Dover, UK: Foreign Secretary David Cameron has told MPs he is “really worried” that the EU’s new border IT system will lead to “long delays” when it is introduced. The Entry Exit System will require visitors to register fingerprints, a photo, and passport details to enter the EU. It is expected to start on 6 October 2024, having been delayed since 2022.
Cameron said the system “still needs testing and improving” before it is rolled out. \5There have been warnings for more than a year that the extra time registration will take could cause very long delays. The logistics industry has also warned that lorries could be held up in long queues at Dover. In January, the Port of Dover along with ferry firms DFDS, Irish Ferries, and P&O Ferries, called for a delay in the scheme’s roll out.
In a joint statement to the committee the group said there was an “existential risk facing critical supply chains, businesses, communities, and the tourism economy of nations on both sides of the Channel from the current lack of appropriate regime for the introduction of the EU Entry Exit System (EES)”.
Speaking at the European Scrutiny Committee, Lord Cameron said: “I think we’ve made some progress, but I think there are some big choke points at Dover and St Pancras – and I’m really worried about there being long delays for people.”
