Long-awaited changes to European border rules have been pushed back until next year.
The new Entry/Exit System (EES) for Britons and other non-EU nationals travelling to the Schengen area in Europe were scheduled to come into force on November 10.
But after Germany, France and the Netherlands said their systems were not ready, this has now been delayed.
The new checks, which will require fingerprinting and facial recognition checks at all ports, are now due to become operational in the first half of 2025.
There have been stark warnings about repeats of the chaos at the border seen in the summer of 2022, when travellers were left stranded in 15-hour queues, with some predicting the introduction of the new EES could mean such scenes are replicated more frequently.
Kent County Council (KCC) say it is “pleased” that the EES checks will not be introduced on November 10.
Leader Roger Gough (Con) said: “I am extremely pleased that, after a long wait, we have now heard that the EU will not be introducing EES checks on November 10, because several member states, including France, Germany and the Netherlands, have indicated that they are not adequately prepared.
“We await further clarity from the Commission as to when the checks will be brought in.
“To have introduced these checks on November 10, in particular without adequate technology in place to process passengers through our border, would undoubtedly have resulted in periods of very significant disruption at the Port of Dover and therefore on Kent’s road network.
“I hope now that the EU will focus on finding and putting in place reliable technological solutions, including the rapid development of an app to enable passengers to register biometrics before reaching the border, ahead of the next proposed date of implementation, potentially next year.
“For a long time we, along with our partners in the Kent and Medway Resilience Forum (KMRF), have been collectively working on mitigating the impact of EES checks, to avoid disruption and serious delays for international trade, those travelling through Kent, local communities, residents, businesses, tourism, and the delivery of vital public sector services along the route to Dover.
“We were not relying on a delay and there will be no let-up in this planning as we head into 2025.
“The continual and disproportionate impact on local communities and ultimately people’s lives across Kent, as a result of what are essentially national and international border issues, is unsustainable and requires Government support and recognition to be relieved.
“Until new ways are found to manage traffic bound for the continent, even without EU EES checks in force it is inevitable that periods of severe disruption will continue to occur in Kent.”
The EES was originally supposed to launch earlier this year, but France expressed concerns over its impact on this summer’s Olympics.
It was then rescheduled for October 6, but then put back to November 10.
Others have speculated the system could be launched just with facial recognition and not taking fingerprints.
The greatest congestion is expected to be felt at Dover, although Germany is also worried about delays at Frankfurt, Cologne and Munich airports.
A spokesperson for the Port of Dover said: “The port would like to confirm that the infrastructure will still be ready for the EES system to go on November 10.
“We continue preparation work including the infill of the Granville docs.
“We welcome the delay as there are existing points of concern, including the lack of visibility over the technology and await further information from the EU on the new rollout of EES.”
Under the new regime, the EU will require non-EU nationals – which since Brexit includes those travelling on a British passport – to register biometric details, including fingerprints and a photograph, when entering a country in the Schengen area.
This new process will replace the current system of manually stamping passports when visitors arrive in the EU, and is intended to improve border security, combat illegal migration and prevent those without the relevant visas from overstaying.
On subsequent visits, once you have already been enrolled into EES, passport control officers will only verify your fingerprints and photo, which will take less time.
For full details on the new system, see here.
In August the government announced a new £10.5 million package of funding to help Eurotunnel, the Port of Dover and Eurostar prepare for the introduction of EES.
Transport bosses previously told KentOnline of their fears that the Port of Dover is a “nightmare waiting to happen”.
Toby Howe, tactical lead for the Kent and Medway Resilience Forum, told KentOnline: “We’re not worried about Eurotunnel, they’ve got a set up which is brilliant.
“Our real concern all the way through this is the Port of Dover, because they don’t have that space and facility.”
