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Travelers entering the European Union may be able to avoid having fingerprints and biometric data taken until 2024 because the long-awaited entry/exit system looks to be delayed ... again.

Using the latest in biometric and fingerprint technology, the EES will streamline security for third-party nationals entering the EU. It will take their fingerprints and facial biometrics each time they cross a Schengen border and record the date and place of entry or exit.

In short, its about tightening controls and helping border officials.

EES is among the measures undertaken as part of the Security Union and will help achieve the objectives of the European Agenda on Security and the European Agenda on Migration in particular regarding border management and preventing cross-border crime and terrorism," according to the official website of the European Union.

Related: Short staffing and high demand could spell disaster for your summer travel plans

The system was first slated to begin operating in 2021 but was pushed to November 2023. The rollout has been postponed once again, according to The Independent.

The newspaper says officials for the European Union Agency for the Operational Management of Large-Scale IT Systems in the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice the agency in charge of the EUs major IT system operations do not believe the technology will be ready in time for winter. This casts doubt on whether well see it before the 2024 Paris Olympics, which will take place from July 26 to Aug. 11.

The earliest current launch is reportedly May 2024, just before the sporting event is set to begin. However, this will likely be pushed back to avoid any potential issues arising with the system's launch.

More than 10,500 athletes, hundreds of delegates and millions of sports fans from 206 nations are expected to pour into the French capital next summer ahead of the global spectacle. So, it's believed that officials would look to avoid any potential disruptions as a result of the system.

Related: An excellent use of Avios: British Airways Reward Flight Saver redemptions

Officials who recently met at a Stockholm airport hotel to discuss EES have seemingly decided that the technology will come after the Paris Games. However, the official verdict isn't likely to be announced until after a follow-up meeting scheduled to take place online on May 31.

Once the EES is up and running, it is set to boost the wider use of self-service systems and automated border control checks, providing quicker and more comfortable points of entry for non-EU travelers.

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EUs state-of-the-art exit/entry system could be delayed until 2024 - The Points Guy

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Evidence gaps hinder animal welfare progress in the European Union - Nature.com

LONDON, April 19 (Reuters) - The rest of the world should copy European Union rules for cryptoassets to create a robust global approach that protects consumers and financial stability, the EU's financial services chief said on Wednesday.

The European Parliament is due on Thursday to rubber stamp the EU's markets in cryptoassets regulation (MiCA), the world's first comprehensive set of rules for the hitherto unregulated sector. EU states have already given their approval.

The crypto sector has been rocked by the failure of crypto exchange FTX and other collapses, sending benchmark bitcoin prices tumbling, though it has begun to recover.

"I hope that our rules could become a model for other countries," EU financial services commissioner Mairead McGuinness told the parliament.

MiCA requires crypto firms to be authorised by the EU to serve customers in the bloc, and to comply with safeguards against money laundering and terrorism finance.

It is being rolled out in phases from July 2024 to give the sector time to adapt.

Crypto firms authorised in one EU state would be allowed to offer their services across all 27. EU cities including Paris are already wooing firms in the sector.

"It marks the end of the Wild West era for cryptoassets," Green Party lawmaker Ernest Urtasun told parliament.

But other countries need to play their part by introducing robust rules as well, said McGuinness, whose officials drafted MiCA. "Global convergence is absolutely key."

Britain has just set out draft rules to regulate cryptoassets.

McGuinness said the commission will study whether further rules are needed for decentralised finance, and for lending and borrowing in cryptoassets.

"We believe had FTX been captured under the EU's jurisdiction, many of its practices would not have been permissible under MiCA," she added.

Reporting by Huw Jones; editing by John Stonestreet

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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EU urges others to copy its rules for cryptoassets - Reuters

The European Union (EU) will be able to join efforts with UNESCO in the reconstruction and recomposition of collections of the National Museum, partially destroyed by a fire in 2018 in Rio de Janeiro. The Museu Nacional Vive project was presented to 17 ambassadors from European countries in a meeting held last Monday (17 April) at the EU Delegation in Braslia, Brazil.

The meeting was attended by the EU Ambassador to Brazil, Ignacio Ybez; the Director of the National Museum, Alexander Kellner; the Director and Representative of UNESCO in Brazil, Marlova Noleto; and the Coordinator of the UNESCO Culture Sector, Isabel de Paula.

During the meeting, it was also discussed about the possibility of assistance from the EU member countries for the recomposition of the collections of ethnographic and natural objects of the National Museum, which include architecture, engineering and museography projects, already underway, with completion scheduled for 2026. The ambassadors who attended the meeting will share this information with cultural institutions in their countries, museums, possible business partners and others who may join the project.

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UNESCO in Brazil meets with representatives of the European ... - UNESCO

LONDON, April 18 (Reuters) - The European Union set out draft reforms to rules for closing down failing banks on Tuesday. The original rules were introduced after the 2007-09 global financial crisis when taxpayers had to bail out lenders.

The emphasis is on faster handling to ensure a "bail-in" of failing banks using their internal resources such as bonds that can be written down, to avoid a "bail-out" by taxpayers, so that depositors are treated the same across the EU.

Failing big banks in the EU are closed down by the Single Resolution Board, while small and medium sized lenders come under national watchdogs and have usually been dealt with either by courts, or differing national practices.

This has often involved public money and the EU reform seeks to make it easier to apply its resolution rules to all sizes of banks to minimise taxpayer involvement.

Italy injected 5.4 billion euros ($5.9 billion) of state aid into Monte dei Paschi di Siena in 2017 under the precautionary capital mechanism, helping to circumvent resolution rules.

The reforms propose stricter conditions, emphasising its temporary nature, exclusion for banks that are likely to fail or have failed, and a ban for plugging potential losses.

There must also be a clearly defined date for the sale of the bank, or repayment of the aid.

The proposals make it easier for regulators to use cash from industry-funded deposit guarantee schemes in a bank that has gone bust. Regulators will be able to use this cash to shift deposits to another lender to avoid the need to make payouts to account holders, currently capped at 100,000 euros per account.

The proposals make no fresh push for a pan-EU deposit guarantee scheme, long seen as a critical missing piece in the EU's banking union.

Several EU countries, including Germany, have national industry-funded institutional protection schemes that can be used to deal with failing banks, in return for lower capital and liquidity requirements. Germany wants a carve-out for these schemes. The EU commission says there is no carve-out, but that a balanced deal has been struck to introduce new safeguards.

EU states and the European Parliament have the final say on the draft reforms, with changes likely during the approval process.

($1 = 0.9129 euros)

Reporting by Huw Jones; Editing by Alexander Smith

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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Factbox: EU updates bank crisis rules to strengthen taxpayer shield - Reuters