Brexit and its implications for British, HU and any other citizens

From Reuters:

UK-EU edge towards a reset on e-gates, food and defence

Some useful proposals in there BUT not all that the majority (now) would probably have supported. 

More like the Brexit people might have been expecting instead of the Farage/Johnson cliff.

Kind of Brexit-lite.

Please, do not get me started on customs fees!

I have told everyone to NEVER send me a thing to avoid the fees;

Nothing is worth my peace of mind.

Sorry to say without even knowing what the H was going on but around the year 2000 HU seemed fantastic to me; Stores were booming, designer shops were everywhere and everyone looked neat and fresh.

IDK, was I seeing reality or not?

Now there seems like more second hand shops then one of a kind designer shops.

Perhaps I have matured and no longer give a razt... or times are truly bad.

My son in Japan sent me 24 little vials of liquid AHCC. He was charged $80: for postage and then I was charged $50; more on customs fees!

I found another source after that.

Sometimes we say we want the entire system to crash and burn because it is time for a reset then we see our bank account and thing heck no!! We worked hard to save for more years then I want to think about!

I know you can not take it with you but it would be nice to leave a little something for a tiny legacy:

Yes, the darn system is rigged!

WTH??

@fluffy2560

And Reform not like this, they keep on saying that it's a step closer on rejoining the EU.

@fluffy2560
And Reform not like this, they keep on saying that it's a step closer on rejoining the EU. - @SimCityAT

Yes, they would say that.  But they are way out of date.  The majority have Brexit regret.

My friend who is down the Reform rabbit hole is a dual (EU/UK) national YET campaigns for Reform.

It's like "I'm alright Jack but I'm prepared to stuff up everyone else".

Last night he was having kittens over the gayness of Eurovision.  It was a litany of hate really.   

I really do not know how to deal with it.

Please, do not get me started on customs fees!I have told everyone to NEVER send me a thing to avoid the fees;Nothing is worth my peace of mind.Sorry to say without even knowing what the H was going on but around the year 2000 HU seemed fantastic to me; Stores were booming, designer shops were everywhere and everyone looked neat and fresh.IDK, was I seeing reality or not?Now there seems like more second hand shops then one of a kind designer shops.Perhaps I have matured and no longer give a razt... or times are truly bad.My son in Japan sent me 24 little vials of liquid AHCC. He was charged $80: for postage and then I was charged $50; more on customs fees!I found another source after that.Sometimes we say we want the entire system to crash and burn because it is time for a reset then we see our bank account and thing heck no!! We worked hard to save for more years then I want to think about!I know you can not take it with you but it would be nice to leave a little something for a tiny legacy:Yes, the darn system is rigged!WTH?? - @Marilyn Tassy

Mrs F says the same to me.  Like late 1990s and 2000s were golden years.  Now we're in some kind of crappy doldrums becalmed in an awfully divisive and increasingly expensive world.   I am becoming more and more convinced that this is an alternate reality 😋   We might soon wake up.

Why doesn't your son buy on an EU web site using a credit card and have it shipped directly to you?

This is what I do. 

I find what I want, consider if I should buy it in the EU or UK (and bring back on the plane) or just get it on AliExpress if I can wait.  I do it all the time, particularly with car spares (and not medications or health cures).  Sometimes you can get stuff on AliExpress which simply aren't available at a reasonable price locally.    Lots of fiddly bits are available.  We've tried to buy at the dealers and they are often useless.

As I've said before, I bought an airco pressure switch for about $6 from AliExpress delivered, all taxes included.  Price here, at least 8K HUF.   

Some spares are coming from Poland or Latvia.   Not that I particularly care so long as the delivery is cheap.  Germany is quite bad for racking up delivery fees. Austria isn't that good either when it's international, even if it's next door.  Like Austria is a massive border for logistics.  Hardly so.  It's often cheaper to send packages from Poland to HU than it is from Germany to HU.   

I Google'd AHCC and it's easy to buy here (at least it matches easily on names). 

