Brexit means Brexit means Doom and Gloom

I wasn’t clear. I meant takes longer than it did prior to the increased passport checks / stamping etc as we have always had French passport control in Dieppe , never in Newhaven.

The only issue with this is just like all previous government run / funded IT projects, it will be an unmitigated disaster - late (as it is already), over budget and with 10% of the functionality originally specified.

There was an interesting article recently on EES and the possible use of tablets by the French at borders like Dover.
The problem of groups of individuals in cars needing to be checked as at Dover doesn’t really seem to have been addressed in the project? I vaguely remember some comments about possible problems on the road borders in Eastern Europe but that was only for individual cars not large numbers of cars needing to board a ferry/train. So they seemed to be proceeding with terminals where the cars were parked and passengers got out of the car for the checks.
In summary the article says, the French only now have a prototype tablet but have yet to test it in real situations and it seems EES will be postponed until May 2023 (at least)

The frustrating thing about EES is that it seems impossible to get any actual official info regarding how the implementation is proceeding.

The select committee minutes that I posted make an interesting read - seems that most of it could be done ahead of time, most likely with a phone app but it is the fingerprinting which is the sticking point.

I believe the main central database system, the responsibility of eu-LISA, is complete. The individual countries need to develop their own databases to interface to the central system and to install the scanning, etc. equipment at the borders. From a quick search, I’ve not found anything on the progress or integration testing of those individual country systems. I suspect those may be one of the reasons for the implementation delays.

The borders at Dover, etc are a French responsibility and became a significant French problem rather late in the project following Brexit. There was a 2019 report on EES and external borders which highlighted the various types of borders outlined various options.
https://www.eulisa.europa.eu/Publications/Reports/WG%20on%20ICT%20Solutions%20for%20External%20Borders%20-%20Report.pdf
This 2021 Frontex document https://euagenda.eu/upload/publications/technical-guide-for-border-checks-on-ees-related-equipment.pdf gives the specifications for the self-service systems and for portable devices.

British Chambers of Commerce survey of 2,600 exporters published yesterday:

William Bain, the British Chambers of Commerce head of trade policy, said that since last summer UK exports have stalled to the EU and the rest of the world while many other leading exporting countries have enjoyed a boom.
“The combination of supply chain disruption, soaring prices, and the impact of Brexit red tape and compliance costs has had chilling effects on exports, especially for smaller firms already scarred by the pandemic,” he said.

Yes, an interesting article Geoff.
This is the full Monty.

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Commentary on FOM by Phil Moorhouse - A Different Bias

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The dividends just keep coming

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But everything else is more expensive here. Even Pascal who sold us a mower said that it is very expensive to live in France.

I think that needs a bit of back up, don’t you? :face_with_hand_over_mouth:

When have you know anyone not complain about things “being expensive”. It’s all relative…

See recent thread about finding affordable building materials. Lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, potatoes, meat (although the piddling piece of beef at 27.50 a kilo was delicious), hay, guinea pig pellets, tomato puree (1.08 for a small tube). I could go on and on and I admit not everything is more expensive. I am happy living here and have got used to the prices but I want facts and a balanced view. But sorry I forgot we are not allowed to say anything good about the UK.

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Our experience overall is that France is cheaper - but only if you compare like with like, and only if you adapt to the French way of doing things. The classic example of course is eating out: if you go for the midi menu du jour you can get 3 courses cooked from scratch in a good restaurant for what some readymade pie and cooked-from-frozen chips would cost you in a UK pub - not to mention the always far cheaper alcohol in France (go for the ouvriers option and both wine and coffee are thrown in free).

Over the 10 years we’ve lived in France, fuel has generally been a shade less in euros than the UK in pounds - so actually a lot cheaper here - as is public transport (indeed it is free in a lot of places). My daughter - a student in Strasbourg - hired a bike last year for one euro - and yes I do mean for the whole year ! She also buys 3-course meals on campus for one euro! My guess is the total cost saving of studying for a degree in France as opposed to the UK is around 50,000€.

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Food items (and clothes) are difficult to compare though, aren’t they? - precisely because of the comparing like-with-like problem. I think I’ve mentioned before somewhere on SurviveFrance that we used to buy Scottish salmon when we first moved here because it’s a lot cheaper than Brittany salmon - but then we found out about the very real differences in the way it is produced, -and the difference in taste.

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We bought our Calor Gaz barbecue from a chandlers in Spain. It cost 100 euros less than the French price even with transport costs.
I think that a lot of the problem with food is that people cannot or not prepared to cook. I’m not talking here about those poor people who have to rely on food banks, but there are many savings to be made if you have the will and the time.

Either I’m pissed or people are posting links to the same Guardian piece. :grinning:

Seriously though, inflation is rapidly rising in Europe and is now just under 9%. Is this lower than the UK, of course it is but let’s not pretend that this side of the Channel everything’s rosy.

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I agree that the meat although more expensive is better. I don’t drink wine so that is one saving I can’t make.