Minister says Europe travel chaos could be EU warning over Brexit - report
2 min read
The travel chaos on the continent could be "subterfuge" from member states trying to give Britain a "warning" after the Brexit vote, a minister has reportedly said.
The unnamed Conservative said Britain should bring in UK-only passport lanes in response to the long delays faced by holiday makers, according to the Daily Telegraph.
Changes brought in after recent terror attacks mean people entering and leaving the passport-free Schengen area face tougher security procedures.
Brits have been forced to endure waits of up to four hours at some airports, with the European Commission branding the ordeal the “price for security”.
However the minister questioned whether the move was some kind of retaliation over Brexit rather than protection from the increasing terror threat.
"One wonders if this isn't just subterfuge from EU members states, if they aren't just trying to give us a warning that this is something that's in store for us after Brexit,” they told the paper
"Holland, Belgium and Germany have among the highest numbers of Isil fighters. Should we be putting extra controls on them?
"We should consider British-only lanes in the UK if they want to behave like that. Border controls should be based on reciprocal relationships. If it abuses this reciprocity we should have British only lanes."
Earlier this week the European Commission defended the changes, with spokeswoman Mina Andreeva adding that the changes were demanded by all EU member states, including Britain.
"We understand that there are concerns about EU rules leading to longer waiting periods, but let us be very clear - this is about the security of our citizens.
"All EU member states wanted to have the current rules. We cannot have on the one hand, a joint request from member states to have more checks and controls, to increase security, and at the same time have complaints about longer waiting periods."
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