Original article (in Bosnian) was published on 2/9/2024; Author: Nerma Šehović
The news about the implementation of new rules for entering the EU was accompanied with incoherent conspiracy theories about Satanists and a ‘digital flock’ on social media.
On the Facebook profile Marko Kraljevic Antisatanista, a short video was posted on August 25, 2024, regarding the new rules for foreign nationals entering the European Union, which come into effect in November this year. The video description offers a sort of ‘explanation’ of these rules:
‘The Satanists are moving to the next level…‼️
They want to put us into a DIGITAL FLOCK…‼️
To enter the EU, we need face scans and fingerprints…‼️
All in the name of our safety…
…this way we’ll be safe…
That’s the story they always feed us, just like with the vaccines when they were so concerned about us…
As of the date of writing this analysis, the post had over 250 interactions on Facebook.
What are the facts?
The video posted on the profile of Marko Kraljevic Antisatanista was taken from the Instagram profile of Jovan Savin, where it was posted on August 22, 2024. The video explains the new rules for entering and exiting the EU, and concludes that they are being introduced to “better control entry into the EU, preventing criminals, fake passports, and terrorists from entering the EU”.
In November 2024, a new system called EES (Entry-Exit System) for entering and exiting European Union countries will begin. As explained in an article by Radio Free Europe on August 27, 2024, this system was established back in 2017 but will only come into effect in November. It will regulate the entry of citizens from around 60 countries worldwide, including those from the SEE region, into the EU, as well as entry into Norway, Switzerland, Iceland, and Liechtenstein.
The EES system is an automated IT system that will register the entries and exits of citizens from outside the EU who travel within the European Union for short periods (up to three months). Their entries, exits, and any entry bans will be digitally stored in this system. Foreign nationals entering the EU for the first time after the introduction of EES will stop for a border officer to take their biometric data, including fingerprints and a photograph. A passport (whether biometric or not) will not be stamped. The border officer will store biometrics and other data in the system. For future trips, the officer will only verify the fingerprints and photograph, and those with biometric passports may use a self-service system (if available at the border crossing) without going through officer checks.
The European Union’s website states that the purpose of this system is to improve security within the EU, prevent identity theft by collecting biometric data, enhance border management across the EU, and increase efficiency. It is also noted that this system will help the EU track and identify individuals who have overstayed their permitted stay, use fake passports, or have lost the right to enter the EU.
The data stored in this system includes travel document information (name, surname, date of birth), biometric data, the date and location of each entry and exit into the EU, and any entry ban information. This data will be stored for three years unless there is no record of the person leaving the EU, in which case it will be kept for five years. Border, visa, and immigration authorities, as well as Europol, will have access to this data. Under very specific and strict conditions, the data may also be shared with a country or international organization if necessary for deportation or law enforcement purposes. According to the European Union, personal data will be strictly protected against misuse.
The launch of another system called ETIAS (European Travel Information and Authorization System) is scheduled for next year. This system will require non-EU nationals to fill out a form and pay a fee of 7 euros before traveling. The RFE article explains how this system will work:
When filling out the application for the first time, the traveler enters personal information, email, and phone number, as well as details about the travel document.
The traveler will also have to provide details about education and current employment, as well as information about the planned trip and stay in the EU.Additionally, they will be asked to provide information about any criminal convictions, past travel to war zones or conflict areas, and whether the person has been deported from any country.
The traveler will also need to pay an additional fee of seven euros, which is paid by credit card. The payment is made just like any online purchase.
(…)
The ETIAS permit will be valid for three years or until the replacement of the travel document with which someone applied.
The form is linked to the travel document, meaning it is valid only with the passport used for the application. A new passport requires a new application. If ETIAS is paid for and approved for travel to one country, it is also valid for another.
Therefore, it is clear that by introducing these systems, the European Union aims to establish stricter control of its borders and limit travel possibilities for third-country nationals.
The claim that this is some kind of plan to lock people into a ‘digital flock’ is absurd. The EES system essentially represents an automated version of the existing system for entry and exit into the EU. Citizens from the region have long been issued biometric passports, travel documents that contain a chip where biometric data, such as fingerprints and a photograph, are digitally stored. Passport control officers scan this chip and verify the biometric data, after which, in most cases, they stamp the passport.
With the introduction of EES, biometric data is taken again and stored in a centralized system, and the act of stamping passports is replaced by digitally recording the date and location of entry into the EU. It is unclear why such a system would be significantly more ‘dangerous’ to freedom of travel than the one already in place for years.
The ETIAS system, on the other hand, resembles a significantly simplified version of the visa application process, something that many countries have required for decades.
Linking the EES system to vaccines is also absurd. Vaccines are a frequent target of various disinformation and conspiracy theories. Raskrinkavanje has written about this in various analyses, which are available here, here, and here. Vaccines are medical tools designed to prevent infection from certain contagious diseases and generally serve to protect both individual and community health. Health institutions, the scientific community, and evidence collected over decades of research confirm that vaccines are beneficial for our health.
On the other hand, no one claims that biometric data from third-country nationals will be taken upon entering the EU “for their safety”. It will be taken because the European Union wants greater control over entries. Their intentions in this regard have been made very transparent, without excessive attempts to portray the new system as something that benefits third-country nationals or that it is being introduced for their safety.
Therefore, linking vaccines, a medical tool used for decades to prevent the spread of dangerous infectious diseases, with the tightening of border controls by the European Union, is unfounded in reality.
Accordingly, the claim that the new entry rules into the European Union are part of some plan to lock people into a “digital flock” is rated as a conspiracy theory.
