‘I’ll be holidaying outside the EU’: Readers lament as new post-Brexit border checks come into force

B.Ritons heading to Europe are warned to exercise greater patience; The EU’s long-delayed Entry/Exit System (EES) is finally operational, threatening four-hour queues, new fingerprint checks and a £400 million hit to the UK economy.

A lot Independent Readers were quick to point out that the UK helped design the EES, accusing the government of hypocrisy and of reaping what it sows.

One simply stated that “the system bears the UK’s seal of approval” as it was supported by British ministers and MPs before Brexit.

While some readers dismissed the predicted disruption as “no big deal”, others warned it would hit the economy hard (especially hauliers and holidaymakers), with one reader saying “Brexit will be more real this year when the EU takes back control of borders”.

There was a sharp divide over blame: some targeted “Brexiters” for the loss of free movement, while others said young voters should share responsibility for low turnout in 2016.

Here’s what you need to say:

What we actually lost

Border control was always present; no one can travel between countries without control. What Brexit has changed is the ease and cost of doing this.

British citizens now face more bureaucracy, fees and hours-long queues as the UK has chosen to become a “third country”. We did not gain sovereignty; we have simply lost the automatic rights, protections and frictionless access that made travel, trade and work across Europe simpler and cheaper.

Anyone familiar with international trade and border policy could have seen this outcome coming.

Let’s remember; easier and cheaper travel was probably the least of what we lost when leaving the EU.

Before Brexit, Brits had the right to live, work and retire freely in 27 countries, with automatic healthcare and pension recognition. Work across Europe and every contribution counts towards a pension. Healthcare covers you for life throughout the EU.

These were not “privileges”; They were fundamental rights that gave people freedom, security and opportunity.

Brexit hasn’t just ended frictionless travel and trade; It has also eliminated rights that would improve the daily lives of millions of people.

isab

Brexit is coming true

UK residents made more than 134 million trips to Europe in 2024, accounting for nearly 90 per cent of all overseas travel.

Brexit will be more realistic this year as the EU takes back control of borders.

For UK goods, the full costs and delays of Brexit have been present since early 2021 when we left SM/CU. Since then, food inflation in the UK has reached a cumulative 45 percent, while in the EU the rate is 27 percent. Entertainment!

Kurd

It’s not important

Just three weeks ago I passed through Prague airport and had to use the new system.

There was no queue and the scanning of my blue passport was complete. My wife’s old EU/UK passport had to go through passport control to be fingerprinted.

It’s not important.

While the EU zone has made huge strides (despite huge costs) to bolster its border entry system, all I see at airports and ports in the UK are the same excuses as before Brexit (staff shortages and technology failures).

Bubba Ho-Tep

The important point of passports

That’s why we broke up. A complete waste of money and time – and if this causes four hour delays at airports then I’ll be holidaying somewhere else outside the EU. Isn’t the purpose of passports to verify people’s identities? Why are photographs and fingerprints needed?

ChrisMatthews

you knew this

EES was years in the making. The initial decision to go this route dates back to when you were still a member of the EU; this means:

Who cares about £400,000,000 when you can control your own boundaries (you don’t actually do it, but you can if you want – and that’s far more valuable to your health than the work of 16,000 extra nurses).

Don’t forget to thank Nigel and Boris for your (unused) contributions. suvrinti.

Restarted againHans2

An excellent system designed by England

This is certainly an excellent system that bears the UK’s seal of approval, as the UK was involved in designing the EES and fully embraced it when it became a member.

Dear Member of ParliamentSpeaker

Benefits of Brexit for Brexiteers

I wish the Brexiteers could all be identified and they would be the ones to enjoy all the ‘benefits’ of Brexit, rather than us all having to shoulder them. What’s most unfair is that the Boomers all have triple lock state pensions. They voted overwhelmingly for Brexit and, like young people, should enjoy the ‘benefits’.

FYI, I am a Boomer and would be happy to accept these punishments just to achieve what the less enlightened have ‘achieved’.

BlindPew

A shared responsibility

Unfortunately, even after the economic turmoil following the referendum, I see little sign that the UK will rejoin the EU. We are not even at the stage where the issue can be discussed rationally. The EU has unofficially said they will not accept re-application unless there is a political consensus among politicians. There is no possibility of such a consensus. The United Kingdom will not rejoin in the foreseeable future.

I now have an EU passport and am not affected by this immediate issue, but I feel sorry for those who remain.

Those keen to blame older voters for the stupidity of Brexit should remember that turnout among younger voters is low; hence the latter cannot escape some of the blame. There was no way the baby boomers could achieve a Leave victory on their own.

And another point: given that it is precisely young voters who are most negatively affected by Brexit, why have they done so little to campaign for rejoining the EU? Why weren’t they active in the European Movement (or could they have founded their own organisations)? They’ve been active in identity politics, but definitely not on this issue.

Brexit was a collective responsibility and young voters cannot escape the responsibility they share with their elders.

Musil

short memories

“It is completely unacceptable that the UK will lose nearly half a billion pounds because of the government’s failure to properly negotiate with the EU on the new entry programme.”

Liberal Democrats have very short memories. The EU has proposed simplified border controls; Johnson insisted we should be treated as a “third country”. The Tories are as guilty as Farage.

Jook

double standards

The passport does not say whether you are on a terrorist watch list or convicted of a serious crime; both of these could pose a threat to national security.

The double standards of Brexiteers and anti-immigrant Farage supporters make Machiavelli look like a Roman road; The UK has the right to control its borders but the EU doesn’t?

If you think it would be easier elsewhere, I recommend trying the USA for your next holiday; fingerprints, iris scans and photos are part of the deal there.

blue

It’s no big deal

Once you enter the Schengen area, there are no border controls, except in special cases, especially regarding security issues.

For example, if I travel to France, after passing through border control I can go to Belgium, Germany, Spain, Italy, etc. without going through border control or showing my passport. I can travel freely to countries.

There are no internal controls in the Schengen area. This applies to Brits as well as EU citizens and everyone else.

Being a third country is not as big a deal as many people think.

King’s Forest

Some of the comments in this article have been edited for brevity and clarity.

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