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BREXIT

We want the British to stay here, says UK ambassador to Spain

The United Kingdom's ambassador to Spain, Simon Manley, signaled at a gathering with Spanish media that the UK is determined to sort out the rights of Spanish citizens in the UK as well as those of British citizens living in Spain.

Published: 7 July 2017 09:32 CEST
We want the British to stay here, says UK ambassador to Spain
The UK's ambassador to Spain, Simon Manley. File Photo: Javier Soriano/AFP

“We want the Spanish to stay there and the British here. There is no more important issue than citizens in these negotiations,” Manley, referring to the Brexit negotiations, told reporters at the UK embassy in Madrid on July 6, according to El Pais.  

Approximately 130,000 Spanish citizens live in the UK while more than 300,000 British citizens live in Spain. Both demographic groups remain uncertain about their future residential rights as Britain and the EU continue to linger over the terms of the UK's departure from the EU. 

Manley stressed that the UK was keen for Spanish students and workers to be able to remain in the UK and for their residency rights to be sorted ASAP.

According to figures released by the British Council, more than 10,000 Spanish students are enrolled in higher education at UK universities. 

In a speech to the European Parliament on June 26, Theresa May had suggested that the more than 3 million EU citizens living in the UK would have to apply for a residency card after the UK's formal departure from the European Union.

READ MORE: UK makes pension and healthcare pledge for British expats post-Brexit

The offer was widely dismissed as insufficient by EU politicians. Prime Minister May said a new category of foreign resident would be created for the proposed system. 

“I understand the frustration this can generate,” Ambassador Manley assured the gathered media on the rights of Spanish residents, “but we want them to stay. We are trying to develop a process for the future that will be as simple as possible,” he added.

Manley stressed that the UK government was willing to accommodate suggestions from Spain towards the creation of such a procedure. The new attitude suggests a softening and a u-turn on the part of the UK government following heavy EU criticism of Theresa May's initial post-Brexit offer for EU citizens. 

Ambassador Manley's comments come before the Spanish royal family is due to visit the UK on a state visit next week. 

Commenting on whether Spanish King Felipe VI could mention Gibraltar when addressing the UK parliament next week – like his predecessor King Juan Carlos I did in 1986 – Manley acknowledged that this was possible. The ambassador added that for a foreign head of state to address parliament “is something special” that only gets offered “to the most important and appreciated friends.” 

READ MORE: Eight reasons why Spain is very worried about Brexit

Discussing the controversial forthcoming Catalan secession referendum, Manley said it was an “issue for Spain” but said the case bore similarities with Scotland, according to Voz de Galicia. 

 

For members

EES PASSPORT CHECKS

How will the new app for Europe’s EES border system work?

With Europe set to introduce its new Entry/Exit biometric border system (EES) in the autumn there has been much talk about the importance of a new app designed to help avoid delays. But how will it work and when will it be ready?

Published: 7 May 2024 10:29 CEST
How will the new app for Europe's EES border system work?

When it comes into force the EU’s new digital border system known as EES will register the millions of annual entries and exits of non-EU citizens travelling to the EU/Schengen area, which will cover 29 European countries.

Under the EU Entry/Exit System (EES), non-EU residents who do not require a visa will have to register their biometric data in a database that will also capture each time they cross an external Schengen border.

Passports will no longer be manually stamped, but will be scanned. However, biometric data such as fingerprints and facial images will have to be registered in front of a guard when the non-EU traveller first crosses in to the EU/Schengen area.

Naturally there are concerns the extra time needed for this initial registration will cause long queues and tailbacks at the border.

To help alleviate those likely queues and prevent the subsequent frustration felt by travellers the EU is developing a new smartphone app.

READ ALSO: What will the EES passport system mean for foreigners living in Europe?

The importance of having a working app was summed up by Uku Särekanno, Deputy Executive Director of the EU border agency Frontex in a recent interview.

