Previously, Maltese politician and Member of the EU Parliament, Peter Agius, had raised his concerns that Malta would not be able to implement the EES at its borders in October. According to him, the EU and Malta were already working together on an alternative system, that would work instead of the EES until the latter is ready.
Commission Does Not Deny Malta’s Struggling With Preparations for EES
While insisting that the EU authorities are closely working with Malta in order to put into operation the EES on time, the Commission has not denied that the country struggled to start preparing for the system on time.
However, the Maltese government itself had confirmed at the beginning of June that they were late with the preparations for the EES. At the time, they had blamed uninterest in the initial tender from companies that would enable the introduction of the system at its borders, for the delay.
EES Likely Postponed to November 2024
For unknown reasons, the implementation of the EES has been postponed once again, from the planned date of October 6, to November 10.
Though the EU has not come forward with an official announcement in this regard, sources of the Independent have told the newspaper that the EES launch could even be pushed back to November 17.
Amongst the reasons behind such a move might be the failure of several countries to implement the system on time, including at the air borders.
