Greece’s tourism minister has just announced that British holidaymakers visiting the country this summer will not have to deal with the new biometric checks introduced by the EU last month.
Having navigated the Entry/Exit System (EES) on a visit to Italy last month, I understand why the Greeks have decided the risks to their tourism industry are such that they are willing to defy Brussels, break ranks with other Schengen countries and open their borders to UK holidaymakers – for now at least.
What I also learnt is that there is a way in which non-EU (or non-European Economic Area) passport holders can beat the cumbersome border checks, whose introduction has forced passengers to wait for long periods and in some cases miss flights.
Landing at Pisa airport, as a British passport holder, I saw how a system designed to streamline entry instead created confusion and delay. A full planeload of passengers were directed towards four electronic passport terminals and split into two groups. A few dozen EU citizens passed swiftly through two dedicated Schengen machines. Meanwhile, hundreds of British and American travellers were left to inch forward through the other two EES terminals allocated to non-EU nationals, each requiring several minutes per passenger.
The absurd imbalance quickly became obvious as the queue shuffled slowly towards the two EES machines, while the two Schengen machines stood idle. Eventually, the overwhelmed Italian border official realised something needed to be done. Those who had previously registered biometric details in the Schengen system — identified by a blue ticket issued earlier — were waved towards the Schengen machines. I was one of the lucky ones with a blue ticket.
Interestingly, I found that the Schengen machines seemed equally able to deal with a UK as a Schengen passport, and having been accelerated to the front of the queue with a few other blue ticket holders, I passed the border rapidly. Predictably, this further divisive move only increased frustration among the majority still queueing. The border official consulted her superiors and then conceded defeat – everybody was allowed to use the EU machines.
At Pisa airport, Hopton found a system designed to streamline entry instead created confusion and delay (Photo: Ampuero Leonardo/ Getty/iStock)My conclusion from this experience was that the problem with the EES is not technology, but implementation. And while Brussels and Schengen governments try to improve on the imperfections, British travellers this summer might be forgiven for behaving in a rather un-British way and using the terminals reserved for those with Schengen passports. Of course, that might be seen as selfish and undermining the entire point of the new system – but it is clearly not yet working.
As for the Greeks, I suspect they will find that they cannot kick the can down the road indefinitely. Rushing people informally through their borders will not be sustainable in the long term. Come the autumn after the holiday rush, the Greeks will need to grasp the problem and register visitors like all other Schengen countries. Hopefully by then, the EES implementation may have been improved.
Days after my trip to Italy – to promote my book, Maremma Mia, inspired by renovating a Tuscan farmhouse – I travelled to Cyprus: an EU state that is not part of the Schengen zone. The contrast was striking. Hundreds of British travellers were processed quickly and efficiently using the Cypriot national system. Cyprus aspires to join Schengen, but on this evidence alone, it may want to think again.
Cyprus, which I visited with Cambridge University’s Centre for Geopolitics, is facing its own travel problems, however.
Early in the Iran war, a missile apparently fired from Lebanon struck the UK’s RAF Akrotiri base on the island, which led to a political fallout. The Cypriot government renewed calls for Britain to relinquish its bases in the country, while international media reported on the island’s proximity to danger. The result was a wave of cancelled holidays, despite no significant change in official travel advice. To me, Cyprus felt safe and welcoming – the damage inflicted appears to have been more perceptual than physical.
Across the Mediterranean, from malfunctioning border gates to fragile geopolitical balances, the lesson is consistent: systems and gestures are no substitute for clarity, competence and commitment. Sadly, it appears that neither the UK nor our partners are ready to rise adequately to that challenge.
Nicholas Hopton is Director General of the Middle East Association and runs geopolitical consultancy Belmont Advisory Limited. He served as the British ambassador to Libya, Iran, Qatar and Yemen
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