On Wednesday, 28 October, the Smart Borders package was discussed at the European Parliament plenary session.
During the debate the Migration and Home Affairs Commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos stated that the European Commission would present at the beginning of 2016 a single legislative proposal on Smart Borders, combining an Entry Exit System and Registered Travellers Programme instead of two different systems.
Avramopoulos said that the new proposal depends on new technologies modernising the work of border guards and it will allow for a more effective EU policy against irregular migration and the phenomenon of "overstayers".
In 2015 eu-LISA organised a Smart Borders Pilot project in close collaboration with the EU Member States and other European stakeholders. eu-LISA coordinates the testing and subsequent follow-up, analysis of results and reporting.
Read the full speech by Commissioner Avramopoulos here:
https://ec.europa.eu/commission/2014-2019/avramopoulos/announcements/speech-commissioner-avramopoulos-european-parliament-plenary-session-smart-borders_en
Watch the EP plenary session debate on Smart Borders here:
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/ep-live/en/plenary/video?debate=1446041070085
