RHA is another organisation to call on the government to make every effort to gain a further postponement of the introduction of the Schengen area EU Entry/Exit System (EES) beyond its expected go-live date of 10 November, or 17 November as a contingency.
Fears about the impact of EES on transit times for outbound traffic including coaches passing through the Port of Dover remain high. Some suggestions of multi-hour delays when the system is introduced under the current timeframe have been made, with a lack of infrastructure readiness and of a promised app part of that worry.
The trade body believes the latest projection of November does not provide authorities with sufficient time to get that necessary port infrastructure in place at Dover. It says that all such provision must be completed and fully tested ahead of any launch date.
RHA adds that the government should lobby the European Commission to introduce EES only when vehicle handling points “are fully prepared for the additional checks.” 56% of respondents to an RHA survey said that they expect to reduce journeys into the Schengen area post-EES.
The Association notes that coach operators will be particularly impacted by EES at Dover. That is because of the reduced capacity for those vehicles on Eurotunnel train services via the channel tunnel after that carrier’s efforts in 2023 to distance itself from coach bookings, which were heavily criticised.
Separately, RHA says that an exemption from the rule that limits non-EU/EEA nationals to spending no more than 90 days out of every 180 within the Schengen area should be introduced for professional drivers transporting passengers or goods. It “would welcome the chance to develop this policy with the new government,” RHA says in a statement.
While the relaxation of the EES implementation date to mid-November gives around an additional month beyond the previous expectation of an October start, RHA is not the only body to warn of difficulties regardless of the change.
Two days before the Association sounded its alarm, local authorities in Kent called on the government to work with the EU to find a solution that allows travellers passing through Dover to be processed as quickly as possible. Those councils believe that severe delays are inevitable under the current approach.
Freight industry representative body Logistics recently urged the government to do its utmost to secure both a further extension to the EES introduction date, and a staged eventual rollout.
