Border agent Marechaussee passport checks at Schiphol airport (photo: Marechaussee). At the border, Marechaussee checks the passport at Schiphol Airport
(photo: Marechaussee)
The Netherlands has resumed talks with the United States about opening an American passport checkpoint at Schiphol airport, a spokesman for the Ministry of Justice and Security confirmed to NOS TV.
Initial negotiations on the issue were halted by the previous Dutch government after President Donald Trump banned people from several Muslim countries from entering the United States: "Measures are now being taken that we do not agree with, and we have pressed the pause button," Justice Secretary Claes Deyhoff said at the time.
Those talks resumed in June, a spokesperson for NOS confirmed after the broadcaster asked about it. Currently, the negotiations are taking place at the official level. Politicians will be involved as soon as a "formal agreement" is reached, the spokesman said. It is not yet clear when this will happen.
Having US passport control with US customs officers in Schiphol will mean that people flying from Amsterdam to the United States will not have to check their passports again at US airports. Prime Minister Mark Rutte has previously said that such a checkpoint at Amsterdam airport would be useful for the Dutch economy, according to NOS.