Rishi Sunak wants a deal with the European Union to make post-Brexit travel to Europe easier for Britons, it has been claimed.
The prime minister hopes to reach an agreement to let British passport holders use EU e-gates for checks, according to Bloomberg.
It would remove the need for the post-Brexit manual checks - including passport stamps - that have led to long queues during peak times.
Bloomberg reported that a formal approach had not yet been made to Brussels but it was being spoken about informally with diplomats.
The prime minister’s spokesman said: “We will always want to find ways to minimise unnecessary waiting times.”
Asked if the PM was seeking a deal on EU e-gates, his spokesman replied: “We are working closely with the European Commission and member states to understand the impacts of the introduction of the entry-exit system for British citizens.
“Our priority is always to minimise unnecessary delays for British passengers and some countries - such as Spain - already allow British citizens to use e-gates on arrival in certain circumstances.”
The spokesman said there were no “live discussions” taking place between Westminster and Brussels.
But he added: “Of course, we will always want to find ways to minimise unnecessary waiting times for British nationals.”
The EU only allows citizens from the bloc and affiliated European Economic Area nations to use its passport e-gates.
Extending the rules to Brits would violate the principle that post-Brexit, the UK should not maintain privileges of EU membership, Bloomberg reported.
The UK already allows EU visitors to use e-gates in Britain and Spain unilaterally decided to let Brits use its e-gates last year.
Sunak is due to meet European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at the G7 summit in Japan in May.
Relations with the EU have softened since Sunak became prime minister. He and von der Leyan agreed a new post-Brexit deal with Northern Ireland in a bid to ease controversial border pressures.
The British government is still wrangling with the consequences of leaving the European Union amid growing concern over the decision.
On Monday, a three-hour debate took place in Westminster Hall triggered by 183,000 people signing a petition calling for a public inquiry into the impact of Brexit.
Brexit has been cited repeatedly as the UK’s economy is expected to perform the worst out of any G20 economies apart from Russia this year and next, an IMF analysis has suggested.
It comes as a bombshell new book revealed that on the night of the EU referendum, Boris Johnson admitted they had “no plan”.
The Vote Leave campaigner said he “didn’t think it would happen” as Brits backed Brexit by 52% to 48%, according to Johnson at 10.
An extract from the book by Anthony Seldon and Raymond Newell, trailed in The Times, reveals Johnson’s first thoughts when Leave won.
“What the hell is happening?” he kept saying, before it hit him: “Oh shit, we’ve got no plan. We haven’t thought about it.
“I didn’t think it would happen. Holy crap, what will we do?”