More than one million Serbian tourists who travel to Greece every summer need not fear kilometre-long queues and congestion due to EES, as, following the British, this type of check will also be waived for Serbians during the peak tourist season, Aleksandar Seničić, Director of the National Association of Travel Agencies (YUTA).
This announcement will certainly please the many tourists from Serbia who, precisely because of heavy congestion at airports and border crossings caused by EES checks, had been considering whether to replace their favourite holiday destination with another this year.
Britons exempt from EES
It should be recalled that the Greek government has decided that citizens of the United Kingdom will not have to undergo biometric checks when entering the country as part of the implementation of the new European EES (Entry/Exit System). The reason for this move lies in concerns over unbearable congestion at borders and airports; given that 4.89 million British tourists visited Greece in 2025, the aim of this measure is to reduce waiting times for the country’s most numerous visitors.
Aleksandar Seničić believes that the Greeks will know how to appreciate the fact that more than one million Serbian nationals holiday there each year.
“I hope that during the summer season, the EES system will not be applied to our tourists either. I do not expect the Greeks to adopt any formal decision to suspend EES for Serbian citizens, but I believe they will make use of the European Commission’s recommendation allowing each member state to suspend EES at certain times. I am confident that during the peak season in July and August, the Greeks will act in line with these recommendations and will, as before, only check our tourists’ passports,” Seničić emphasised.
No need to cancel trips
He expects that even during particularly busy periods, when congestion builds up at the border, Greece will suspend EES as early as June, meaning Serbian tourists should not abandon their preferred destinations in that country.
“Travellers should not cancel their trips because of this. Greece is a safe destination where holidays are the most affordable, and I am sure they will appreciate the large number of Serbian tourists – over a million of them holiday there,” Seničić said.
As previously announced – and as confirmed by travellers’ experiences at Greek borders during the transitional period lasting until September 2026 – countries are allowed to adjust the implementation of EES depending on the situation on the ground. This means that, in cases of heavy congestion, border officials may temporarily ease or suspend EES procedures, skip photographing and fingerprinting, and carry out checks solely by stamping passports.
What is particularly important for those travelling by car is that there is a strong likelihood that a similar approach will also be applied at road border crossings.
(Kurir, 22.04.2026)