Europe is entering one of the most challenging tourist seasons of recent years, and the new Entry/Exit System (EES) for the Schengen Area is becoming one of the main concerns for travellers due to expected congestion, hours-long waiting times and technical difficulties in implementation.
In order to avoid delays at borders and airports, some countries are already introducing more flexible practical procedures during periods of increased traffic. The greatest pressure is expected in Greece, one of the most important destinations for travellers from Serbia, while despite announcements of a possible temporary adjustment of the system, an official document confirming this at European Union level is still awaited. What can travellers from Serbia heading to Greece this summer expect at the borders?
It was recently announced that Greece, precisely because of the congestion already beginning, would in practice suspend the implementation of the EES system during the period from 1 June to 30 August 2026, and a statement by Jelena Vujović Obradović, Serbia’s Consul General in Thessaloniki, confirmed what had been announced. Previously, the director of the National Association of Travel Agencies, Aleksandar Seničić, had also stated that as soon as larger queues of vehicles formed at border crossings, the Greek authorities would temporarily suspend implementation of the EES system.
Some tourists remain sceptical and wonder why there is no official document on the temporary suspension of the EES system. The reason is that the European Union is introducing the EES as a common rule applying to all Schengen countries, without the possibility for individual states to independently exempt certain countries or travellers from its implementation.
If a formal decision on suspension were to be made, it would have to be adopted at EU level and would apply to all Schengen members, rather than selectively to individual countries or routes.
According to the portal Grčka info, this is precisely why in practice no special “local” decisions are made on suspending the system, but any adjustments are implemented operationally on the ground.
The implementation of the EES system at border crossings
In situations where there is no major congestion at border crossings, the EES system can be applied consistently, involving fingerprint collection, facial photography and entry of data into the database in accordance with the prescribed procedures.
However, during periods of heavy traffic, especially in the summer season when long queues form, applying the full procedure would significantly slow down the movement of travellers. Given that processing a single traveller can take two to three minutes, waiting times in such circumstances could extend to several hours.
In those circumstances, the system is not formally abolished, but its implementation is temporarily adjusted. Border police then switch to an accelerated control procedure involving basic passport checks and scanning, possibly accompanied by a few brief questions, without biometric processing and without prolonged detention of travellers.
It is explained that this principle was applied during the recent May Day holidays in order to avoid passengers being delayed for several hours.
Suspension of the EES system in practice does not mean that anyone will have priority or pass through without waiting compared to others. The essence is that when the EES is not applied, procedures at the crossing itself are significantly shortened. Instead of several minutes per vehicle, the delay lasts only a few seconds.
What night-time checks will look like
Arriving at the border during nighttime hours does not necessarily mean that the EES system will be applied. Grčka info writes that the system functions in such a way that if there are queues and congestion even at two in the morning, the EES will not operate. Congestion and waiting times during the summer season, holidays and long weekends will continue. What matters is that at such moments the EES does not further slow down the procedure and turn waiting into hours-long delays.
Although the officially confirmed period runs from 1 June to 30 August, it is possible that, as was the case in May, suspension of the system will also be applied in September whenever larger queues occur.
EES creating problems across Europe
Since the beginning of the EES system’s implementation, around 7,000 non-EU nationals have been unable to enter the Schengen Area because they exceeded the permitted period of stay. Data show that this number is increasing. It rose by 50 per cent during the last two months observed (around 3,000 recorded overstays) compared with the first four months of the EES system’s operation (around 4,000 overstays).
“Overstaying” refers to nationals of non-EU/EEA/Swiss countries who permanently reside outside the EU but spend more than 90 days within the bloc during any 180-day period. Some of them may have used exactly the permitted number of days, meaning any additional stay was prohibited.
Those 7,000 overstays form part of around 30,000 total travellers denied entry into the Schengen Area since the launch of the European Entry/Exit System (EES) on 12 October 2025, according to new EU data. Other cases of refusal were linked to different immigration status issues, irregularities in documentation or, in 800 cases, security reasons.
This information appears in the 2026 Schengen Status Report published by the European Commission on 18 May. The report provides an updated overview up to 20 April and compares the data with 16,000 refusals and around 4,000 overstays recorded three months earlier, on 23 February, four months after the EES became operational.
What is the EES system and how it works?
The new rules for entering and leaving the Schengen Area, which came fully into force on 10 April, require all third-country nationals, including Serbian citizens, to provide biometric data at their first border crossing – fingerprints, facial photographs and scanned passport data. Traditional passport stamping is becoming a thing of the past, but the price of digitalisation for now is longer queues and slower passenger processing. The EES system officially began operating on 12 October 2025, with a gradual introduction across 29 European countries.
The 90/180-day stay rule means that nationals of non-EU countries, including Serbia, may stay in the Schengen Area without a visa for a maximum of 90 days within any 180-day period. The system replaces passport stamping with digitally recorded entries, exits or refusals of entry for non-EU nationals arriving for short stays. Facial images, fingerprints and personal data from travel documents are also recorded, the European Commission previously stated.
(NIN, 29.05.2026)