The European Commission has set 12 October 2025 as the date when the Entry/Exit System (EES) will start to be applied at the EU borders. This system will replace manual passport stamping with biometric data checks for non-EU travellers, aiming to enhance border security.
As highlighted, the 29 participating countries (the Member States minus Ireland but plus Iceland, Norway and Switzerland) will be allowed to start introducing the EES requirements gradually over a period of six months.
One of the UK’s biggest business groups, Logistics UK, however, has expressed concern at the lack of detail about how the new system will work, including information on where and how the checks are to be undertaken. It has urged that the Department for Transport (DfT) and the European Commission must provide further clarification.
Policy Manager, Josh Fenton, said: “Logistics UK needs reassurance that there are sufficient staff and infrastructure capacity available to undertake the necessary checks in the short to medium term.”
He estimates that around 46,000 companies, spread throughout the UK, regularly trade in goods where at least 25% of the commodities they deal with pass through the Short Straits at Dover. This means, Mr Fenton adds, that any delays that occur at the border will have a knock-on effect nationwide and could have a significant impact on the country’s ability to trade with the EU in the longer term, as well as affect the availability of goods within the supply chain.
Given that non-EU citizens can only have access to the EU for 90 days in every 180, and that this requirement is likely to be more strictly enforced once EES is fully operational, Logistics UK has said that it is imperative that the UK and EU reach a workable agreement on enabling British drivers to work and travel on the continent.
