Daniel Hannan (ECR). – Mr President, it is quite extraordinary the way in which we conduct the debate on customs and borders as though we were still living in the 19th century, as though crossing an international frontier involved greasy customs officers in peaked caps and epaulettes opening all our bags.

In fact, almost all clearance is done online and in advance these days, and that process is accelerating as technology improves. In particular, I think developments in blockchain will within a few years make all customs checks between advanced economies redundant and this is something we should greatly look forward to.

What an irony that people who see themselves as being forward—looking and futuristic are, when it comes to the question of borders with non-EU countries, the most determinedly stuck in the past.