French ferry ports voice concern over new EU digital border

French ferry ports have told The Connexion of serious concerns over lack of testing for the new European Entry/Exit System (EES) digital equipment and potential for longer queues when the system launches in November.

Due to technical delays and the Olympics, there have been no chances for testing of pre-registration kiosks and tablets, the director of Ports de Normandie, Jérôme Chauvet, said.

There are also fears of long queues on the UK side at Dover, where no special areas are being set aside for passenger pre-registration in EES – as is being done by Eurostar and Euro­tunnel – instead, the process will be done in the passport queues.

That will also be the case at Normandy ports, said Mr Chau­vet. Cars will be directed to ‘EU’ or ‘non-EU’ lanes and ‘non-EU’ occupants will remain inside and be approached by a worker who will hand a tablet computer. 

They will not get out of their vehicles.

People on foot will be collected by a shuttle bus which will take them to the ferry terminal, where they will pre-register at self-service kiosks before going to immigration controls.

Read more: France reported to be asking for new border system delay

What is confirmed start date for EES?

EES has been in the pipeline for over a decade and has been delayed several times, but European Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson confirmed a November 10 start in a speech to the agency organising the IT infrastructure. 

Even so, there has been no public announcement of the date. It is rumoured officials want to keep November 17 as a final option.

EES will create a database entry for any non-EU/EES/Swiss citizen visitor who enters or exits the Schengen area, with passport details, a scan of the fingerprints of the right hand and a facial image. It will then log future exits and entries.

For people coming to or from France, this will occur at ports and airports in France, the exceptions are outbound travellers from Dover, London St Pancras and using Eurotunnel, where French checks take place on UK soil.

‘Non-EU’ travellers living in the Schengen area with long-stay visas and/or residency cards will not be affected, but will be in the same ‘non-EU’ passport queues. 

“As there is no space for cars to park for pre-registration, it will need to be done in queues heading for the exit. So, those people will no doubt wait with the rest and may have to wait longer,” Mr Chauvet said. 

“We are told it will take on average an extra one-and-a-half minutes per car. Today, it is around 30-45 seconds, so the time needed will significantly increase [i.e. to up to two minutes 15 seconds in total]. Plus, the tablet will send data to a European database and when the car arrives at the border guard’s booth, he or she will validate the data, checking the database. Will it all work well? We do not yet know.”

Our full Q and A session with Mr Chauvet can be found below. 

 Read more: Q&A with Normandy Ports director on new EU border plans

Will EES affect ferry prices?

The ports also face costs including erecting canopies for the areas where the checks will occur and recruiting staff to hand out tablets. They are suggestions ferry companies will recoup costs via an increase in ticket prices.

A phone app, intended to be able to collect some pre-registration information, is being developed by EU borders agency Frontex, but industry insiders do not expect it to be ready to use for the launch.

In an interview this spring, Frontex deputy executive director Uku Sarekanno admitted there are “always operational risks that accompany any kind of digitisation effort”, and they will have to make contingency plans for what happens if “the systems are down”.

EES is meant to remove the need for passport stamping, but this means changes to the way border guards will have to work, with risk of human error.

Mr Sarekanno added they expect “very serious discussion” now, to explore how more can be automated at the borders in the next five to 10 years, for a “more seamless travel experience.”

Read more: UK-France ferry firms aim to expand time-saving deal from freight to cars

Our help guide to the EES and the related Etias, priced €4.99 is available here.