EU's Biometric Fortress: How Tech Makes Borders Inescapable

The EU's transition to a digital, biometric border security infrastructure.
Key systems discussed:
Entry-Exit System (EES): Collects biometric data (facial images, fingerprints) from third-country nationals.
EURODAC: Expanded to include biometrics of children as young as six.
Core argument:
The EU is building a Fortress Europe by making traveler identities into permanent, searchable data points.
Mechanism of control:
Interoperability: EES is legally mandated to connect with SIS, VIS, EURODAC, ETIAS, and ECRIS-TCN.
Technical enablers: Common Identity Repository (CIR), European Search Portal (ESP), Shared Biometric Matching Service (SBMS).
Consequences:
Function Creep: Administrative data is used for law enforcement, treating all travelers as potential suspects.
Securitization of Migration: Political choices prioritize control over fundamental rights, supported by predictive algorithms and high-tech surveillance.

Summarizes the European Union's shift from paper-based border control to a centralized, digital, biometric security infrastructure, primarily through the implementation of the Entry-Exit System (EES) and the expansion of the EURODAC database. The main claim is that by adopting these interoperable high-tech systems, the EU is constructing a Fortress Europe that prioritizes security and control over fundamental rights, effectively making the border inescapable by turning travelers' identities into permanent, searchable data points. The logic is that the EES, which collects and stores biometric data (facial images and fingerprints) of third-country nationals, is not designed to work in isolation but is legally mandated to be fully interoperable with five other vast data silos (SIS, VIS, EURODAC, ETIAS, ECRIS-TCN) via technical mechanisms like the Common Identity Repository (CIR), the European Search Portal (ESP), and the Shared Biometric Matching Service (SBMS). This interoperability facilitates function creep, where data collected for routine administrative purposes (like managing short-stay visas) is instantly accessible for law enforcement and counterterrorism investigations, blurring the lines between legal travelers and potential criminals. Furthermore, the expansion of EURODAC, which now requires biometric registration for children as young as six, is criticized as an instrumentalization of child protection to justify a massive expansion of the security and control apparatus. The video argues that this technological build-out is driven by a political choice—the securitization of migration—which is further supported by predictive algorithmic tools (like the Early Warning and Forecasting System) and persistent high-tech surveillance (Eurosur and Copernicus), reinforcing a strategy of prevention and control at the expense of humanitarian concerns and democratic oversight.