Luxembourg, June 4, 2026 (Lusa) - The European Commission announced on Thursday that it has deployed 25 Frontex agents and allocated approximately €8 million in funding to support Portugal’s border management efforts, following issues with the EU’s new Entry/Exit System.
"As for Frontex [European Border and Coast Guard Agency], it has about 25 agents in Portugal, as well as document experts who assist Portuguese authorities in enforcing the rules. Funding is also available, and I believe that, in total, Portugal has around €7-8 million for this purpose, primarily earmarked for infrastructure," said European Commissioner for Internal Affairs Magnus Brunner.
The European official in charge of the portfolio emphasised that “Portugal is doing everything to ensure the system works,” in statements to the Lusa news agency at the start of the Justice and Internal Affairs Council in Luxembourg.
Two weeks after the European Commission denied to Lusa any link between the lines at airports in Portugal and the European Union’s (EU) new Entry/Exit System (EES), and after the government spoke of a European problem rather than just a Portuguese one, Magnus Brunner emphasised that, “in the meantime, Portugal has done an excellent job of preparation.”
“It has increased staff, reinforced teams, improved IT systems, and invested in their development, and we are here to provide support. We have Frontex agents and Frontex experts on the ground supporting Portugal,” he noted.
Frontex is the European Union agency responsible for managing the external borders of the Schengen Area.
Late last week, it was announced that Portugal had invoked the legal mechanism with European institutions that allows for the suspension of biometric data collection at airports for up to six hours in situations of significant delays at border controls—a measure permitted until September due to the adaptation period for the EES, a system established under the European migration pact.
“We created this measure specifically for countries under greater pressure during the tourist season, such as Portugal. Until September, it is possible to temporarily suspend the system’s application for six hours a day—that is provided for in the rules. […] After that, naturally, we must be prepared,” warned Magnus Brunner.
Data from the European Commission sent to Lusa reveals that, in most Member States, processing first-time registrations takes, on average, just over 1 minute.
Since October 2025, when the system came into effect, nearly 90 million entries and exits have been recorded, along with more than 40,000 refusals of entry due to false or fraudulent documents, of which more than 800 people were identified as posing a threat to EU security.
The EES is a digital system for electronically recording the entry and exit of third-country nationals into the Schengen area, replacing manual stamps with biometric and digital records.
It is provided that, in the event of technical failures in the system, Member States may temporarily resort to alternative procedures, including manual registration and passport stamps, until normal operations are restored.
In recent months, there have been long lines at the airports in Lisbon, Porto, and Faro.
ANE/ADB // ADB.
Lusa
