It looks like British companies are going to have to spend an extra €40 million on business trips to Europe in the wake of Brexit.
This week, European Union ambassadors confirmed a new system to protect the bloc's borders called ETIAS, the European travel information and authorisation system.
ETIAS, a proposal from the Council Presidency and European Parliament representatives, will see visitors from outside the EU having to seek authorisation before their arrival. Visitors will be charged a €7 euro fee per trip to gain online authorisation before travel.
The information submitted in each application will be automatically processed against EU and relevant Interpol databases to determine whether there are grounds to refuse a travel authorisation. If no hits or elements requiring further analysis are identified, the travel authorisation will be issued automatically and quickly. This is expected to be the case for most applications.
If there is a hit or an element requiring analysis, the application will be handled manually by the competent authorities. In this case, the ETIAS central unit will first check that the data recorded in the application file corresponds to the data triggering a hit. When it does or where doubts remain, the application will be processed manually by the ETIAS national unit of the responsible member state. The issuing or refusal of an application which has triggered a hit will take place no later than 96 hours after the application is submitted or, if additional information has been requested, 96 hours after this information has been received.
At present, British business travellers make around 5.5 million business trips to Europe every year, putting the potential bill for companies at €40 million in the first year. Authorisations remain valied for three years or until the passport to which it is attached expires.
Valentin Radev, Bulgarian minister of interior, said, "ETIAS will allow for advance checks and, if necessary, deny travel authorisation to visa-exempt third-country nationals travelling to the Schengen area. It will help improve internal security, prevent illegal immigration, protect public health and reduce delays at the borders by identifying persons who may pose a risk in one of these areas before they arrive at the external borders."
The proposal will now go to the European Parliament and Council for approval and adoption.
The new costs of the scheme will worry British travel buyers already concerned about the weakened buying power of the pound Sterling as well as any additional barriers that make business travel smooth, seamless and cost-effective.