British holidaymakers may gain advantage from enormous breakthrough in EU talks | Politics | News | EUROtoday

British holidaymakers might keep away from lengthy queues in airports amid hopes of a breakthrough settlement.

UK and EU negotiators are set to strike a deal that may permit Britons to make use of e-gates throughout Europe.

This would imply households wouldn’t have to attend hours to get a stamp of their passports.

Individual EU international locations will resolve whether or not to offer British travellers preferential entry, below the proposed settlement.

They will nonetheless have to join a brand new digital journey doc often known as Etias, resulting from be launched subsequent 12 months.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and Ursala von der Leyen, the President of the European Commission, might additionally announce agreements on chopping pink tape on meals exports and imports, and organising a youth mobility scheme with the EU in London on Monday.

The headline announcement is predicted to be a defence and safety pact.

Asked whether or not he was assured British travellers would be capable to use EU e-gates at European airports, Thomas-Symonds mentioned: “I’m certainly pushing for people to be able to go through far more quickly.

“I believe we will all agree that not being caught in queues and having extra time to spend, whether or not it is on vacation or work journeys, having extra time to do what you need … could be a really wise goal.”

Some locations in Spain and Portugal have already launched e-gates that settle for British passports.

Mr Thomas-Symonds additionally recommended that any youth mobility scheme with Europe must be “smart and controlled” to stop immigration from spiralling.

He advised the BBC: “As of today we already have 13 youth mobility schemes with other countries. Nobody is remotely suggesting that that is freedom of movement with those countries, it absolutely isn’t.”