Under Secretary of State for Home Affairs (): I want to update
the House on the work by the UK Government to maintain border
fluidity with the European Union throughout the implementation of
the new Entry/Exit System, ensuring UK nationals and residents
can continue to access European destinations effectively and
efficiently.
The European Union is implementing a new border security system –
the European Entry/ Exit System (EES). EU member states are
responsible for implementation of the system at Schengen area
border crossings, with oversight from the European Commission.
EES will remove the requirement to manually stamp passports at
the EU's external border – so called “wet-ink stamps” – and
improve physical security by creating a digital file that links a
travel document to a person's identity using biometrics. It will
require non-EU citizens (excluding EU residents, long stay visa
holders, and those protected by the Withdrawal Agreement)
arriving in a Schengen destination 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 (maximum 90 day stay in a 180-day period)
and register departure.
While the UK government is supportive of the aims of EES, which
complement our shared objectives on migration and secure borders,
we are not content with the level of preparations put in place by
the previous administration. The system will increase processing
times at Schengen area border crossing points, and insufficient
progress has been made on ensuring that these impacts (as well as
other potential impacts) are minimised – with disruption likely
when the scheme is introduced.
This is particularly true for journeys involving travel through
the UK's three ports with juxtaposed frontier controls (London St
Pancras, Eurotunnel in Folkestone, and the Port of Dover), where
EES registration will be required on departure from the UK.
On those routes, work has been required to accommodate new
equipment and infrastructure in ports and terminals in the UK
ahead of the launch date, as well as minimising any disruption
caused by queues at the border as much as possible.
As the European Commission plan to implement the new system in
late autumn this year, I wanted to update the House on the
immediate steps that we are now taking to improve preparations
and levels of readiness. These include:
1) Close working with the French Government, Port of Dover,
Eurotunnel, Eurostar and High Speed 1 on implementation plans at
Dover, Folkestone and St Pancras, where France conducts frontier
controls prior to departure from the UK.
2) Preparing communications to raise awareness amongst the
travelling public, especially UK nationals and Third Country
nationals resident in the UK, who will be required to undertake
EES registration when travelling to the EU. It is critical
British Citizens are aware of the new requirements and prepared
for the additional time these will take with sufficient time to
plan ahead.
3) Engaging with the European Commission and member states to
lobby for a more pragmatic approach to the application of
precautionary measures – these are reactive measures proposed by
the EU for the first 6 months of EES implementation to be used as
a safeguard in the case of excessive waiting-times e.g.
collecting the biometric data of a reduced number of travellers.
We believe that extending these beyond 6 months would improve
throughput at the EU's external border if queues form during peak
periods in early 2025 due to the additional processing time
required for EES.
4) The introduction of an amendment to UK legislation to ensure
that an additional French Control Zone within the Port of Dover's
Western Docks can be operationalised by French border officers in
the same way as they currently work in the Eastern Docks and
create additional capacity. This has been laid before the House
today and there will be an opportunity for further discussion on
its contents separately.
5) Securing access to European Commission trial and testing
programs for EES implementation to help inform the work and
planning UK Juxtaposed port Operators are doing to prepare for
EES.
It is in both the UK's and European Union's interest to work
together on our shared objectives to ensure we maintain secure
borders, while also minimising any disruption caused by EES.
