Europe’s New Border Checks Can Be Paused, and ETIAS Has Lost Its Date

The travel association ABTA says European Union member states can keep suspending Entry/Exit System checks at busy crossings until the end of 2026. Earlier contingency measures had allowed suspensions only up to September 6. The European Commission will not begin infringement proceedings against countries that pause checks for the rest of the year, ABTA said, though suspensions can apply only at specific border points with significant queues rather than across a whole country.

The second headline is about ETIAS, the pre-travel authorization that visitors from visa-exempt countries are expected to need. The planned fourth-quarter 2026 launch has been dropped, and the date has been removed from official EU websites. An ABTA spokesperson said there is now no official launch date. That matters because more than 150 websites claim to sell ETIAS, even though it cannot yet be purchased, so travelers should be wary of any site offering it today.

ABTA’s research suggests the rollout has been bumpy but not disastrous for British travelers. Fewer than half of Brits who travelled to Europe in the past year had passed through EES since its phased start. Of those, half got through in under 30 minutes and 87 percent waited less than an hour. In its Holiday Habits survey of more than 2,000 people, 6 percent said they were less likely to visit the EU because of the checks.

One practical wrinkle: some travelers are being logged on arrival but not on departure, which can make them look like overstayers on later trips. ABTA says people in that position can ask the national border authority to correct the record, and border guards are expected to fix it at the next crossing. The association wants the contingency measures extended into 2027 and, if needed, changes to the underlying legislation.

Sources: Travel Gossip, Schengen Traveler