I've bought loads of stuff pre-Brexit and shipped it here from Amazon UK - tents, printers, all sorts!  No longer economically possible.

Yes 1990 to 2000 were high days for Hungary.

We hosted 4 couples to a BBQ at our Ca; home around 1990 who all were super well off in a very short time.

They owned small boutiques in Budapest, one actually had a electronic store in Vienna.

I felt like the poor friend, those couples were renting cars about 3 of them and following each other around the US on a long driving trip to see America.

Not cheap then or now to do that.

Heard some have since passed on but at least they saw something for their efforts.

Our son is a minimalist these days. I am not even sure he has his own bank account in Japan!

He not longer cares about money, his wife is the breadwinner, for now;He is thinking now, man he cracks us up and worries us too.

He cooks, does the shopping and just has his days full of thoughts, future plans for writing a book or making plans. He wanted to take over his FIL run down house in the mountains. He is not a handy person so not idea why he is even thinking of that.

As long as he is healthy and happy, we do not care if he is bum living on the beach. He was managing a casino in Vegas and made a switch for sure!

He still thinks he can always pick up where he left off if he wants to. IDK but at least he is confident in himself.

He did a one time order for me , found the mushroom tincture on sale online and just bought it fast before it sold out. $180. for 24 or so tiny one shots vials of fluid.Plus $80; for shipping and our end cost of $50; for customs; I thanked him but sad never again!

He does not care about money much, will wear holes in his socks but by a $1,700 handbag for an ex girlfriend as a break up gift so they will not feel too bad about the breakup.

Do not force me to explain because I still do not understand!

New UK > EU deal. It really has got the Brexiters having a meltdown and calling him a traitor.

https://news.sky.com/story/uk-eu-trade- … t-13370912

New UK > EU deal. It really has got the Brexiters having a meltdown and calling him a traitor.
https://news.sky.com/story/uk-eu-trade- … t-13370912 - @SimCityAT

I think it's all a bit mediocre and uninspiring.  They spent days discussing it.   And for what?  More of the same with the odd promise here and there. If they were really serious, we'd be back to free movement right now.  From midnight tonight. 

I suppose we should be grateful they at least identified some "Heads of Agreement".

,

New UK > EU deal. It really has got the Brexiters having a meltdown and calling him a traitor.
https://news.sky.com/story/uk-eu-trade- … t-13370912 - @SimCityAT

British fishermen are celebrating EU ships being allowed  back  in.

What little is  left of British steel production  is going to love this, but it's close to bankrupt so they  won't much matter. That's assuming a Labour politician is telling the truth - A bit of a wild thought.

Britain will have to make sure that it permanently aligns with European Union food safety and animal welfare rules - That's regardless  of how stupid the rules get

You know this is really going to cost the UK taxpayers whe you read :

Britain is promising to pay in to the EU as the price of deals on food, energy and students. Although no costs are set out, the text promise “an appropriate financial contribution from the United Kingdom” in return for easing checks on food exports, and the same for closer cooperation on energy.

Finally - Democracy - The referendum, the fully democratic choice made by the people of the UK is in danger. Some woud arrgue (rather stupidly) that opinion  pollsput the UK population behind re-entry, but that's  this week. I suppose  the UK could move in and out every time a new opinion poll  gets published. It's that or be a democratic nation.

So  what has that Labour party fool actually done?

His idiocy is going to cost the UK a ship-load of cash -so  much they dare not tell anyone the number, and they have gone around the UK's democric vote toescape from the EU.

, - @SimCityAT

It looks like opposition for opposition's sake.  I particularly do not like the lack of clarity on Youth Mobility or anyone's mobility.  The age restriction is really annoying.  My non-HU kids have used the other versions for Australia and Japan but now they are too old for it.   On the other hand, going back into Erasmus+ is a good idea.  Leaving that was mega dumb.

