People planning to travel to EU countries should reserve sufficient time for immigration clearance on arrival, as it is launching its automated Entry/Exit System (EES) on Sunday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday.
Department of European Affairs Director Eric Huang (黃鈞耀) said that the European Commission has announced that the EES would be launched on Sunday, although it is to be rolled out over six months for the 29 countries of the Schengen area, with full implementation expected by April 10 next year.
The EES electronically registers entries and exits by non-EU nationals, as well as entry refusals, across European countries that use the system, the EU’s official Web site says.
Photo: AFP
The system applies to non-EU nationals traveling for a short stay, the Web site says.
People traveling to Europe should pay close attention to the government Web sites of Schengen area members, we well as other nations in the region, to keep up with the latest rules and travel information, Huang said.
“During the [six-month] rollout of the EES, travelers should also reserve sufficient time for entry immigration clearance, to protect their own rights and interests,” he said.
With the EES operating, travelers must register their biometric data, including facial images and digital fingerprints, with the system to be able to use the self-service kiosks and e-gates for automated customs and immigration clearance services, he said.
Holders of Taiwanese passports have been eligible to use the e-gates when entering three Schengen area member countries — the Czech Republic, Italy and Germany — but after the EES is deployed, travelers must register their biometric data with the new system before they would be able to use the e-gates, he said.
However, the Czech Republic is temporarily suspending its e-gates due to system integration issues, Huang said.
Taiwanese scientists have engineered plants that can capture about 50 percent more carbon dioxide and produce more than twice as many seeds as unmodified plants, a breakthrough they hope could one day help mitigate global warming and grow more food staples such as rice. If applied to major food crops, the new system could cut carbon emissions and raise yields “without additional equipment or labor costs,” Academia Sinica researcher and lead author the study Lu Kuan-jen (呂冠箴) said. Academia Sinica president James Liao (廖俊智) said that as humans emit 9.6 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide compared with the 220 billion tonnes absorbed
The Taipei Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) Wanda-Zhonghe Line is 81.7 percent complete, with public opening targeted for the end of 2027, New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) said today. Surrounding roads are to be open to the public by the end of next year, Hou said during an inspection of construction progress. The 9.5km line, featuring nine underground stations and one depot, is expected to connect Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall Station to Chukuang Station in New Taipei City’s Jhonghe District (中和). All 18 tunnels for the line are complete, while the main structures of the stations and depot are mostly finished, he
Taipei is to implement widespread road closures around Taipei 101 on Friday to make way for large crowds during the Double Ten National Day celebration, the Taipei Department of Transportation said. A four-minute fireworks display is to be launched from the skyscraper, along with a performance by 500 drones flying in formation above the nearby Nanshan A21 site, starting at 10pm. Vehicle restrictions would occur in phases, they said. From 5pm to 9pm, inner lanes of Songshou Road between Taipei City Hall and Taipei 101 are to be closed, with only the outer lanes remaining open. Between 9pm and 9:40pm, the section is
China’s plan to deploy a new hypersonic ballistic missile at a Chinese People’s Liberation Army Rocket Force (PLARF) base near Taiwan likely targets US airbases and ships in the western Pacific, but it would also present new threats to Taiwan, defense experts said. The New York Times — citing a US Department of Defense report from last year on China’s military power — on Monday reported in an article titled “The missiles threatening Taiwan” that China has stockpiled 3,500 missiles, 1.5 times more than four years earlier. Although it is unclear how many of those missiles were targeting Taiwan, the newspaper reported
RSS