EU plan to make Brits scan their fingerprints and take their photo at the ... trends now
The EU plan to make Britons scan their fingerprints and take their photo at the border is likely to cause travel chaos for UK holidaymakers, ministers fear.
British and non-EU passport holders will have to go through fingerprint checks and face scans under the new EU Entry/Exit System (EES). The system will check each passenger's name and biometric data when they enter an EU country.
It will replace the stamping of passports, which began after Brexit when the UK became a 'third country' to the bloc – meaning it is not a member state and does not have the right to free movement within the EU.
French officials will carry out EES border checks at the Port of Dover, Folkestone for the Eurotunnel and at St Pancras International for the Eurostar.
Lord Cameron, James Cleverly and Mark Harper have all raised concerns about the new system with French ministers, noting that the changes could lead to travel chaos, the Telegraph reports.
One senior Government source familiar with the discussions on the new checks told the Telegraph: 'The main risk is that we are in the hands of the French in those places where there is going to be disruption on UK soil.'
Lord Cameron, James Cleverly and Mark Harper have all raised concerns about the new system with French ministers, noting that the changes could lead to travel chaos, the Telegraph reports
File image of queues at the Port of Dover - one of the locations where the new border checks will be in place - on August 26, 2023
Rishi Sunak (right) was supposed to bring up the EES plans during a call with Emmanuel Macron last month, but the two leaders ended up addressing other topics. But he did speak to Ursula von der Leyen (left), the president of the European Commission who is hoping to be reappointed next month, about the new checks
Rishi Sunak was supposed to bring up the EES plans during a call with Emmanuel Macron last month, but the two leaders ended up addressing other topics.
But the Prime Minister did speak to Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission who is hoping to be reappointed next month, about the new checks.
Some nations have previously expressed concerns about how much time the EES process will add to queues at EU borders, with the Slovenian government saying it will take 'up to four times longer'.
In a report released last year, French public finance watchdog Cour des Comptes predicted queues at the UK-France border will at least double when the EES is launched this autumn.
The Port of Dover, which has regularly seen long delays resulting from post-Brexit checks, said the new system could lengthen inspections on cars from 45