Access to the EUR 150B defence fund is good news but it's not that much spread out over the EU - a single F35C costs over $100M. If it was like EUR 500B, then it might make more sense given the threat from Russia.   Still, French, German and now British defence contractors will be making money.   It would have happened anyway - the EU needs BAE in the process.

BTW, it seems Pakistani Chinese built fighters performed very well against Indian Rafales during the recent conflict.   Maybe we (in mainland Europe NATO) should consider Chinese fighters built under licence?! 😋

e-gates is not going to make a lot of difference I suppose at the borders, especially now the EES is coming in. People will still need to register for the EES.   I see all the machines lined up at BUD airport.

HU supposedly allows use of the e-gates but it seems to be variably applied. Some months it's one way and  other months, the other way.  The signs generally say British people can use the e-gates but I stopped trying it because of the mandatory RP (Residence Permit) scanning.  Anyone with an RP doesn't need an EES and has to go to the passport counter anyway and they scan both passport and RP. 

I never understood that process as they are all linked together anyway at the Immigration Office and should be integrated at the border guards.    So how is this EU-UK pact going to help the likes of me going to the e-gates?  Looks like no change.  Queues might marginally reduce but there will be just queues at the e-gates instead of the counters.  Sometimes, I've been faster than my wife and kids (via their use of e-gates) through to bags on my mandatory manual inspection.

SPS (phytosanitary) looks useful but the fish, I don't think should be in the discussions and linked into the security and mobility matters.  It's such a small proportion of GDP, they shouldn't let that derail or complicate the greater good.

Boris Johnson and David Davies have a lot to answer for.   What a pair of nincompoops. 

I reckon within 10 years, the UK will be back in with some exemptions (no EUR for example) .  Like an EU-lite membership.

I reckon within 10 years, the UK will be back in with some exemptions (no EUR for example) . Like an EU-lite membership. - @fluffy2560

That's unlikely.

Apart from having to remove democracy in order  to do  so, or hold another referendum, Labour governments tend to last one term (if they're lucky) before the Marxist lot try to grab power and destroy everything.

To the silly deal - We know Labour has  sold out the UK's  fishing industry, and we know the deal is going  to cost so much they are scared  to tell the public, but we  don't  know who else is being sacrificed to hiis EU idiocy, or if (How much) Starmer is being paid by the EU to betray his country.

That will probably come out later.

By the way..

The Labour party might want to betry the UK, but many in the EU don't want them back.

https://news.sky.com/story/eu-foreign-a … t-13371127

At the end of the day, you have to ask why the EU,  or at least those who  don't hate the UK (Not many, by  the looks of it) would want Britain back.

There's only one answer - they need the cash that they lost when the UK escaped.

...ave to ask why the EU, or at least those who don't hate the UK (Not many, by the looks of it) would want Britain back.
There's only one answer - they need the cash that they lost when the UK escaped. - @Fred

They don't care in the EU countries about the UK mostly.  No-one talks about Brexit in HU.  They do sometimes talk about HUexit.

But it's like not talking to the other side in a divorce but defence forces strange even uncomfortable bedfellows.  But only uncomfortable for some like Conservatives and Reform.

UK  has to participate at some level to create economy of scale.  Only France and UK have nuclear weapons to create the semblance/perception of a shield to replace the US as it withdraws from Europe. 

It's not only about net contributions and much else like fish. That's just nit picking over trivialities for the electorate's entertainment.

I was always sceptical about France doing its own thing on defence but it seems that they and de Gaulle was right all along.  He determined that should have their independent deterrents and military policy.  France has got significantly useful technology - Ariane, nuclear weapons, Thales, nuclear power stations, TGV etc.   It would be unthinkable for them not to be engaged.  Same as UK contributing military aircraft, carriers, missiles and submarines to the industrial-military complex.

HU:

Came through the airport and a new change. 

I showed my passport and my RP and this time, the border guard did not scan my RP. 

In 99.9% previous journeys, my RP was always scanned. 

Why wasn't it scanned?  Mistake or something new?

