EU urged to stick to phased roll out of new EU border checks to prevent delays to trade

With the long-awaited implementation of the EU’s Entry/Exit System (EES) starting this Sunday (12 October), business group Logistics UK has said it is “essential” that the EU keeps its promise of a phased roll out, so that there are no delays to freight traffic between the UK and France.

Under EES, non-EU citizens that cross the borders of the 29 European countries in the Schengen area will need to create a digital record by submitting biometric details. They will need to do this on their first visit after which they will be automatically register.

“It is essential that the new border systems are implemented gradually to keep traffic flowing and trade moving,” said Logistics UK’s Josh Fenton.

“Almost 60% of UK-EU trade in goods travels via the Short Straits, which equates to thousands of vehicles every day. The additional time required for passengers to register biometric details when they leave the UK has the potential to cause knock on delays for freight traffic and disrupt the UK’s supply chain.

“It is more than just an inconvenience: our analysis shows that even a 90 minute delay for the 3.35 million HGVs that pass through the Short Straits would cost the economy £400 million per year.”

Fenton said some disruption is inevitable as travellers register their details, so he urged businesses moving goods to the continent to allow additional journey time.

Logistics UK is calling on the UK government to work with the French government to develop an app for so Entry/Exit System registration can be carried out remotely.

Fenton added that EES has also thrown up an additional consideration for transport operators, the automatic enforcement of the requirement that non-EU citizens are restricted to spending 90 days in previous 180 in the EU.

He said: “The new EES system will automatically log time spent within the Schengen area, so it is essential that drivers comply with the current legal requirement of only spending 90 of the previous 180 days in the Schengen area.

“It is important to remember that both personal travel and commercial work contribute to the 90 days – personal holidays count towards the total. As the new system will automatically detect overstayers, drivers and operators need to ensure they remain compliant.

“The current 90/180 day rule does not support smooth trade between the UK and EU and Logistics UK is calling for the UK government to seek an exemption from the EU for professional drivers.

“This will ensure they can continue to deliver the goods that businesses and consumers across Europe rely on that help drive growth. Until that happens, drivers must comply with the legislation to ensure there is no disruption to their operations.”

The UK government said it has provided Eurostar at St Pancras International, Eurotunnel at  Folkestone, and the Port of Dover with £10.5 million of funding to upgrade border infrastructure.

Alex Norris, minister for border security and asylum, said: 

“We recognise that EES checks will be a significant change for British travellers, which is why we have worked closely with our European partners to ensure the rollout goes as smoothly as possible.

“The UK and EU have a shared objective of securing our borders and these modernisation measures will help us protect our citizens and prevent illegal migration.”

Keir Mather, minister for aviation, maritime and decarbonisation, added: 

“Our priority is to minimise disruption for travellers and hauliers, particularly at our busiest border crossings. We’ll continue working closely with European partners and local resilience forums to keep traffic flowing and journeys smooth.”

The new Entry/Exit System (EES) requires all non-EU citizens to register personal biometric details, including face images and fingerprints, when they first enter the Schengen area. This includes all EU nations apart from Ireland and Cyprus, plus Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Liechtenstein.

The system replaces passport stamping, and is aimed at helping EU authorities track compliance with the 90-day visa-free travel rule and strengthen border controls.

Details will be stored for three years (or until the passport expires) and travellers need to confirm their details on each visit with a face scan.

Children under 12 will not be fingerprinted but all travellers, including babies, will be photographed and have digital records created.

The EU has committed to a gradual implementation of the changes, starting on 12 October 2025.

European countries will introduce the different elements of the EES in phases. This means that travellers’ details might not be collected at every border crossing point right away, and personal information may not be registered in the system. Passports will continue to be stamped as usual.

The UK government has said “checks should only take 1-2 minutes for each person”, but warned there may be “longer wait times” upon arrival in the Schengen area and at the juxtaposed ports in the UK where registration will be completed prior to departure.

Airport registration starts from 12 October. Julia Lo Bue-Said, chief executive of Advantage Travel Partnership, a network of independent travel agents, told ITV News: “For major airports in southern Europe, we recommend that travellers now allocate four hours for navigating the new system in these initial stages.”

She said “delays should be anticipated” when multiple flights arrive at similar times, and “we foresee potentially overwhelming volumes of travellers during the initial roll-out”.

For Eurotunnel, it will first apply from 12 October to truck drivers, coach drivers and their passengers. It will apply to passengers in passenger vehicles by the end of 2025.

For Eurostar, some passengers travelling in Eurostar Premier or as a Carte Blanche or Étoile Club Eurostar member will be asked to comply with EES from 12 October, before the system is gradually rolled out to everyone.

For ferries, EES will first apply to coach passengers from 12 October. Port of Dover said:

“We advise that all coach drivers arrive at the Western Docks no more than two hours before travel, as they did prior to the EES implementation. As has been emphasised by the EU, this will be a very gradual and phased implementation, so alongside a 10% start, we also expect that the EES rollout here will start with the passport data before the biometric element is introduced.”

From November 2025, the system will be extended to cover all other traffic at Port of Dover.

The deadline for full implementation of EES at all border crossings is 10 April 2026.