Time running out for UK’s international hauliers
Biometric checks will be introduced at Dover and other British ports
Restrictions on the number of days British commercial drivers can spend within Europe’s Schengen Area are now threatening the future of the UK’s international haulage industry, industry representatives have warned.
The so-called ‘90/180 rule’ dictates that UK nationals can only spend 90 out of every 180 days within the Schengen Area, which comprises 25 EU member states (all excluding Cyprus and Ireland), plus Norway, Switzerland, Iceland and Liechtenstein.
The rule, a result of Brexit, already applies, but has only seen limited enforcement: few customs and immigration officials have the time and inclination to go through all the entry and exit stamps in a driver’s passport to tot up whether or not more than half of the last 180 days have been spent within Schengen.
This was set to change last year, with the introduction of the biometric-driven European Entry/Exit System (EES), which was originally designed to go live in November but was postponed. It is now expected to launch in October 2025.
On their first crossing into the zone, British citizens will have their biometric data gathered, and this will then be checked every time they cross in or out and those who have exceeded the 90-day limit will be stopped automatically.
In what may be a last chance to reform the restrictions prior to the EES launch, the British government is meeting with EU leaders for a summit on 19 May, where industry hopes the issue will be a key topic for discussion alongside defence.
The Road Haulage Association (RHA) has warned that GB-based hauliers supporting British touring artists performing within Europe will be particularly affected, as well as coach operators on international work. It is calling for the government to strike a deal to secure visa-free travel for UK professional drivers.
“We’ve been working with and supporting other stakeholders to get it on the government’s agenda ahead of their talks with the EU next month,” said RHA managing director Richard Smith in a bulletin in late April.
“And we’re pleased they’ve been receptive – making the case for ease of access for touring artists and their equipment amongst a raft of proposals to negotiate with the EU.
“However, some reports suggest that a number of EU member states have balked at our government’s asks with the UK remaining firm footed that it’s not seeking to rejoin the single market or a customs union.”
He warned: “British touring artists have much more red tape to cut through than their EU-based counterparts with different immigration requirements across nation states; whereas it’s far more straightforward for overseas performers dealing with the one set of rules to come into the UK. The EU will be aware of this during negotiations.
“However, they are keen to secure a deal that supports European and British 18- to 30-year-olds to travel and work freely between the territories – with key states said to view this as a priority. This gives us and UK businesses concerned about the impact of the Entry/ Exit System enforcement hope that a visa / exemption scheme will be a resolution…
“We’re asking for performing artists and their crews – including hauliers / coach operators – to be able to travel visa-free between the UK and EU. Other measures could include exempting vehicles and merchandise from post-Brexit measures and reducing costs for customs documents.”
He added: “British businesses will take heart that there is willingness between the UK and EU to be collaborative and find ways to improve mutual benefit for their people and economies. They will hope that the pull of British touring artists which remains ever-strong across the Channel will find favour in negotiations – with the parties striking a deal to ensure that tours can go ahead fully supported.”
Meanwhile writing on LinkedIn, Kevin Hopper, managing director of long-established international trucking company Brian Yeardley Continental, contrasted the urgent and decisive action taken by the government to safeguard jobs and capability at British Steel Scunthorpe with the consequences for international hauliers should the Schengen issues fail to be resolved, with the jobs of many drivers in the sector potentially under threat.
He said: “If there is not an exemption for British international hauliers and their drivers as regards the Schengen 90/180 day rule, it will devastate the UK international transport community, stopping UK event trucking companies and UK European general cargo companies and their drivers carrying out their daily essential services to British industry, and the world’s biggest music artists and their suppliers who deliver music tours across Europe.”
He said he was working with the RHA and others in the general cargo and live events sectors to bring the issue to the UK government’s attention.
“I hope the UK government and DfT don’t do the same as they did in Brexit and promise the UK international transport community everything and deliver nothing as regards a transport agreement which worked for the UK and European transport community,” he added.
Backing an open letter calling for dialogue at the 19 May summit on concerns raised by the music and theatre industries, touring logistics specialist KB Event said: “As a company deeply rooted in live music, we know first-hand how vital seamless cross-border touring is to our industry.”
If fully enforced as they stand, the new restrictions will come as a further blow to the tour logistics industry, which finds itself already constrained by cabotage restrictions.
In late April, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra said it had to mothball its two custom-built liveried Volvo trucks, which had been purchased in 2018, part funded by a “generous donor”, to transport its instruments on international tours.
Under the post-Brexit UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA), British-registered trucks, including those operated by the orchestra, can only make limited stops in the EU before returning home.
RPO managing director Sarah Bardwell told the Times newspaper: “It is frustrating for us that we can only do these three stops and even then there are very strict rules about which country you go to first and then onto.”
She said that the combination of the 90/180 rule and the three-stop restriction had made touring a “massive issue for us”.