BTW, there was one other instance at least a year ago, when I came into Vienna and entered Schengen there in transit for a flight back to Budapest and my RP was not scanned.  The border guard, just gave it back and waved me through.  Maybe they don't have to scan it at non-issuer border posts.

@fluffy2560

No idea anymore

@fluffy2560
No idea anymore - @SimCityAT

Yes, me neither. 

It might have just been an abberation on the part of the border guard.

HU:

Not about Brexit per se but BUD airport.   

Mrs F had to a drop off (No. 1 HU daughter) and a pickup (me) at the airport later.  We had a gap of 4h between us. 

It used to be 2 visits per day per car (based on reg plate no) before having to pay.  But now it's only 1 visit per day! 

We got caught out and had to pay4000 HUF for parking for less than 5 minutes.  What a rip off!

It would have been cheaper for Mrs F to return home, drink coffee, get the other car and go back to the airport to get me.

So the message is, watch the rule changes there at BUD.  Since they closed the departure parking, it's been chaos.

Absolute buggers.

HU:
Not about Brexit per se but BUD airport.

Mrs F had to a drop off (No. 1 HU daughter) and a pickup (me) at the airport later. We had a gap of 4h between us.

It used to be 2 visits per day per car (based on reg plate no) before having to pay. But now it's only 1 visit per day!

We got caught out and had to pay4000 HUF for parking for less than 5 minutes. What a rip off!

It would have been cheaper for Mrs F to return home, drink coffee, get the other car and go back to the airport to get me.

So the message is, watch the rule changes there at BUD. Since they closed the departure parking, it's been chaos.

Absolute buggers. - @fluffy2560

Sounds like a similar stunt they've pulled at Leeds/Bradford airport.

Sounds like a similar stunt they've pulled at Leeds/Bradford airport. - @Cynic

Stunt is a good word for it.   They built a new car park but it's large and the free parking is almost useless or non-existent as it takes too long to walk to the terminal.  Usually Mrs F and I do a dash in and dash out driveby drop off and collection.  But we were caught out this time by the ANPR (Automatic Number Plate Recognition) system.  We weren't the only ones.  Others were being spoken to via the intercom system.  So the rules must have changed very recently.

The stupid thing is the display doesn't tell you what is wrong and once you are in the queue to get out, there are cars behind you.  Dimwits haven't put pay machines near the exit gates or the exit gates should take touch payments. You have to go off and search for one and come back 5m later.   It's really typical half-assed arrangements.

By the way, I've started using my phone to pay for stuff and I've found a lot of even new pay terminals don't actually like phones as payment devices and don't work.  This seems short sighted as well.    Someone didn't have their eye on the ball.

New EU Entry/Exit system: All you need to know about digital border changes

The new system will see the manual stamping of passports scrapped in favour of visitors registering their biometric details.

To whom does the EES not apply?

New EU Entry/Exit system: All you need to know about digital border changes
The new system will see the manual stamping of passports scrapped in favour of visitors registering their biometric details.To whom does the EES not apply? - @SimCityAT

I know it's a done deal but the whole thing is absurd.

First of all, it shouldn't apply to UK citizens.   

Secondly, it's going to mean massive queues at border checkpoints.

BTW, even though it doesn't apply to people with RPs, the precious little info of what you actually have to do at the border.  Skip the machine and then go direct to the border guard or go to the machine and say you have an RP and get a "null" receipt.

Really badly explained. They need to show how it works in a series of videos about what to do.

Update:

I was at BUD airport and the EES machines are not in use.   

It was an absolute zoo with many Ryanair planes arriving at the same time. So many people.

I was kind of hoping the machines were in use so I didn't have to queue up for 20-25-30m.  All of those without RPs would be queueing at the machines. 

And of course HU/EU citizens would be at the passport scanning machines.

@fluffy2560

They were meant to go live today in Budapest.

Update:
I was at BUD airport and the EES machines are not in use. 

It was an absolute zoo with many Ryanair planes arriving at the same time. So many people.

