Majorca signs up to Smart Borders

On the eve of the new fast track airport security system coming in to operation at Palma airport, the government has signed up to the EU’s Smart border project.Spanish Interior Minister, Francisco Martínez, was in Palma yesterday to sign the agreement with the Balearic government and also explained what the thinking is behind the smart border programme.
Devised by the European Commission, the idea is to use new technologies to simplify life for foreigners frequently travelling to the EU and to better monitor third-country nationals crossing the borders.
Enabling smooth and fast border crossing for travellers, while ensuring an adequate level of security, is a challenge for many member states.
Every year more than 700 million EU citizens and third country nationals cross the EU’s external borders. This number is expected to rise significantly in the future. By 2030 the number of people at European airports could increase by 80%, which will result in longer delays and queues for travellers if border checking procedures are not modernised in time.