Former Tory Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng has admitted new charges faced by British holidaymakers to travel to Europe are “not ideal”.
From next summer UK tourists face a €7 fee for a visa waiver to travel to Europe under long-delayed plans. The Brexiteer ex-frontbencher suggested the Government might respond by slapping a similar charge on EU citizens visiting these shores.
But he cautioned against this. Appearing on Good Morning Britain, Mr Kwarteng was challenged by host Kate Garraway, who questioned if the public had been misled over Brexit. She told him: “People were always told that there wouldn’t be a problem and now there is.” As the hosts pondered if it was a result of Brexit, Mr Kwarteng – who stood down at the General Election having unleashed economic chaos under Liz Truss – said: “We’re not going to revisit that debate.”
He went on: “I think that the EU is essentially sending a message, you know, we’re the EU – if you’re out you have to pay to come in. Which is not ideal. But I think that we could be in a situation, I don’t know what the Labour government will do, but I imagine we could we could reciprocate, which which isn’t helpful. We should maybe get together and try and ease that sort of trouble.”
The EU is expected to launch the European Travel Information and Authorisation Scheme (ETIAS) in mid-2025 impacting travel for millions. It will mean citizens of 60 visa exempt countries – including the UK – will need to apply for travel authorisation before visiting 30 European countries.
They include popular tourist hotspots such as Spain, Portugal, France, and Italy. It will be similar to the ESTA visa waiver scheme Brits have to apply for when travelling to the United States at a cost of $21.
The EU visa waiver will come with a €7 fee for everyone between 18 and 70-years-old – but free for under-18s and over-70s. Under existing plans the visa waiver will last for three years or until a holder’s passport expires – whichever comes earliest. The scheme has been in the pipeline for many years and was first planned to be operating in 2022 but has faced multiple delays. Under the post-Brexit arrangements, it will not apply to travel between the UK and Ireland.
Addressing the rollout on Friday, the EU Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson confirmed the system will be “live in 2025”. In a speech on the EU’s new Entry/Exit System (EES) – a separate IT system for registering travellers from non-EU countries – she said: “And then the next step comes quick: ETIAS.