I was kind of hoping the machines were in use so I didn't have to queue up for 20-25-30m. All of those without RPs would be queueing at the machines.

And of course HU/EU citizens would be at the passport scanning machines. - @fluffy2560

We've been told that only 3 countries have implemented it at the outset (Luxembourg, Estonia and Czech Republic).  The full system is expected to be completely live by April 2026.  Talking to some former colleagues who are working on it, current thought is that assuming it all goes ahead as planned, on day one it will be chaos, day 2 a little less chaos, and so on ad infinitum; some reckon it will be OK, others think it will never work properly because there is always a human link - what happens when you turn up, go through the passport scanning bit and nothing happens, or you turn around and the immigration/customs guys/gals are not there, or the person you are speaking to doesn't understand your dialect, at best, it will slow the system down.  As somebody who used to have to get "things" through Customs & Immigration all over the world for a living, I wouldn't hold your breath.  I've said before that an idiot in a uniform is still an idiot.

Update:
I was at BUD airport and the EES machines are not in use.

It was an absolute zoo with many Ryanair planes arriving at the same time. So many people.

I was kind of hoping the machines were in use so I didn't have to queue up for 20-25-30m. All of those without RPs would be queueing at the machines.

And of course HU/EU citizens would be at the passport scanning machines. - @fluffy2560
We've been told that only 3 countries have implemented it at the outset (Luxembourg, Estonia and Czech Republic). The full system is expected to be completely live by April 2026. Talking to some former colleagues who are working on it, current thought is that assuming it all goes ahead as planned, on day one it will be chaos, day 2 a little less chaos, and so on ad infinitum; some reckon it will be OK, others think it will never work properly because there is always a human link - what happens when you turn up, go through the passport scanning bit and nothing happens, or you turn around and the immigration/customs guys/gals are not there, or the person you are speaking to doesn't understand your dialect, at best, it will slow the system down. As somebody who used to have to get "things" through Customs & Immigration all over the world for a living, I wouldn't hold your breath. I've said before that an idiot in a uniform is still an idiot. - @Cynic

From an AI source:

The implementation of the EES in the Czech Republic, Estonia and Luxembourg.  The three countries committed to a full, day-one operational launch, has seen mixed results, with initial technical difficulties in some locations followed by reports of successful nationwide operation a month later.

Czech Republic

Implementation at Prague's Václav Havel Airport experienced significant initial friction:

1. Technical Glitches: Self-service EES kiosks designed for pre-registration were not operational on the first day, forcing border officials to manually enter data, which is time-consuming and led to major backups.
2. Long Queues: Travellers reported wait times of up to 90 minutes.
3. Temporary Measures: To ease congestion, non-EU nationals, including British and Australian travellers, were occasionally directed to use EU passport lanes, bypassing the EES enrollment process entirely for that entry.

Status Update: Despite the rocky start, reports from mid-November 2025 indicate that the Czech Republic has now successfully implemented the system nationwide.

Estonia

Estonia aimed for the EES to be operational at all border crossing points simultaneously from the start.

1. Progress: The country has largely succeeded in implementing the system across its borders.
2. Minor Delays: There were reports of some initial delays, with registration times of up to four minutes per person when manual input was necessary. Authorities had warned that longer queues were a natural part of launching such a major system change.

Overall: Estonia is cited as one of the countries that successfully rolled out the system.

Luxembourg

Luxembourg also intended to be fully prepared for a complete rollout from day one.

Progress: Similar to Estonia

Luxembourg is reported to be among the countries that have successfully implemented the EES nationwide.

Experience: There has been less information in public reports regarding specific passenger experiences or significant delays in Luxembourg potentially due to lower passenger volumes compared to major hubs like Prague Airport.

In summary, while there were initial "teething problems" and longer queues at certain entry points like Prague Airport, the three countries have largely transitioned to using the EES system within the first month of the progressive rollout. The EU expects these issues to resolve as staff become more accustomed to the system and technical glitches are addressed, with full implementation across all Schengen borders scheduled for April 10, 2026