New EU border control system will cause ‘significant delays’ at Dover
UK passport holders face huge delays at Dover with the introduction of post-Brexit fingerprint checks and face scans, the trade body for freight in the UK has warned.
The new system will be introduced next autumn and will require non-EU citizens to register additional biometric data on top of their passport, which will then be handed over to European Union (EU) border officials.
Eurotunnel, which runs a car transport service between Folkestone and Calais, said it had discussed 6 October with the French government as a potential launch day for the Entry/Exit System (EES).
Nichola Mallon, head of trade and devolved policy at Logistics UK, told i every passenger from 6 October will undergo biometric checks which will cause “significant delays” at Dover.
“The new system will primarily impact passenger traffic due to the increase in processing times – which will have a knock-on effect on freight supply and affect UK supply chains and produce, which will also affect our drivers’ welfare and local communities within Kent,” she said.
Fingerprints and facial scans will be taken from British travellers the first time they cross into the EU after the digital border system starts and this information will be entered into an EU-wide database.
The French public finance watchdog Cour des Comptes released a report this year which estimated that queues at the UK-France border will at least double when the EES is launched in 2024.
Ms Mallon called on the Government to work with their French counterparts to find “bespoke solutions”, such as “digital technology to take away checks from the border given these unique set of challenges”.
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She called for the two sides to “find an arrangement similar to the Windsor Framework in Northern Ireland.”
“If not, there will be significant delays – especially for local communities,” she added.
To make matters more complicated, the Government is implementing a Border Target Operating Model where new import controls will be introduced across 2024 which could lead to even more delays at Dover.
“This means additional traffic flow of freight from LeShuttle and Port of Dover to Sevington, and then you layer on ESS traffic congestion from 6 October, will cause even more delays,” Ms Mallon said. “Kent already has traffic congestion and the disruption will have a knock on effect on supply chains.”
French authorities will operate the EES border checks at the Port of Dover, Folkestone for Eurotunnel and at St Pancras International for Eurostar departures.
Doug Bannister, chief executive of the Port of Dover, has previously warned of the long queues that could result from the new border system.
Post-Brexit passport checks have already resulted in long queues at Dover, including last Easter when holidaymakers reported waits of up to 12 hours.
Mr Bannister has said that an app could be developed to allow passengers to start the EES registration process before they arrive at Dover.