You might assume hosting the Olympics is great for a city's economy thanks to an influx of visitors staying in hotels, dining out, and enjoying the sights.
30.08.2024 - 19:44 / euronews.com / Angela Symons
Travellers from outside the EU are getting ready for the launch of the new Entry/Exit System (EES) on 10 November, but are Schengen countries ready to welcome them?
There’s been much trepidation about Europe’s new digital border system, which has been repeatedly delayed.
But, finally, new scanners are appearing at airports across the EU and processing areas have been set up at international ports and train stations.
Millions of euros have been ploughed into preparing for the new checks, which will register non-EU passengers’ biometric data each time they enter and exit the Schengen Area.
Still, tourists have been warned of potential delays and queues at checkpoints when the EES launches this autumn.
The changes will arguably hit post-Brexit Britain the hardest, with travellers forced to jump through new hoops when visiting the EU.
While airport checks will be carried out on arrival in EU countries, those for international train, car and ferry services will take place before departure from the UK.
The UK government is working hard to reduce queueing and disruption. This week, it announced £10.5 million (€12.5m) in funding to support preparations at the Port of Dover, Folkestone’s Eurotunnel and Eurostar at St Pancras train station in London.
This money is being used to set up the technology and processes needed for smooth EES registration, including establishing a dedicated processing site at the Port of Dover and installing additional self-service kiosks for Eurotunnel and Eurostar passengers.
At these kiosks, UK travellers will have to register at the border by having their fingerprints and photographs taken.
The funding will also be used to “undertake rigorous testing to reduce the risk of disruption”, according to the UK government, and support recruitment and training of staff to contribute to smoother EES implementation.
Ministers in the UK say the funding will help minimise disruption for British travellers and ensure EES registration gets off to a smooth start.
“Nobody wants to see excessive queues at our ports, which is why we’re providing this funding to ensure our borders are as prepared as possible for the upcoming change - despite EES being an EU initiative,” says UK Future of Roads Minister Lilian Greenwood.
“Since coming into government, we have been reviewing plans and closely supporting ports to make sure they have the right processes in place so that EES registration can be smooth and queue times kept to a minimum.”
The government says the Port of Dover, Eurotunnel and Eurostar are “now on track for a smooth transition ahead of implementation later this year”.
Despite raising concerns earlier in the year, all three ports now offer a rosier picture of the EES implementation.
“Eurostar will be fully
You might assume hosting the Olympics is great for a city's economy thanks to an influx of visitors staying in hotels, dining out, and enjoying the sights.
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