The European Union's flagship digital border system faces a potential delay at the Channel Tunnel after the operator warned Thursday that Brussels-supplied software isn't ready for the September 6 deadline. Getlink, which runs the tunnel linking Britain and France, said the biometric component of the Entry/Exit System remains unstable for passenger vehicles — raising fresh questions about the EU's ability to deliver on its border security promises.
Chief Executive Yann Leriche didn't mince words. "I'm not going to tell you that we aren't experiencing any difficulties at all, because there's one issue that affects us all and for which there is no obvious immediate solution: the software provided by the European Union," he said. The system became fully operational across the Schengen area in April, but implementation for car passengers using the tunnel has lagged behind.
The Cost of EU Ambition
Getlink has invested €80 million preparing its terminals for the new Entry/Exit System — a substantial outlay for infrastructure required by Brussels. The Paris-based company operates the Channel Tunnel under a concession running until 2086. That's a 60-year commitment from today, and it's now shouldering the cost of EU policy choices that may not be ready on time.
The Entry/Exit System has already raised concerns among airline groups and British authorities over the risk of travel disruption during peak holiday periods. Leriche said queues at the tunnel have generally remained limited to one or two hours, compared with significantly longer delays reported in certain airports. But he acknowledged the reputational damage. "All this bad press — especially from the British side, since 80% of our tourists are British — ultimately creates a negative impression, even though, in reality, the problems are largely manageable if we do our job."
A Separate British Tax Fight
Getlink also announced it had initiated proceedings over a revaluation of business rates by the British government that tripled its annual tax bill. Leriche said the company would give the UK's new government until the end of the summer to reconsider its position before launching the first stage of a formal legal challenge. The dispute adds another layer of complexity to cross-Channel operations already strained by EU border system rollout issues.
Despite the challenges, Getlink raised its full-year earnings guidance to a range of €835 million to €870 million, compared with €820 million to €860 million previously. The upgrade assumes only limited disruption from the new entry system's rollout — a bet that the software problems won't spiral into prolonged delays.
Why This Matters:
This isn't just a technical glitch. It's a test case for whether the EU can deliver on border security without imposing unmanageable costs and disruption on member states and their neighbours. Getlink has spent €80 million on infrastructure for a system that Brussels can't get working on time. The Channel Tunnel handles millions of passengers annually, most of them British tourists whose confidence in cross-Channel travel is already fragile after years of Brexit friction and pandemic disruption. If the EU's digital border ambitions create queues and chaos, it'll confirm what critics have long argued: that Brussels designs grand schemes without ensuring they're deliverable on the ground. National governments and private operators are left to manage the consequences. The September 6 deadline is six weeks away. Either the software gets fixed, or the EU admits it overreached.