Britain is insufficiently prepared for the European Union’s new post-Brexit border security checks for UK nationals entering the bloc and disruption is likely when they are introduced in late autumn, the UK government warned on Monday.
Britain voted to leave the EU in 2016 and formally left the bloc’s single market in 2021.
The EU’s Entry/Exit System (EES) will remove the requirement to manually stamp passports at the EU’s external border and instead create digital records that link a travel document to a person’s identity using biometrics.
It will require non-EU citizens arriving in a Schengen area destination (most EU countries) to register their fingerprints, provide a facial scan and answer questions about their stay.
On departure, travellers’ details will be checked against the EES database to confirm compliance with existing rules on time limits of stay and register departure.
Britain’s new Labour government said it was supportive of the aims of the EES but not content with the level of preparations put in place by the previous Conservative administration.
“The system will increase processing times at Schengen area border crossing points, and insufficient progress has been made on ensuring that these impacts are minimised – with disruption likely when the scheme is introduced,” Junior Interior (Home Office) Minister Seema Malhotra said in a written statement to parliament.
She said this was particularly true for journeys involving travel through the UK’s three ports with so called “juxtaposed” frontier controls – Eurostar at London St Pancras, Eurotunnel in Folkestone, and the Port of Dover – where EES registration will be required on departure from the UK, conducted by French officials.
Malhotra said the government was taking steps to improve preparations and levels of readiness.
These include expanding the French border control zone at the Port of Dover to reduce the risk of queues at peak times, working closely with the French government on implementation plans at the juxtaposed frontiers, preparing communications to raise awareness amongst the UK travelling public, and engaging with EU member states to lobby for a more pragmatic approach when the new rules are introduced.