Announcements

On 1-3 December 2020, Frontex, the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, will hold its second International Conference on Biometrics for Borders (ICBB). In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, this year’s conference will be held online. The thematic focus will be the practical implementation of the Entry/Exit System (EES) at the European Union’s external borders.

As part of the Smart Borders Package, on 20 November 2017 the European Council adopted a regulation for an Entry/Exit System (EES) to register entry and exit data of non-EU nationals crossing into the territory of the Member States. From February 2022 onwards, the EES will record the entry, exit and refusal of entry information of non-EU nationals crossing the external borders of the Member States.

From changes to business processes at the EU’s external border crossing points to new technical solutions such as mobile devices and self-service kiosks in support of the enrolment of biometric data, the implementation of the EES brings a number of challenges for European border management authorities. 

To help Member States address them, Frontex is conducting a number of activities to deliver targeted and, above all, practical support. The ICBB2020 will be an opportunity to present and discuss practical solutions to some of the most pressing challenges faced, thus underlining our shared responsibility to assure the successful practical implementation of the EES at the external borders.

The objective of the ICBB2020 is to provide an online platform for dialogue to decision-makers, project managers and other practitioners responsible for the implementation of the EES by:

• Offering access to discussions on the EES in the wider context of interoperability, and the international perspectives on the European entry and exit system;

• Demonstrating existing EES solutions through a Virtual Industry Exhibition on EES equipment, with online presentations and discussions, and an industry portal for digital consultation of industry solutions;

• Providing practical support to Member States through a series of online sessions aimed at discussing challenges of a practical and operational nature that relate to processes and operational performance.

Programme
The programme of the ICBB2020 will focus on the practical and operational implementation of the EES at the external borders of the European Union. The topics will include discussions on the development of national processes and identification of operational scenarios; relevant technologies and infrastructures (including demonstrations of technical equipment); discussions concerning technical equipment and Member States’ needs in terms of its performance; development of guidelines/best practices and baseline minimum requirements for new technical solutions to be used at border crossing points; and the development of relevant training for border guards.

Virtual Industry Exhibition on EES equipment
To meet national border management authorities’ need for innovative technologies in the context of the EES, a substantial part of the conference will be dedicated to a Virtual Industry Exhibition on EES equipment. Throughout the whole conference, selected industry representatives will be given the opportunity to showcase their new and existing EES-compliant technical solutions in a series of online presentations and discussions. In light of the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on international travel and border control, innovative touchless technologies and solutions focusing on seamless travel will also be considered. For more information on the scope of the virtual industry exhibition and on how to apply please read our call to industry.

Target Audience
The target audience are project managers and border guard authorities responsible for border management and for the national EES implementation in the European Union, EU policy-makers and agencies, targeted non-EU countries, and researchers and industry with a demonstrated interest in the topic of the EES.

Participation in the conference is by invitation only. Registration details will be sent only to participants who will have received a formal invitation. No fees will be charged for registration.

General requests for information can be sent to biometrics@frontex.europa.eu.