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BREXIT

‘We have to keep calm and carry on’: Concerned Brits in Denmark look beyond Brexit

For Britons living in Denmark as well as Danes who have a close relationship with the United Kingdom, Friday marks a significant day as the UK officially leaves the EU.

'We have to keep calm and carry on': Concerned Brits in Denmark look beyond Brexit
The exit to the Metro station at Rådhuspladsen in Copenhagen. Photo: Ida Marie Odgaard/Ritzau Scanpix

Although life will largely continue as before – at least during the transition period, currently scheduled to end on December 31st – the symbolic significance of the UK leaving the EU today is clear.

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We asked our readers in Denmark to send us their thoughts via email and social media on the day the UK leaves the EU.

“The uncertainty around Brexit is the thing I hate the most,” Rhys Sunderland wrote via Facebook.

“I don’t mind the fact people voted out or the result that we got. The problem I feel is nothing is black and white and everything is up in the air with no one supplying any answers to what should be very simple questions regarding our departure from the EU,” Sunderland explained.

Gavin M, who commented on Twitter, said he was “sad” but “ready to move on”.

“I want the best for the UK, Denmark and the EU, but it’s out of my control so why bother worrying. Ingen ko på isen [‘don’t panic', ed.],” he wrote.

“Desperately sad, experiencing growing sense of unknown about the future – pension rights, residence rights, freedom of movement, health care, EHIC coverage, all now up in the air. I moved to Denmark from UK in good faith, taking advantage of (freedom of movement), now everything is an unknown,” Alan Firth tweeted.

Danes with connections to the UK also offered their perspectives on the day’s events.

“The UK was my home for 6 years,” Rune Busk Damgaard wrote on Twitter.

“I fell in love with the country and its people. But the uncertainty caused by Brexit and the increasing anti-European and anti-immigration sentiment in the country meant that I had to leave. I could not see a future there. And it breaks my heart,” Damgaard said.

“I’m a Danish national studying and living in the UK,” Owen Purcell wrote on Facebook.

“(January 31st) is going to be a sad and sombre day for me as I wave goodbye to a lot of hopes and dreams which I hoped to achieve. Over the last few years I’ve noticed changes in attitudes here and a rise in the far-right movement, whether that be racism, homophobia or sexism. There is a real sense that the UK is moving backwards,” Purcell wrote.

Other Britons who live in Denmark expressed concerns over the potential impact on their businesses.

 “I am a UK national living and running my business, JOLT_, in Denmark. I won’t be marking the day in any way, but it does make me sad that this was the course of action chosen by some of those in the UK, so we have to keep calm and carry on and figure it out as we go,” Emma Roberts wrote on the same media.

“I just hope it doesn’t negatively affect the UK too much. I am already having to consider it another market in my company as EU licenses no longer extend to it, so it will affect my day to day life and others running international companies,” she pointed out.

What about British-Danish families who live in other EU countries?

“(I’m) British with a Danish wife and two kids living in Spain,” Paul Darwent, who runs a village bar in the Iberian country, wrote on Facebook.

“Gladly my family hold Danish passports. The only one that may have problems is myself. Can't get Danish nationality because I don't live there, might have to get Spanish though,” Darwent said.

“It is all complete madness so we have decided to mark the event with a ‘tongue in cheek’ celebration party in our bar. All are welcome. Even Tories,” he joked.

READ ALSO: The Local's view: Most Brits in Europe didn't ask for Brexit, but now we have to make it work

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TRAVEL NEWS

EES: Could the launch of Europe’s new border system be delayed again?

After being postponed several times already Europe's new biometric Entry/Exit border system (EES) is set to be rolled out in October, but with fears of lengthy queues, problems with a new app and demands for more time, could it be postponed again?

EES: Could the launch of Europe's new border system be delayed again?

Could the entry into operation of the EU entry/exit system (EES), the new biometric passport checks for non-EU citizens at the Schengen area’s external borders, be delayed yet again?

Originally planned for May 2022, EES has already been postponed many times.

The current launch date, set for October 2024, was chosen to avoid periods of peak traffic and France in particular had requested to avoid it being launched until after the Paris Olympics this summer.

When asked to confirm the October start date this week a spokesperson for the EU’s Commission told The Local that the “roadmap” for the EES IT system foresees it will be ready for Autumn 2024. But the actual start date, in other words, the day when passengers will have to register, would be confirmed nearer the time.

The spokesperson said: “The exact date will be determined by the European Commission and announced on the EES official website well in time for the start of operations.”

READ ALSO: Your key questions answered about Europe’s new EES passport checks

But the reasons are adding up to suggest an October start date is optimistic, perhaps even unlikely.

In the annual report on the ‘State of Schengen’ published last week, the European Commission spelt out that severe challenges remain if member states are to be ready on time.

