Travellers from outside the EU are getting ready for the launch of the new Entry/Exit System (EES) on 10 November, but are Schengen countries ready to welcome them?

There’s been much trepidation about Europe’s new digital border system, which has been repeatedly delayed.

But, finally, new scanners are appearing at airports across the EU and processing areas have been set up at international ports and train stations.

Millions of euros have been ploughed into preparing for the new checks, which will register non-EU passengers’ biometric data each time they enter and exit the Schengen Area.

Still, tourists have been warned of potential delays and queues at checkpoints when the EES launches this autumn.

What is the UK doing to prepare for the EES?

The changes will arguably hit post-Brexit Britain the hardest, with travellers forced to jump through new hoops when visiting the EU.

While airport checks will be carried out on arrival in EU countries, those for international train, car and ferry services will take place before departure from the UK.

The UK government is working hard to reduce queueing and disruption. This week, it announced £10.5 million (€12.5m) in funding to support preparations at the Port of Dover, Folkestone’s Eurotunnel and Eurostar at St Pancras train station in London.

This money is being used to set up the technology and processes needed for smooth EES registration, including establishing a dedicated processing site at the Port of Dover and installing additional self-service kiosks for Eurotunnel and Eurostar passengers.

At these kiosks, UK travellers will have to register at the border by having their fingerprints and photographs taken.

The funding will also be used to “undertake rigorous testing to reduce the risk of disruption”, according to the UK government, and support recruitment and training of staff to contribute to smoother EES implementation.

‘Nobody wants to see excessive queues’

Ministers in the UK say the funding will help minimise disruption for British travellers and ensure EES registration gets off to a smooth start.

“Nobody wants to see excessive queues at our ports, which is why we’re providing this funding to ensure our borders are as prepared as possible for the upcoming change – despite EES being an EU initiative,” says UK Future of Roads Minister Lilian Greenwood.

“Since coming into government, we have been reviewing plans and closely supporting ports to make sure they have the right processes in place so that EES registration can be smooth and queue times kept to a minimum.”

The government says the Port of Dover, Eurotunnel and Eurostar are “now on track for a smooth transition ahead of implementation later this year”.

Despite raising concerns earlier in the year, all three ports now offer a rosier picture of the EES implementation.

“Eurostar will be fully prepared and compliant by November, ensuring a smooth transition for all our passengers,” says Simon Lejeune, Eurostar chief safety and stations officer.

Yann Leriche, CEO of Getlink – which operates Eurotunnel – adds that thanks to two years of preparations and £70 million (€83m) in investments, “when the new regulation is introduced, people will travel through the Channel Tunnel just as easily as they do today.”

While it has been touch and go for some countries like Malta, which until July was expected to implement an alternative manual system after failing to start EES preparations early enough, the European Commission now insists all Member States are ready for the changes.

“At every single airport, every single harbour and every single road into Europe, we will have digital border controls – all connected, all switched on at the very same time,” European Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson said on 16 August.

Despite these preparations, UK travel agents remain dubious about the EES launch.

A lack of awareness among travellers and varied levels of preparedness at different airports could cause “long queues, chaos and confusion”, travel association AITO has warned.

It has called for an extended transition period and for checks to be relaxed when waiting times are lengthy.

However, the European Commission confirmed to Euronews Travel in July that “all travellers subject to EES will be recorded in the system at all border crossing points from day one,” adding that it has provided all EU Member States with the “necessary tools to ensure a smooth traffic flow”.

A mobile app allowing passengers to pre-register their data before travelling will be available in some countries, but this is being adopted on a voluntary basis.

Concerns have also been raised about the EES launch clashing with the phase-in of the UK’s own Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) for visa-free travellers, which began in May.

The introduction of the ETIAS travel system in the first half of 2025, which will require non-EU visa-free travellers to obtain a €7 electronic travel authorisation, is expected to complicate travel even further.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued a warning about the rise in Oropouche virus disease cases in the Americas, with cases also reported in Europe.

In June and July of this year, 19 cases of Oropouche virus disease, also referred to as “sloth fever,” were reported for the first time in European countries.

All of the travellers who returned to Europe with symptoms had been to Cuba or Brazil.

Read on for what travellers need to know about this deadly disease and how to stay safe.

Where are travellers catching Oropuche virus?

Beginning late last year, the virus was identified as the cause of large outbreaks in Amazon regions where it was known to exist, as well as in new areas in South America and the Caribbean.

About 8,000 locally acquired cases have been reported in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Cuba, and Peru.

As of August, 19 cases have been reported in European countries: 12 in Spain, five in Italy and two in Germany. Eighteen of the cases had travelled to Cuba and one to Brazil, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.

Oropouche is a virus that is native to forested tropical areas. It was first identified in 1955 in a 24-year-old forest worker on the island of Trinidad, and was named for a nearby village and wetlands.

It has sometimes been called sloth fever because scientists first investigating the virus found it in a three-toed sloth, and believed sloths were important in its spread between insects and animals.

The symptoms of Oropouche are similar to those of dengue, Zika and malaria.

What are the symptoms and treatments for Oropouche?

Symptoms can seem similar to other tropical diseases like dengue, Zika or malaria.

