, but the launch was postponed due to technical and logistical difficulties. Now the EU is ready for a gradual transition to a more technological and secure format of border control.

As Socialportal wrote, currently more than 4 million Ukrainians have the status of temporary protection in the EU. Most have been able to obtain legal status, basic support, access to medical care, education and the labour market. However, life in a foreign land is accompanied by many challenges, and a significant proportion of people still live "between two worlds". What can the state do to bring back its citizens and how they help the country those who have become part of the Ukrainian diaspora abroad. Read the answers to these and other questions in the exclusive mater on Socialportal.

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