With the promise of new EU border regulations threatened for the autumn, will Brits face huge delays as the new Entry/Exit System (EES) begins and they have to have facial photos and fingerprints taken before they can travel?

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It’s finally happening!

The EU’s new Entry Exit System is due to begin in the autumn at the EU borders, so will Brits and other non-EU citizens face huge delays as they have photos and fingerprints taken?

The media is apoplectic about it!
And it was announced on St George’s Day!

Is it true?
Is your holiday ruined?
Is it Brexit’s fault?

Let’s get straight into this latest breaking news update alert panic clickbait!

On Tuesday 23rd April the Telegraph spread some much-needed St George’s Day joy by announcing that the new Entry Exit System will be switched on in the autumn at EU borders, and all non-EU citizens, including all you lovely calm and sober Brits, will have to have their photos and fingerprints taken before they can cross the border. 

Let’s have a look at what they’ve written. 

New Brussels rules risk triggering huge delays at Dover after the Paris Olympics.

After the olympics? So that’s irrelevant then. Carry on…

New European Union border rules threaten to create chaos for Britons headed across the Channel this autumn, and a headache for Rishi Sunak over the timing of the general election.

Ah, ok, so it’s really about the election…

The regulations will require people catching the ferry at Dover or travelling on Eurostar or Eurotunnel trains to have their fingerprints and a facial photo taken before they depart, something that could trigger hours of delays as border facilities creak under the strain.

Like it’s all about to collapse…

Some French calculations suggest processing times for a car with a family of four at Dover could jump from less than 60 seconds to seven minutes. And in evidence presented to Parliament in January, Ashford council in Kent warned of a “reasonable worst case scenario” involving 14-hour delays at the port.

Sounds reasonable

With the so-called Entry/Exit System (EES) set to go live on October 6, the Prime Minister could head into an autumn election pitching control of the UK border as a key issue just as news reports are dominated by miles of traffic leading to the Channel and queues snaking around St Pancras station.

Snaking eh?What do you think so far, is it getting your blood boiling? Put your comments below. And there’s more…

Dover MP Natalie Elphicke said: “It’s really important that the Government keeps its foot on the pedal in the next few months and presses the EU on this. There’s so much still to be done between now and October.”

I think they’re a bit busy with the election Natalie

Dover is notoriously prone to disruption, with high winds in the Channel, minor accidents on surrounding roads and a shortage of border guards all causing chaos in the past few years. 

We probably won’t notice the difference.

Additional checks at Dover risk undermining the port’s capacity for handling traffic at a critical time for Rishi Sunak.

There he is again.

Increased security checks by French officials after the Brexit vote in 2016 left 250,000 drivers stranded for days in queues that stretched for 12 miles.

Lucy Mayor, a spokesman for the Kent Resilience Forum, which oversees emergency planning for delays at Dover, said protocols for parking trucks on the M20 may be implemented to ease pressure on the port following the implementation of EES.

And we all love those lines of trucks on the motorway don’t we! Grrrrrrrrr. 

For people leaving by plane, and on most other ferry routes, biometric checks will be made when arriving overseas. But at Dover and on cross-Channel trains, they will be performed by French border officials stationed on UK soil.

Ah it’s all the French’s fault

Doug Bannister, head of the Port of Dover, said that efforts to mitigate delays from the new system are focused on registering travellers’ details during the usual wait time before boarding the ferry.

Ah, ok, so no extra waiting time then?

He says steps are being taken to ensure the checks have a minimal impact on travel times.

A registration zone will be located in the holding area where cars line up 90 minutes to an hour before their booked sailing. Facial photos and fingerprints will be captured using a tablet device and combined with personal details to form a profile.

Sounds like they’ve got it under control.

There remains huge scope for the process to stumble and cause delays, according to Gavin Jones, head of immigration at law firm Osborne Clarke.

Or maybe not…

“My concern is the feasibility of this,” he says.

“It all seems a bit Heath Robinson. There’s so much scope for things to go wrong and for people to be told that their photos are no good or that something else isn’t right.’’

A pessimistic lawyer? Who have thought it?

Now, the article goes on for another few paragraphs about Eurotunnel’s plans and people expressing their concerns but I think you’ve got the gist of it by now. 

There’s a lot of emotive language in there. It’s obvious the Telegraph are trying to get people worked up about it and undermine Rishi Sunak, as if he needs any help digging his way out of the huge hole he’s made. I don’t see how they could make it much worse for him to be honest. When everyone is talking about how badly he’s going to lose the upcoming election, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to work out his days are not only numbered, they’re rapidly dividing and being taken away. But enough about him, the question is, how much disruption is there going to be? 

Well, no one knows that for sure of course. There’s a good chance there’ll be some delays while everyone gets used to the system, but it’s never as bad as the media makes it out to be. If I were you I’d leave some extra time to get through, and expect some confusion if you’re among the first to try it out. 

And bear in mind, there’s no guarantee it will start on October 6th, the dates have kept being pushed back for the last few years so we’ll just have to wait and see. Let’s face it, Brits are experts at queueing, you’ll take it in your stride. Just don’t start drinking too early. And if the worst comes to the worst, you could always change your plans and head for Rawanda instead. I’ve heard they’re putting on extra flights there, and the weather’s lovely in October. 

Will this affect your plans in any way? Will it change how you feel about the 90/180 rule? 

Don’t forget to shout very loudly in capital letters in the comments on the video, and hit the like button whether you like it or not. I can feel the backlash starting already. Grrrrrrrrrr!

That’s all for now, see you in the next article.

Peace & Love
Peas & Fluff
Let’s dance!

Article by Skatz