“Initially, the challenge with the EES will come down to the fact that travellers arriving in Europe will have to have their biographic and biometric data registered in the system – border guards will have to register four of their fingerprints and their facial image. This process will take time, and every second really matters at border crossing points – nobody wants to be stuck in a lengthy queue after a long trip.”

But there is confusion around what the app will actually be able to do, if it will help avoid delays and importantly when will it be available?

So here’s what we know so far.

Who is developing the app?

The EU border agency Frontex is currently developing the app. More precisely, Frontex is developing the back-end part of the app, which will be made available to Schengen countries.

“Frontex is currently developing a prototype of an app that will help speed up this process and allow travellers to share some of the information in advance. This is something we are working on to support the member states, although there is no legal requirement for us to do so,” Uku Särekanno said in the interview.

Will the 29 EES countries be forced to use the app?

No, it is understood that Frontex will make the app available on a voluntary basis. Each government will then decide if, when and where to use it, and develop the front-end part based on its own needs.

This point emerged at a meeting of the House of Commons European scrutiny committee, which is carrying out an inquiry on how EES will impact the UK.

What data will be registered via the app?

The Local asked the European Commission about this. A spokesperson however, said the Commission was not “in a position to disclose further information at this stage” but that travellers’ personal data “will be processed in compliance with the high data security and data protection standards set by EU legislation.”

According to the blog by Matthias Monroy, editor of the German civil rights journal Bürgerrechte & Polizei/CILIP the Frontex app will collect passengers’ name, date of birth, passport number, planned destination and length of stay, reason for travelling, the amount of cash they carry, the availability of a credit card and of a travel health insurance. The app could also allow to take facial images. It will then generate a QR code that travellers can present at border control.

This, however, does not change the fact that fingerprints and facial images will have to be registered in front of a guard at the first crossing into the Schengen area.

So given the need to register finger prints and facial images with a border guard, the question is how and if the app will help avoid those border queues?

When is the app going to be available?

The answer to perhaps the most important question is still unclear.

The Commissions spokesperson told The Local that the app “will be made available for Schengen countries as from the Entry/Exit System start of operations.” The planned launch date is currently October 6th, but there have been several delays in the past and may be another one.

The UK parliamentary committee heard that the prototype of the app should have been ready for EU member states in spring. Guy Opperman, Under-Secretary of State at the UK Department for Transport, said the app will not be available for testing until August “at best” and that the app will not be ready in time for October. The committee previously stated that the app might even be delayed until summer 2025.

Frontex’s Särekanno said in his interview: “Our aim is to have it ready by the end of the summer, so it can then be gradually integrated into national systems starting from early autumn”.

READ ALSO: How do the EES passport checks affect the 90-day rule?

Can the system be launched if the app is not ready?

Yes. The European Commission told The Local that “the availability of the mobile application is not a condition for the Entry/Exit System entry into operation or functioning of the system. The app is only a tool for pre-registration of certain types of data and the system can operate without this pre-registration.”

In addition, “the integration of this app at national level is to be decided by each Schengen country on a voluntary basis – as there is no legal obligation to make use of the app.”

And the UK’s transport under secretary Guy Opperman sounded a note of caution saying the app “is not going to be a panacea to fix all problems”.

When the app will be in use, will it be mandatory for travellers?

There is no indication that the app will become mandatory for those non-EU travellers who need to register for EES. But there will probably be advantages in using it, such as getting access to faster lanes.

As a reminder, non-EU citizens who are resident in the EU are excluded from the EES, as are those with dual nationality for a country using EES. Irish nationals are also exempt even though Ireland will not be using EES because it is not in the Schengen area.

Has the app been tested anywhere yet?

Frontex says the prototype of the app will be tested at Stockholm’s Arlanda Airport, in Sweden. Matthias Monroy’s website said it was tested last year at Munich Airport in Germany, as well as in Bulgaria and Gibraltar.

According to the German Federal Police, the blog reports, passengers were satisfied and felt “prepared for border control”.

This article is published in cooperation with Europe Street News.

 
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