by A warning about it amid major changes to the entry system to join the European Union has been issued as a survey suggests Britons don’t know about it. It could be implemented as early as November and there are fears it could lead to 14-hour queues at the borders in some cases.
New research by Co-op Insurance has revealed that 63 per cent of respondents in the UK are unaware of the EU’s EES, a new entry/exit system due to come into force in October 2024. The plans will introduce an electronic biometric check system for border control in Europe.
MPs have already raised concerns that it could lead to huge delays and in France airport chiefs are lobbying the European Union to halt the plans amid fears it could spell disaster if it is introduced later this year. In the survey 46 percent of respondents do not like their data to remain in the system for up to three years.
The Entry/Exit System is being implemented in an effort to digitally check the facial and fingerprint data of people arriving in Europe for the first time instead of manual stamping of passports. Nationals of third countries traveling to the Schengen Area, including those in the visa waiver program and those under the visa regime, will be subject to this system – including the UK due to Brexit.
Under the new entry and exit system (EES), all passengers who do not hold EU passports will have to register their fingerprints and have their picture taken when they arrive at the block. But as the scheme is currently planned, travelers will not be able to register remotely before travelling.
The system was due to launch in May but was delayed due to IT problems as well as lobbying by French officials who did not want the scheme to be implemented during the Olympics. L’Union des Aéroports Français, which represents the country’s airports, is concerned that its members will not have time to set up enough kiosks to collect biometric data. There is particular concern that Paris airports will be unprepared for the Games.
Thomas Juin, the company’s president, said: “It’s not looking good for waiting times. There is a risk of long queues.” The European Parliament’s European Audit Committee has also raised concerns about the EES, saying its implementation will lead to waits of up to 14 hours at the EU-UK border. The Committee said the long wait would affect not only travelers but also the economy and businesses of local citizens near the border.
The plan is for incoming passengers to register their details at a kiosk, then proceed to a manned border point. EES will eventually replace the “wet stamping” of passports. Nicolas Paulissen, general representative of the airport company, said: “The 6th of November was decided at the beginning of this year. We would like to delay it to the first quarter of 2025 but, for now, the European Commission is set on its position. But the Olympics this year mean we can’t work in the Paris airports from May to September.”
Bosses at the Channel Tunnel in Kent, where border controls sit next to French immigration formalities carried out on UK soil, expect the average time to process a car through the border to rise from less than one minute to to between five and seven minutes.
There are also concerns about bottlenecks at the Port of Dover and the Eurostar terminal in London. In January officials in Kent said holidaymakers driving to Europe would face queues of 15 hours or more in the county when the EES comes into force. Ashford borough council wrote to MPs on the European scrutiny committee that the “reasonable worst-case scenario” would result in congestion in Kent and “passenger welfare concerns”.
The second system – the European Travel Information and Authorization System (ETIAS) is an entry requirement for visa-exempt nationals traveling to 30 selected European countries. Tourists heading to destinations such as Spain, Italy, France and Portugal will soon need the entry document – and have been warned that the process to obtain an ETIAS will take around 30 days – when it is finally introduced. displayed at the same time as the new electronic system automatically scans the passport.
The EU has now set a date for this to be introduced – May 2025 following technical issues with the equipment. However, the European Audit Committee of the Deputies has launched a new inquiry into the EU Entry/Exit System and the consequences it may have on the UK border.
An ETIAS license will cost around €7 and all travelers planning to visit one or more of the 30 countries where the passport is applicable will have to pay to get one, with a few exceptions. Applicants over the age of 70 will receive an ETIAS for free, as will minors (18 years of age or younger).
The European countries that will need a valid ETIAS upon arrival at their borders are Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain , Sweden and Switzerland.
