- automated border control system
means a system which allows for an automated border crossing, and which is composed of a self-service system and an e-gate;
- border checks
means the checks carried out at border crossing points, to ensure that persons, including their means of transport and the objects in their possession, may be authorised to enter the territory of the Member States or authorised to leave it;
- border control
means the activity carried out at a border, in accordance with and for the purposes of this Regulation, in response exclusively to an intention to cross or the act of crossing that border, regardless of any other consideration, consisting of border checks and border surveillance;
- border crossing point
means any crossing-point authorised by the competent authorities for the crossing of external borders;
- border guard
means any public official assigned, in accordance with national law, to a border crossing point or along the border or the immediate vicinity of that border who carries out, in accordance with this Regulation and national law, border control tasks;
- border surveillance
means the surveillance of borders between border crossing points and the surveillance of border crossing points outside fixed opening hours, including preventative measures, to prevent or detect unauthorised border crossings or the circumvention of border checks, to contribute to raising situational awareness, to counter cross-border criminality and to take measures against persons who have crossed the border illegally;
- carrier
means any natural or legal person whose profession it is to provide transport of persons;
- coastal fisheries
means fishing carried out with the aid of vessels which return every day or within 36 hours to a port situated in the territory of a Member State without calling at a port situated in a third country;
- confirmation of the authenticity and integrity of the chip data
means the process by which it is verified, through the use of certificates, that the data on the electronic storage medium (chip) originate from the issuing authority and that they have not been changed;
- cruise ship
means a ship which follows a given itinerary in accordance with a predetermined programme, which includes a programme of tourist activities in the various ports, and which normally neither takes passengers on nor allows passengers to disembark during the voyage;
- e-gate
means an infrastructure operated by electronic means where an external border or an internal border where controls have not yet been lifted is actually crossed;
- entry/exit System
(EES) means the system established by Regulation (EU) 2017/2226 of the European Parliament and of the Council;
- essential travel
means travel by a person who is exempted from restrictions on entry pursuant to Article 21a(4) or (5), in connection with an essential function or need, taking into account any applicable international obligations of the Union and of the Member States;
- external borders
means the Member States’ land borders, including river and lake borders, sea borders and their airports, river ports, sea ports and lake ports, provided that they are not internal borders;
- internal borders
means:
- internal flight
means any flight exclusively to or from the territories of the Member States and not landing in the territory of a third country;
- large-scale public health emergency
means a public health emergency, that is recognised at Union level by the Commission, taking into account information from competent national authorities, where a serious cross-border threat to health could have large-scale repercussions on the exercise of the right to free movement;
- non-essential travel
means travel other than essential travel;
- offshore worker
means a person working on an offshore installation located in the territorial waters or in an area of exclusive maritime economic exploitation of the Member States, as defined under the international law of the sea, and who returns regularly by sea or air to the territory of the Member States;
- persons enjoying the right of free movement under Union law
means:
- pleasure boating
means the use of pleasure boats for sporting or tourism purposes;
- regular internal ferry connection
means any ferry connection between the same two or more ports situated on the territory of the Member States, not calling at any ports situated outside the territory of the Member States, and consisting of the transport of passengers and vehicles according to a published timetable;
- residence permit
means:
- second line check
means a further check which may be carried out in a special location away from the location at which all persons are checked (first line);
- self-service system
means an automated system which performs all or some of the border checks that are applicable to a person and which may be used for pre-enrolling data in the EES;
- shared border crossing point
means any border crossing point situated either on the territory of a Member State or on the territory of a third country, at which Member State border guards and third-country border guards carry out exit and entry checks one after another in accordance with their national law and pursuant to a bilateral agreement;
- third-country national
means any person who is not a Union citizen within the meaning of Article 20(1) TFEU and who is not covered by point 5 of this Article;
- threat to public health
means any disease with epidemic potential as defined by the International Health Regulations of the World Health Organization and other infectious diseases or contagious parasitic diseases if they are the subject of protection provisions applying to nationals of the Member States;
- transport hubs
means airports, sea or river ports, train or bus stations and freight terminals.