Airport passport control scanners to be abolished, replaced by e-gates

The electronic passport control scanners at the Larnaca and Paphos airports are to be abolished and replaced with full-scale automated passport control gates as Cyprus prepares to enter Europe’s border-free Schengen zone, Justice Minister Costas Fitiris said. In a response a written question submitted to him by Disy MP George Pamboridis, he said that the gates, known as ABC gates, will be installed at both airports by the end of the year. He explained that the existing scanners had initially been preferred as they are smaller in size, given the space limitations at both airports, but pointed out that with the current system, a passport control officer is still required to make the final check of any given individual and their documents before they enter the island. “In contrast, ABC gates are fully automated border control systems, which also use biometric technologies,” he said. On this front, he said that the new gates will prove “particularly effective in cases of reduced staffing”. “With the imminent installation of the … ABC gates, the use thereof, as well as the categories of travellers which will be served through them, will be reviewed by the competent ministries involved, so as to determine the optimal framework for their utilisation,” he said. This, he added, will be done “up to the abolition of internal border controls, at which point they will be withdrawn”, though even after Cyprus’ accession to the Schengen zone, some form of passport control will be required for people of all nationalities arriving on the island from countries outside of it. The question of whether Cyprus should join the Schengen zone will be effectively placed before the Council of the European Union next month, with the European Commission having in June confirmed its own “positive assessment” of the island’s preparedness to join. Commission spokesman Markus Lammert said at the time that the college of commissioners had adopted a report on the state of Cyprus’ application, which had been based on the monitoring of Cyprus’ preparedness conducted for the EU’s annual “State of Schengen” report, which was released in May. Lammert explained at the time that with the commission now having formally taken a position, it will formally present the “State of Schengen” report to the Council of the EU in September. “It is clear that decisions on when and how Cyprus joins the Schengen area lie with the council. The commission’s position is very clear. Cyprus’ full accession to the Schengen area would be strengthening the common framework of shared rules, standards, and responsibilities that underwrite Schengen cooperation,” he said. For a new country to join the Schengen zone, a unanimous decision to that end must be taken by all of the countries inside the zone. They currently number 25, with only Cyprus and Ireland remaining on the outside. The four Schengen zone countries which are not EU member states – Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland – are party to discussions but are not afforded votes in the process. As the Cyprus Mail has been informed, von der Leyen has personally been one of the main driving forces behind the push for Cyprus to join the Schengen zone. “For years and years, the view across Europe was that Cyprus can never join the Schengen zone without the Cyprus problem being solved. Now, however, von der Leyen has told each member state that Cyprus must join the Schengen zone, and that they must acquiesce to it,” one diplomat, speaking on the condition of anonymity said. However, some have expressed reservations about the feasibility of the plans for Cyprus’ to join the Schengen zone and the impact it may have on the Cyprus problem. This is in part because many believe that the government’s insistence that the Schengen zone’s new digital entry/exit system will not be implemented at the nine crossing points which connect the island’s two sides will not be possible in reality. As such, Cyprus would likely be required to either effectively turn the Green Line into a hard border or have Europe face an administrative breakdown in the tracking of people entering and leaving the Schengen zone. Given this to be the case, Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman has said that it is “extremely important” for the Turkish Cypriot side to be involved in Cyprus’ accession to the Schengen zone. He also warned that Schengen accession “has the potential to bring about many complications, especially in the area of freedom of movement” regarding Turkish Cypriots, especially those who are not citizens of the Republic of Cyprus.