Representative of the Border Administration of the Croatian Ministry of the Interior, Denis Kukec, stated that the Croatian Border Police is ready for the new European system of entry and exit into member states, which will be implemented from Sunday, October 12th.
"We have the most modern equipment installed in the control cabins, but we also have mobile devices with which we will regulate traffic during peak hours, so we do not expect any delays or greater congestion compared to other days," Kukec told Croatian Radio and Television.
Croatia has been a member of the European Union since 2013. To the east and south it borders Montenegro, Serbia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina, which are candidates for membership.
The new Entry/Exit System (EES) for European Union (EU) countries applies to all those who are not citizens of EU member states and do not have a regulated residence permit in the "Schengen Zone" countries.
The aim of the new system, which the EU has been working on for years, is to digitally record entries and exits across the Union's borders, including passport data, fingerprints and facial images of non-EU citizens travelling to European Union member states for short stays.
The idea is for the EES to abolish manual stamping of passports at all international airports and ports in the EU, as well as at land crossings between EU countries and those outside it.
It will apply in 25 EU member states, all except Cyprus and Ireland.
Four European countries that are not EU members are also part of this system: Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.
The system was originally supposed to be introduced in 2023 and 2024, but some larger EU member states, which are home to the largest transport hubs, were concerned about the simultaneous launch of a single information system that would process a large amount of data in real time, including on compliance with the permitted period of stay.
The system was not ready at that time, so it will now gradually start working and will be fully operational by April 10, 2026.
This means that a traveler's biometric data, such as a facial image and fingerprints, may not be collected immediately at every border crossing.
During this transitional six-month period, passports will continue to be stamped as before.
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