The European Commission (EC) has proposed a new mandatory registration system for all non-EU citizens traveling in and around Europe. The system, known as ETIAS — EU Travel Information and Authorization System — will apply to millions of people who are not yet required to carry a visa within Europe's Schengen zone.
Proposal for European Travel Information and Authorisation System — #ETIAS. How will it work? https://t.co/UhSarlkiov (pdf) #SecurityUnion pic.twitter.com/4byBiVjUoz
— European Commission (@EU_Commission) November 16, 2016
"It's nothing new — they've been talking about this for a number of years. They're desperate, they can't secure their borders," Janice Atkinson, independent MEP for Europe of Nations and Freedom (ENF) group told Sputnik.
"This proposal offers people in Europe a false sense of security," and Atkinson says, "the EC is desperate to keep the free movement of people within the Schengen zone and its borders open."
The EC says that more than 30 million people from 60 different countries travel visa-free to Belgium and other Schengen countries every year. This new proposal would mean all those travelers would be required by law to fill in an electronic questionnaire, similar to the US ESTA system.
"In that way, suspects can be intercepted more quickly," European Conservatives and Reformists MEP, Helga Stevens said.
"This is an important step in the fight against terrorism and international crime, and should strengthen our security. Not everyone is welcome in Europe," she added.
However Janice Atkinson thinks the new system is just another example of "typical EU bureaucratic thinking" and will do nothing to stop potential terrorists entering Europe.
European Commission announces border control system for non-EU visa-free travellers, restricting the mv't of Albanians to EU
— Lavdrim Lita (@lavdrimlita) November 16, 2016
"Thousands more terrorists could cross into Europe disguised as refugees. They're being chased out of Iraq and Syria and this new proposal is just typical EU bureaucratic thinking. This idea deflects from the real reason which is that they want to keep the borders open," Janice Atkinson told Sputnik.
"We, as a group, believe that nation states should take back control of their own borders and that Schengen should be abandoned and with it, the freedom of movement," Ms. Atkinson added.
The proposed system has been earmarked for 2019 with applications costing as little as US$5. The money raised, according to the EC, will be invested in better securing the EU's external borders.
Janice Atikinson, has other ideas, as "an online visa control service will not be simple."
"I think that any money spent on securing borders should be spent on policing borders and patrolling borders — not on a bureaucratic system like this," she told Sputnik.
The proposed ETIAS form will take around ten minutes to fill in and will be valid for five years, covering multiple trips.
