U.S. Preclearance May Soon Be Available in Europe

According a document released by the German government, U.S. preclearance facilities could be coming to the U.K. and other European countries.

Travelers may soon be able to pass through U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) at a number of airports in the U.K. and Europe. The Guardian reports that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has approached five countries about operating preclearance facilities at their international airports.

The plans were outlined in a parliamentary response document to Germany’s Left party, and later obtained by The Guardian. The response from the German government, written in German, has been made available on the website of Germany’s Left party Member of Parliament Andrej Hunko.

The five European countries being considered for preclearance sites are France, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden and the U.K. Of those being considered, the only one to have welcomed the proposal is Britain.

According to a fact sheet provided on the CBP website, the U.S. has operated preclearance facilities outside of its borders since 1952. Currently, CBP has preclearance operations in Aruba, Bermuda, the Bahamas, Ireland and Canada. The most recent facility opened in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the UAE, in January 2014, much to the opposition of airlines and pilots groups.

The 11-page document shared by the Left party, consisting of 40 questions and answers, outlined plans that would allow CBP to open preclearance facilities at major airports throughout Europe. However, per the German document, the U.K. was the only one that “sees the advantages in allowing this procedure.”

The document also displayed some derision among the other countries that were approached. France has reportedly requested financial support from the U.S. before opening a preclearance facility, while the Netherlands are said to be exploring the financial and legal implications. According to the document, as reported by The Guardian, Sweden is skeptical and calling for “for further analysis of the consequences on the Schengen agreement and the European convention on human rights.”

Officials from Germany’s Left party were quick to raise their voices against the proposed plans. “We cannot accept U.S. authorities obtaining quasi-operative competences at European airports,” Hunko wrote on his website. “After recent revelations on U.S. espionage activity, this would send out the wrong signal.”

Hunko also expressed concerns about other intelligence programs between the U.S. and the EU, including the Terrorist Finance Tracking Program.

Although no formal request or proposal has been submitted, DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson said he has made it a priority to increase the number of preclearance facilities around the world. “I regard it as a homeland security imperative to build more,” Johnson told the Council of Foreign Relations last week, according to The Telegraph. “To use a football metaphor, I’d much rather defend our end-zone from the 50-yard line than from our 1-yard line. I want to take every opportunity we have to expand homeland security beyond our borders.”

U.K. officials have reportedly not ruled out the possibility for preclearance facilities opening in British airports, but claim they have yet to receive a request from an airport to implement such operations.

“Preclearance, which is already in operation in Ireland, is a means of speeding the entry of passengers through U.S. airports,” an unidentified Home Office spokesperson told The Telegraph. “Pre-clearance checks are entirely separate from aviation security screening. The government has not received any request from a U.K. airport to introduce such measures.”

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