The new digital border control system of the European Union (EES) confused two identical twin sisters in Romania, with one of them being wrongly accused of exceeding the legal stay period in the Schengen area.
The incident took place at the end of May at the Cluj-Napoca airport and involved a British citizen who was stopped at the border control after the system indicated that she had not previously left the European Union. According to Politico, the woman was detained for approximately 15 minutes, and border police initially suspected that she had borrowed her sister’s passport.
In reality, the one who had traveled to Amsterdam in April was her identical twin sister, who has her own passport and has never been to Romania.
What Happened
The system indicated that the British woman had not exited the Schengen area after a supposed trip to the Netherlands, which would have meant exceeding the legal stay period.
Niovi Vavoula, a specialist in cybersecurity policies and a professor at the University of Luxembourg, believes that the incident was most likely caused by a combination of an erroneous recording of the exit from the Schengen area in Amsterdam and an incomplete check later conducted in Cluj-Napoca.
She points out that the EES regulation stipulates that the identification of a traveler should not rely solely on facial recognition but also on the verification of digital fingerprints and passport data, which were different in the case of the two sisters.
Border Police: The System Worked, Procedures Were Not Followed
After internal checks, the Romanian Border Police stated that the EES platform functioned correctly, but the involved employees did not follow all operational procedures.
The institution specified that the data was corrected, and the responsible staff received additional training. It also maintains that this is an isolated case that does not reflect the general functioning of the system.
On the other hand, the European Commission declined to comment on the specific case and reminded that member states are responsible for the accuracy of the data entered into the EES. Individuals who identify errors in their information can request correction from the competent authorities.
A System that Started with Problems
The Entry-Exit System (EES), introduced on April 10, replaces passport stamps with biometric registration of travelers from outside the European Union and the Schengen area, using facial photographs and digital fingerprints.
Its implementation was delayed for four years due to technical difficulties, and in recent months, delays and operational issues have been reported at several European airports. The system particularly affects British citizens post-Brexit, with over 63 million trips to EU states in 2024.