Widespread confusion over new checks at uk/france borders

MOST BRITONS POLLED SAID THEY ARE UNAWARE OF THE COMING CHANGES DO YOU RECEIVE THE CONNEXION'S FREE WEEKDAY NEWSLETTER? Sign up here Almost two thirds of Britons are unaware of the new

border checks scheduled to start in autumn with the rollout of the Entry/Exit System according to a new survey. All travellers from the UK will have their details logged by a digital system

which will record the name, age, facial image, fingerprints, point of entry and exit for everyone over the age of 12 travelling to and from the EU. The system is expected to finally start

this autumn having been pushed back several times. Read more: Prepare for border changes to start November 6, French airports told However, a new survey* reports that 63% of Britons are

unaware of the EES. Among the minority of Britons who are aware of it, nearly a quarter of those polled (22%) said it would ‘put them off visiting’. CONCERNS OVER BORDER DELAYS Almost half

of those (46%) who say they would be put off travelling said it was due to concerns over their personal data being kept up to three years. The remainder blamed the anticipated border delays.

Indeed, concerns over border delays have been a recurring theme of the EES. An investigation by UK MPs discovered significant apprehension from travel bodies and tour operators, including

Dover Port, which called the EES “an existential risk to the tourism economy of nations on both sides of the Channel.” Eurostar voiced its own concerns about the new system’s “significant

risks” in a written submission to the UK Parliament’s European Scrutiny Committee in January. It argues that the enhanced security features of the EES do “not seem to be justified by the

actual level of threat facing the Schengen Area,” since “British nationals do not represent a serious threat of illegal migration into the EU.” *Co-op Insurance survey of 2,000 UK adults

between January and March 2024 Do you have any questions or concerns about the new EES border checks starting in autumn?  Let us know via [email protected] and we will address as many

as we can in a future article.