“In 2023, efforts to ensure the entry into operation of the Entry-Exit System in the autumn of 2024 were accelerated… While important progress has been made across the Schengen area, some Member States are still falling behind, notably regarding the effective equipment of border crossing points. The Commission calls on all Member States to urgently accelerate preparations to ensure the timely implementation of the system…”

A map in the report shows that preparation is still “in progress” in 13 Schengen area countries, including Germany, Norway and Switzerland. “Outstanding issues” still impact Portugal, Malta and Bulgaria.

The state of play for the preparations for EES across EU and Schengen states. Image: European Commission.

There are also reports that EU heavyweight Germany is trying to persuade Brussels to delay.

Matthias Monroy, editor of the German civil rights journal Bürgerrechte & Polizei/CILIP claimed on his website that “the German government is lobbying in Brussels to postpone the date once again, as otherwise the German tests of the EES cannot be completed in full. Other EU countries are also behind schedule, with only eight of them having reported successful integration.”

Even on a French government website it talks of EES being rolled out some time “between the end of 2024 and 2025” rather than stating October 2024.

And according to recent media reports, French airports have been advised to be ready for November 6th, rather than October. 

READ ALSO: EES and Etias – what are the big upcoming travel changes in Europe?

A planned EU app, believed to be essential to the smooth operation of EES because it would allow non-EU visitors to register in advance of travel will not be ready, Gwendoline Cazenave, Managing Director of Eurostar International, the company operating train services via the Channel Tunnel, has told the BBC. The EU however insists the app does not need to be up and running before EES is introduced.

In the UK, which will be heavily impacted by EES due to the fact it is no longer in the EU and so British travellers are no longer EU citizens, the House of Commons European scrutiny committee is conducting an inquiry on the potential disruption the introduction of the EES will cause at the border.

Several respondents have recently raised the alarm about the possible delays the system could cause, especially at the UK-France border, which is used by millions of passengers each year who head to France and other countries across Europe.

Ashford Borough Council in Kent has warned of the possibility of more than 14 hours queues to reach the Port of Dover, which has already been struggling increased checked after Brexit.

The BBC reported that back in March, a P&O Ferries director said the IT system should be delayed again.

Airlines have also complained about the fact pre-travel EES requirements would make last minute bookings impossible.

The Union des Aéroports Français (UAF), which represents airports in France, has simply said more time is needed.

In other words, it would be little surprise if the roll out was delayed again beyond October 2024.

But the Commission spokesperson told The Local that “the timeline for the entry into operation of the EES took into account all the necessary activities to be performed by all relevant stakeholders to ensure a timely entry into operation. 

“The Commission is working very closely with eu-Lisa [the EU agency in charge of the IT system], the Member States and carriers to ensure that everything is ready for the timely and successful launch of the Entry Exit System.

“The roadmap for the delivery of the new IT architecture foresees that the Entry/Exit system will be ready to enter into operation in Autumn 2024.”

New digital border

The EES is a digital system to register travellers from non-EU countries when they cross a border in or out of the Schengen area, the travel-free area. It will be deployed in 29 countries across Europe including 25 EU states plus Norway, Switzerland, Iceland and Liechtenstein. Ireland and Cyprus are the only EU members who won’t apply the EES system.

It doesn’t apply to non-EU nationals who are legally resident in an EU/Schengen area country or those with dual nationality of an EU /Schengen county. The system was designed to increase security and to ensure that non-EU nationals visiting the Schengen area short-term do not stay more than 90 days in any 180-day period.

Instead of having the passport stamped, travellers will have to scan it at self-service kiosks before crossing the border. However, fingerprints and a photo will have to be registered in front of a guard at the first crossing and there are huge concerns the extra time needed could generate long queues in the UK, where there are juxtaposed border checks with the EU.

Preparations are ongoing throughout Europe and some countries have made good progress.

In France, Getlink, the operator of the Channel Tunnel, has recently reported that new EES infrastructure is finished at its French terminal of Coquelles, which will allow travellers to register their biometric data while travelling.

Eurostar is also installing 49 kiosks in stations for the registration of passengers. But the Union des Aéroports Français (UAF), which represents airports in France, said more time is needed.

Exempted

Meanwhile, the Polish government has urged UK citizens who are beneficiaries of the EU-UK Withdrawal Agreement to get a residence permit “in the context of EES/ETIAS”, even though there was not such an obligation to stay legally in Poland post-Brexit.

“Having such a document is beneficial as it will exempt from future Entry/Exit System (EES) registration when crossing external borders and from the need to obtain an ETIAS travel permit in relation to short-term travel to EU/Schengen countries,” the government page says.

This article as published in collaboration with Europe Street news.

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