Brits have been warned they could face more Brexit travel chaos later this year, as the European Union is running out of time to avoid imminent disruption to transport links accross the English Channel.
EU bosses havereportedly come up with a magic solution to reduce chaos caused by the new Entry/Exit system (EES) within the Schengen zone – expected to launch this autumn in the form of an app. The new technology would allow non-EU citizens to provide fingerprints and facial scans in order to enter the block, to reduce queues in places like the port of Dover.
Longer queues for Brits arriving at airports in the EU is anticipated, but a system of “juxtaposed controls” in the UK will see passengers cross the border into the European Union when they board the Eurostar in London, or a ferry on the south coast of England.
That means queueing and disruption will take place on British soil. Freight operators, moreover, say longer queues at Dover will also hold up lorries crossing the short strait, disrupting the U.K. supply chain.
Nichola Mallon of trade body Logistics U.K. told POLITICO that EES will cause huge delays for UK and EU freight, adding that it will cause “significant negative consequences for logistics operators, supply chains and UK and EU economies”.
Despite the app expecting to ease delays at the busy UK port, it is unlikely that it will be readily available for British tourists to use when the EES comes into effect.
Jesper Christensen, director of channel operations at shipping company DFDS, warned that once the EU Commission makes the app available to Schengen countries, it will be up to them it could still take “some time” after that for each member state to make sure it is fully operational.
For Brits travelling to France via Dover, this means that tourists might not be able to use the new system if France has not made the system fully operational. Experts predict that it might not be ready until the summer of 2025.
Director of port operations at P&O ferries Jack Steer told the European Scrutiny Committee last week: “I think we need more time … not just Dover Harbour Board but us as operators, Kent, the wider community … I would include the EU and the French government.
“I think we all need to be talking about whether October is the right time for us to go live with a product that is still evolving.”
Anitta Hipper, the Commission’s home affairs spokesperson, added: “The mobile app for pre-registration of third country nationals’ data is currently under development. The app will be made available for the Schengen countries as from the Entry/Exit System start of operations.”
In the case of the Eurostar, company bosses say the are buying triple the amount of EES kiosks in a bid to reduce expected queues, whil an old ticket office at London St Pancras is also being converted to make more space.
But many operators believe that the EES should not yet be implemented until the app is ready for everyone.