After an incubation period of 3–10 days, patients typically experience abrupt onset of fever, chills, headache, myalgia, and arthralgia. Other symptoms might include retroorbital pain, photophobia, vomiting, diarrhea, fatigue, maculopapular rash, conjunctival injection, and abdominal pain, according to the CDC.

Most people recover from Oropouche though some suffer recurring symptoms, and one in 20 can suffer more severe symptoms like bleeding, meningitis and encephalitis. It is rarely fatal, though there are recent reports of deaths in two healthy young people in Brazil.

There are no vaccines to prevent infections and no medicines currently available to treat the symptoms.

Who is most at risk from Oropouche?

In Brazil, officials are investigating reports that infections might be passed on from a pregnant woman to a fetus – a potentially frightening echo of what was seen during Zika outbreaks nearly a decade ago.

The CDC has recommended that pregnant women avoid non-essential travel to Cuba and suggested all travelers take steps to prevent bug bites, such as using insect repellents and wearing long-sleeved shirts and long trousers.

How does Oropouche virus spread?

The virus is spread to humans by small biting flies called midges, and by some types of mosquitoes. Humans have become infected while visiting forested areas and are believed to be responsible for helping the virus make its way to towns and cities, but person-to-person transmission hasn’t been documented.

How many cases have there been?

19 cases have been found in Europe, though this is nothing compared to the 8,000 identified cases in the Americas.

21 people returning to the US from Cuba have been infected with the virus – 20 were in Florida and one was in New York. They had all been to Cuba

Concerns are growing over the rise of West Nile virus after it killed two more people in Seville, Spain, raising the country’s total to five deaths this year.

Travellers and locals alike have been advised to wear insect repellant, cover up, and avoid breeding grounds like stagnant water – particularly between dusk and dawn.

This year in Europe, cases also have been reported in Austria, Croatia, France, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Romania and Serbia. These were confirmed by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) as having been acquired locally rather than on trips to tropical regions.

It comes after dengue fever outbreaks in Europe put travellers on red alert in spring.

What is West Nile virus and what are the symptoms?

West Nile virus (WNV) can cause a fatal neurological disease in humans. It belongs to the Japanese encephalitis group of viruses, along with others like dengue and yellow fever.

Birds are the natural hosts of WNV, but it is typically spread by mosquitoes and, in a small number of cases, through blood transfusion, organ donations or pregnancy.

In around four out of five patients, WNV presents no symptoms, but in the other 20 per cent, it develops into West Nile fever. Symptoms include sudden high fever, headache, neck stiffness and a rash on the neck, arms, or legs – and in more severe cases, seizures, muscle weakness and paralysis, according to ECDC.

People over the age of 50 – especially if they have underlying health conditions – are more likely to get seriously ill. Less than 1 per cent of people go on to develop neurological infections such as meningitis or encephalitis – with one in 10 of these cases being fatal.

Symptoms typically appear two to six days after infection but can take up to 14 days or more to develop. In uncomplicated cases, these usually ease within three to six days.

How to protect yourself against West Nile virus

No vaccine against WNV is yet available for humans, so the best way to protect yourself is to prevent mosquito bites.

You can do this by not travelling to affected areas at times when mosquitoes are more common, such as in summer, and reducing your time outdoors when in an affected area.

The virus was first detected in the West Nile district of Uganda in 1937, but can now be found in countries across the world, including in Africa, the Middle East, west and central Asia, North America – and Europe.

Using mosquito repellant, covering your arms, legs and feet, and keeping mosquitoes out of your bedroom at night can also help prevent infection.

If you feel unwell – especially if you have a fever – you should contact your doctor and tell them where you have recently travelled to.

Why is Europe seeing more cases of mosquito-borne illness?

Record-high temperatures and other extreme weather events driven by climate change are causing an uptick in virus outbreaks in Europe.

“Europe is already seeing how climate change is creating more favourable conditions for invasive mosquitoes to spread into previously unaffected areas and infect more people with diseases such as dengue,” ECDC’s director Andrea Ammon said in June.

“Increased international travel from dengue-endemic countries will also increase the risk of imported cases, and inevitably also the risk of local outbreaks,” she added.

Locally acquired dengue cases in Europe almost doubled between 2022 and 2023, and figures suggest it could become even more prevalent this year.

Where are infections most likely in Europe?

Dengue-carrying tiger mosquitoes are now established in 13 European countries: Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Malta, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia and Spain.

The first large outbreak of WNV in Europe occurred in Romania in 1996. Cases have since been identified in European countries including Austria, Croatia, France, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Portugal, Romania, Serbia and Spain.

Recently, WNV carrying mosquitos have been detected in towns near Spain’s Guadalquivir River, such as Coria del Rio near Seville. Various regions in Greece have also been affected, including Kos, Thessaloniki and Zakynthos, as well as Italy including Bologna, Modena, Salerno and Venice, among others.

In 2023, 713 locally acquired cases were reported in the EU/EEA in 123 different regions – 22 of which were seeing the infection for the first time. Tragically, 67 deaths were reported.

The case seen in Spain in March this year came unusually early, likely due to unseasonably warm weather.

ECDC warns that the mosquito responsible for transmitting dengue and Zika virus is spreading further north, east and west in Europe, and has recently established itself in Cyprus.