UK officials are pressing France to “prioritise flow” during the peak summer holiday period, a minister said, amid growing concerns over delays caused by new EU border checks. Home Office minister Alex Norris told the Commons that the Government “push very heavily” for the movement of people to be given precedence over compliance with the Entry Exit System (EES).
EU Rejects Suspension Calls
The EU has rejected calls from airline and airport groups to suspend EES until September over fears that millions of people will face delays during summer holidays. EES, rolled out fully in April, involves people from third-party countries such as the UK having their fingerprints registered and photograph taken to enter the Schengen Area, which consists of 29 European countries, mainly in the EU.
For most UK travellers, the process is done at foreign airports, but it is also carried out at the Port of Dover, Eurotunnel’s Folkestone terminal and London St Pancras railway station.
Minister's Statement
Mr Norris said: “When you get to peak volume … the volumes that are coming shortly, it fundamentally comes down to a question of a prioritisation of flow or prioritisation of compliance with the scheme itself. We push very heavily, we will do every day between now and then… to make sure that the French use flexibilities available to prioritise flow.”
Pressed on whether he would support a full suspension of EES, he later added: “I would not set that as the goal and the aspiration, because I don’t believe that’s deliverable.”
Ryanair Identifies Problem Airports
Last week, Ryanair identified popular European airports in Spain, Italy, France and Poland where passengers are suffering long EES delays. The airline warned that the sites are “not ready” to manage the high passenger volumes during the peak summer season because of “insufficient staff, kiosks and system readiness”.
Port of Dover Warning
The boss of the Port of Dover has warned it will “face repeated episodes of severe congestion” throughout the summer without more flexibility in EES. Chief executive Doug Bannister predicted that queuing cars will be “spilling out of the port onto the public highway for miles” unless something changes, adding “the local impact could be dire”. The port declared a “critical incident” during the May half-term period after waiting times reached four-and-a-half hours.
Political Reactions
Shadow Home Office minister Matt Vickers lamented the “delusional attitude among EU colleagues” that “EES is working just fine”. Reiterating his call for the scheme to be halted during the peak holiday season, he added: “The Government must stand behind the interests of British travellers.”
Meanwhile there are widespread reports the introduction of Etias – a new online system to pre-authorise entry to the EU – is set to be delayed until next year.
