Launch of ETIAS likely to slip again as EU grapples with EES teething troubles

According to a 7 July report in Polish daily Rzeczpospolita, the European Union Agency eu-LISA told its management board last month that the European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS) will not be ready for the previously announced “late-2026” start date. The admission follows mounting evidence that airports are struggling with the prerequisite Entry/Exit System (EES), which went live across the bloc in April. ETIAS will impose a €20 pre-travel authorisation on visa-exempt nationals, including Americans and Britons, before they enter Schengen territory. Airlines fear introducing the scheme before EES queues stabilise would “double the chaos” at border inspection lines. The Financial Times, cited in the Polish article, reports that the Commission will reconsider the timeline at a board meeting in September once holiday-season data are in. Belgium’s Interior Ministry has already postponed staff training for its ETIAS carrier interface, saying resources are focused on bedding down EES kiosks at Brussels Airport and the Channel terminals. For multinationals rotating talent between Belgium and the UK or US, a further ETIAS delay means that planned corporate reimbursement processes and duty-of-care messaging can be put on hold. Travel managers should, however, keep budget lines open: once approved, ETIAS will be valid for three years, so bulk pre-payment solutions may still make sense. In the meantime, American and British travellers continue to enter Belgium with only passport and, where required, EES biometric registration.