The EU’s long-awaited Entry/Exit System (EES) went live in pilot mode at several Polish land crossings on 25 October, and the first day was anything but smooth. According to the Ukrainian State Border Guard Service, motorists and coach passengers heading into Poland through the busy Medyka, Korczowa and Przemyśl checkpoints faced waits of up to six hours as officers carried out the new biometric enrolment procedures. The congestion coincided with the start of school autumn holidays on both sides of the border, compounding traffic volumes.
EES replaces the manual stamping of passports with a digital record that captures facial images and four fingerprints the first time a third-country national enters the Schengen Area. Border guards told UNN that each first-time registration was taking three-to-four minutes, compared with the few seconds previously needed for a stamp. Although Poland has installed automated kiosks at its two largest road checkpoints, staffing constraints meant many booths were idle, forcing officers to process travellers manually.
For Polish businesses that rely on cross-border trade and commuting labour from western Ukraine, the delays translated into missed delivery slots and shift shortages. The Lviv Chamber of Commerce reported that just-in-time automotive suppliers saw inbound components arrive late, while IT outsourcing firms in Rzeszów said staff were stuck at the frontier. Logistics companies have begun re-routing high-value cargo via less-congested Slovak crossings, adding 150 km to some journeys.
Poland’s Ministry of the Interior insisted the bottlenecks are temporary and promised extra staff and mobile registration units this week. Yet freight forwarders warn that unless throughput improves before the peak All-Saints/All-Souls holiday travel rush (31 October-2 November), supply-chain disruption could spill over into manufacturing lines in southern Poland. Businesses are advising travelling employees to budget an extra half-day for border formalities and to complete pre-registration in the EES mobile app once it becomes available later this quarter.
EES replaces the manual stamping of passports with a digital record that captures facial images and four fingerprints the first time a third-country national enters the Schengen Area. Border guards told UNN that each first-time registration was taking three-to-four minutes, compared with the few seconds previously needed for a stamp. Although Poland has installed automated kiosks at its two largest road checkpoints, staffing constraints meant many booths were idle, forcing officers to process travellers manually.
For Polish businesses that rely on cross-border trade and commuting labour from western Ukraine, the delays translated into missed delivery slots and shift shortages. The Lviv Chamber of Commerce reported that just-in-time automotive suppliers saw inbound components arrive late, while IT outsourcing firms in Rzeszów said staff were stuck at the frontier. Logistics companies have begun re-routing high-value cargo via less-congested Slovak crossings, adding 150 km to some journeys.
Poland’s Ministry of the Interior insisted the bottlenecks are temporary and promised extra staff and mobile registration units this week. Yet freight forwarders warn that unless throughput improves before the peak All-Saints/All-Souls holiday travel rush (31 October-2 November), supply-chain disruption could spill over into manufacturing lines in southern Poland. Businesses are advising travelling employees to budget an extra half-day for border formalities and to complete pre-registration in the EES mobile app once it becomes available later this quarter.
