‘Petty in the extreme’ VDL accused of ‘political vindictiveness’ as EU rules to hit Brits – Daily Express

The European Travel and Information and Authorisation Scheme (ETIAS) enables citizens from 61 countries outside of the EU to visit the Schengen area with travel pre-authorisation. The European Commission has confirmed the UK will be part of ETIAS from late 2022 because it is no longer a member of the bloc - meaning travellers will have to pay a 7 (6) visa fee for access to all 26 Schengen EU countries. This will be a one-off payment for three years and will have to be paid again once this period expires.

UK travellers will also have to fill out an application form, requiring them to provide biometric passport information and travel details, as well as answers to some security questions.

They are being advised to make this application at least 72 hours before they travel to avoid any unwanted delays.

Those aged under 18 or over 70 will not have to make an application.

But the EU has come under fierce attack from leading Brexiteer and Ben Habib who branded the rules, which came into force before the UK left the EU, "petty in the extreme".

The former Brexit Party MEP warned the 7 fee "will only serve to damage Europeans" as the continent "needs British tourism".

He also took a massive swipe at Ursula von der Leyen, accusing the European Commission President of playing out "political vindictiveness".

Mr Habib told Express.co.uk: "This is vintage EU. Petty in the extreme.

"In this case the 7 charge will only serve to damage Europeans.

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"European should be welcome to spend their money here."

Britain formally left the EU on January 1, 2021, after an eleventh-hour post-Brexit trade deal was signed between the two sides following months of wrangling.

But the UK's departure from the bloc now means Britons are being hit with EU rules that already applied to dozens of nations located outside of the bloc.

This includes travel into the Schengen Areas, which is a zone comprising 26 European countries that have officially abolished all passports and all other types of border control at their mutual borders.

The area mostly functions as a single jurisdiction for international travel purposes, with a common visa policy.

The Schengen Area comprises 22 EU member states and from the five that are not part of it, four of them (Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, and Romania) are legally obliged to join the area in the future.

Ireland maintains an opt-out and therefore operates its own visa policy.

Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland - the four European Free Trade Association (EFTA) member states - are non-EU members but have signed agreements in association with the Schengen Agreement.

In addition, three European micro-states Monaco, San Marino, and the Vatican City - are considered de facto members of the Schengen Area because of the huge difficulty in travelling to or from them without transiting through at least one Schengen member country.

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'Petty in the extreme' VDL accused of 'political vindictiveness' as EU rules to hit Brits - Daily Express