The UK and France have agreed to increase staffing at border controls in response to warnings of travel chaos caused by new fingerprinting and facial recognition checks under the EU's entry-exit system (EES). Disruption at Channel crossings is expected to rise sharply next weekend at the start of the summer holiday season, with MPs warning of "utter chaos and miles of tailbacks" unless the system is fixed or checks suspended.
Funding and Staffing Commitments
On Sunday, UK Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander announced £20 million of UK government funding to help reduce delays. The Department for Transport stated that the money would increase capacity for processing vehicles, reduce wait times, and ease congestion. Alexander said her French counterpart, Philippe Tabarot, agreed that high levels of resourcing at border points were essential for smoother journeys over the summer.
French border police have reportedly offered to put more officers on UK soil to ensure passport booths are better staffed at Dover, Folkestone, and London St Pancras station, from where the Eurostar departs, according to the Sunday Times. The exact level of any staffing commitment from France remains unclear.
Concerns Over Biometric Kiosks
A spokesperson for the DfT said: "Heidi Alexander and her French counterpart agreed that high levels of resourcing at border points are essential to enable smoother journeys for passengers over the summer period." Alexander told Tabarot that biometric kiosks used to take fingerprints and facial scans were not working. The DfT noted that checks could be carried out on coach passengers and lorries by French border police on UK soil, but instead they are having to manually register car passengers without biometrics while waiting for new kiosks and tablets to be ready.
Alexander said: "As well as the over £20m we have given to increase booths for passport checks and minimise disruption, I have raised holidaymakers' concerns directly with the EU commissioner for transport to make sure they are playing their part to reduce delays during the busiest travel period of the year. I will do everything in my power to help holidaymakers on their way."
Impact on Port of Dover
The port of Dover reported that EES checks at the start of the May half-term holiday led to four-and-a-half hours of delays. It expects almost 50% more vehicles to travel through Dover this summer, with about 12,000 cars a day expected next weekend—more than three times the usual number. After a visit to the port by home affairs select committee MPs, Karen Bradley, the committee chair, said last week: "We saw for ourselves that there is going to be utter chaos next week unless the French authorities step up."
EU's Stance and System Purpose
On Tuesday, the EU identified 20 "difficult spots" caused by the new checks, believed to include Dover, but dismissed a request by airports and airlines to suspend the EES. The system is designed to address weaknesses in border controls exposed by terrorist attacks in Brussels and Paris in 2015 and 2016. It was delayed several times before being introduced in phases last October. Since April, UK passengers entering and exiting Schengen countries must register at the border by scanning their passport, plus having their photo and fingerprints taken.
