The Greek authorities are taking additional measures to reduce congestion at the Evzoni border crossing, one of the busiest crossings between Macedonia and Greece, especially on the eve of the summer tourist season.
Greece’s deputy interior minister, Konstantinos Giulekas, said that modular checkpoints will be installed at Evzoni, turning one traffic lane into two, in order to speed up control and reduce waiting times for passengers.
Speaking at a tourism conference organized by the Greek portal “Voria”, Giulekas indicated that until the complete modernization of the border crossing is completed, the possibilities for further expansion are limited.
– We are setting up additional checkpoints and expanding one traffic lane into two. All this is at the limit of the existing possibilities, because we do not have more flexibility until the modernization of Evzoni is finished – Giulekas said.
He also referred to the implementation of the EES system (Entry/Exit System), which provides for the registration of biometric data of citizens from countries that are not members of the European Union upon entering the Schengen zone.
According to him, the new procedures inevitably extend the time required for border control, but the European regulation allows temporary and partial suspension of biometric registration in periods of increased traffic.
– In hours with high traffic intensity, we have the opportunity to temporarily mitigate the application of the measure, and we often use that – said Giulekas.
According to previous information from the Greek authorities, this opportunity is valid until July 8 of this year, and if necessary, it can be extended until September 6. In such cases, passenger registration is performed without taking biometric data, in order to ensure a faster flow of vehicles and passengers at the border crossings.
At the same time, the modernization of the Kipi border crossing on the border with Turkey is underway, while the reconstruction of Evzoni, which records a large number of travelers from the Balkans to Greek tourist destinations every year, is also planned.
