100 DAYS LEFT TO AVERT BREXIT BORDER CHAOS AS LABOUR IS URGED TO GET A GRIP
Ministers are being warned they have just 100 days to get a “grip” on the introduction of new EU border checks which it is feared will to lead to 14-hour queues and food rotting in stranded lorries.
The long-delayed imposition of the EU Entry/Exit System (EES) – which will force British travellers to the continent to register fingerprints, a photo and passport details – is due in November and concerns are growing about the delays and chaos it could cause.
Nichola Mallon, head of trade at Logistics UK – which represents the freight industry – warned that “time is running out” and that there was an “urgent need” for the Government to share its modelling on EES congestion at ports like Dover.
“We understand that it couldn’t be shared during the pre-election period,” she told i. “But we’re now past the election, so it’s essential that that scenario planning and that data is shared as a matter of urgency.”
She added: “If [lorries are] bringing GB exports across, which are perishable goods, every hour that sits in the back of the lorry, the lower shelf life and the lower its value and the increased risk, you have of wastage”.
Labour’s Brexit reset minister Nick Thomas-Symonds has raised the imminent threat of the new controls in talks with Brussels and has been pressing the EU to help avoid travel chaos, i understands. But it would not give more details of what was being asked for.
Steve Burns, a director at MBS Inter Mar, a Scottish live shellfish exporter, said EES could cause “absolute chaos” for lorries heading to Europe and lead to thousands of pounds of fish going to waste.
The firm sends supplies of langoustines, lobster and scallops to the continent, and had 13 pallets of live shellfish en route to Europe on Wednesday worth around €30,000 (£25,200).
“When you’ve got perishable goods, it’s the equivalent of turning over an egg timer, and when the sand runs through the hourglass, thousands of pounds of goods could overnight become worthless,” he said.
“Being 10 minutes late is the equivalent of being 24 hours late because you’ve missed the connection… You’re going to get queues at the border and that will mean our lorries are delayed. In that disaster you’ve lost £20,000. How do you make that up?”
The system to get goods across to Europe was already “on a knife edge” every week, he said, with exporters battling post-Brexit red tape.
The potential for the crisis comes just as Sir Keir Starmer and his team adopt a warmer tone towards the EU in an attempt to strike deals to boost security and ease cross-border trade.
The former Conservative foreign secretary Lord Cameron made the looming border controls a top priority in talks with European counterparts, pushing for either a delay or the EU to allow the UK to mitigate the impact of the checks, for example by inputting their biometric data in an app away from the border.
This week Labour transferred responsibility for direct EU relations from the Foreign Office to the Cabinet Office under Thomas-Symonds.
i understands that ministers are treading a diplomatic tightrope in talks with the EU as they look to build goodwill for their push for a wide-reaching security pact and a veterinary agreement to ease the import and export of food and agricultural products – key to Starmer’s Brexit reset – amid warnings from Europe that there will be no “cherry-picking” for the UK.
But it is France, rather than the EU, that is in charge of the actual operation of the checks at British ports like Dover and Eurostar and Eurotunnel. And Foreign Office ministers have not raised the EES in bilateral talks with European counterparts.
A joint statement from Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron following talks last week made no mention of the upcoming checks.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has discussed the controls with European counterparts, but is focused on preparations the UK can make rather than trying to extract concessions.
Ms Mallon, of the freight industry, said: “We understand that they’ve got a significant in-tray, but we have been consistently making the point that EES is one of our most significant concerns.”
With the clock ticking until the new biometrics check system goes live, council bosses have also urged the Government to share data showing how bad the queues could be so preparations can be bolstered. Port bosses want to see a new deal with the EU.
Mystery over EU app that could slash waiting times
There is still no confirmed date on when an EU app being developed by member states to slash waiting times at juxtaposed controls like Dover and the Eurostar at St Pancras would be brought in.
Nichola Mallon, from Logistics UK, described the app as a potential “absolute game-changer” as it would allow travellers to register at home rather than be processed at border controls, but has raised concerns it won’t be ready by the summer of 2025, as previously hoped.
And while passengers would be most affected by queues at Dover, freight would also “feel the brunt”, with drivers stuck in traffic-control measures Operation Brock and Dover TAP if congestion at the port builds up.
Ms Mallon added: “Operation Brock has a significant impact on freight. And it was intended to be an exception rather than the rule.
“Our concern is that with EES and with no ability to take any of that processing away from the physical border, that Brock and TAP will become the rule rather than the exception.
“And that is far from ideal for freight drivers, particularly when there’s a lack of driver welfare facilities for them.
She also urged the Government to launch a public information campaign so UK nationals are aware of what they will be required to provide when travelling to Europe once EES is launched.
Doug Bannister, the chief executive of Port of Dover, said the EU had agreed an EES “relief valve” that would allow authorities to “dial down” the number of biometric registrations carried out at gateways during busy periods. But he suggested the new Government could still negotiate an agreement to ease the impact.
“If this new Government wanted to grip this and see if we could fundamentally change the way in which this is going to be introduced through good collaboration with the European Union, then there’s 100 days to get it done,” he said.
“If there were things that the new Government could do that would somehow ease the burden for the British passport holder in terms of how they register their details on the EES, then that would be a huge benefit.”
Richard Ballantyne, chief executive of the British Ports Association, urged the new Government to “crank up” preparations for EES.
He said: “I would say it’s fair to say that the industry thinks that the government hasn’t done enough in the UK over the last three or four years.
“It hasn’t taken this challenge seriously enough, and indeed, hasn’t, probably quite been able to comprehend what the problem is, because ultimately, this is a policy change and operational change, which is being impressed on us by the European Union.
“The problem, perhaps, requires some diplomatic negotiation agreement. A slight delay is obviously probably quite helpful, but ultimately, I think we’re going to need something where there’s a policy decision from the EU that enables the checks and a lot of the processes be able to be done away from the border.”
Anand Menon, director of the UK in a Changing Europe think-tank, told i the Government had a difficult balance to strike on EES as it looks to carry out its Brexit reset but also maintain a red line on not allowing the return of free movement of people.
“They will face pressure to be doing something about it [EES] because even if you don’t need a visa you are going to have to get fingerprints and iris scans and it’s going to cause queues,” he said.
“This is where the politics gets interesting, because EES can’t be solved as another example of Boris Johnson’s botched Brexit deal. It is part of Brexit which Labour notionally agree with.
“So it has to be managed quite carefully by Labour… The danger they face is this will be used by proponents of a relationship with the EU that’s closer than what they are proposing.”
A European Commission spokeswoman said: “The Entry/Exit System will enable automation of border controls which should ease the experience of travellers at the border crossing points.
“In addition, the Commission facilitates the deployment of this new system and intends to enable travellers to pre-register before arriving at the border crossing points.
“The Commission is in close contact with the industry representatives, is aware of the concerns expressed so far and will continue the dialogue. It is expected that our partners ensure the necessary preparations at all border crossing points.”
A UK Government spokeswoman said: “The Government has raised several issues, including EES, in its early conversations with the EU, and is reviewing the preparations that have been made so far ahead of EES being introduced by the EU.”
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