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    Smarter, faster, safer?

    2011-12-01

    The European Commission (EC) presented a Communication on October 25 entitled “Smart Borders – options and the way ahead,” which proposes new approaches to striking the balance between security and freedom at the EU’s external borders. With the number of external border crossings exceeding 700 million each year and expected to keep rising, there is a need for a more sophisticated approach to border management for the future. The current system of passport stamps is seen as insufficient to rise to future challenges and the “smart borders package” aims to address the deficiencies with new technologies and intelligence-led targeting to separate the vast majority of bona fide travellers from the small number of transgressors, be they irregular migrants, cross-border criminal groups or suspected threats to European security. Meanwhile, for most travellers, the same measures will be noticeable in the form of faster and more efficient border crossings, particularly at airports.

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