Published on 12/10/2020 at 11:31 am
–
While the risk of no deal increases, the European Union is not sitting idly by. In the event that it fails to secure a post-Brexit trade deal with the UK by the end of the year, the EU has unveiled emergency measures on fisheries, aviation safety as well as road and air transport. “There is no guarantee that if an agreement is reached it can come into effect in time. Our responsibility is to be prepared for all eventualities, including that of not having an agreement in place with the UK as of January 1st. 2021 “, explained the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, the day after a dinner with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, during which no common ground could be found.
In France, border police and customs will be ready to ensure the transit of travelers and goods to the United Kingdom when it leaves the common market after January 1, ministers Clément Beaune and Olivier Dussopt assured Thursday. “We are ready,” said Secretary of State for European Affairs Clément Beaune, after a visit to the Eurostar cross-Channel high-speed train terminal, Gare du Nord in Paris. “We will obviously check until the last hour of the last day that our preparations are there. But it is important to check in the ports, in the stations, in the airports that we are ready for this change which will occur in any case. next January 1, “he said.
>> Read also – Brexit: faced with the risk of No Deal, the United Kingdom wants to stock up on drugs
“Whatever happens, on January 1 we will be in a different world whether there is an agreement or there is no agreement with the UK”, remarked Mr Beaune, in reference to the difficult negotiations underway on Brexit between London and Brussels. “There will be a number of practical aspects that will change,” he added. “There will be enhanced controls.”
>> Subscribe to our Companies and Markets newsletter
The move to the UK is unlikely to change too much for EU citizens, who will be able to continue to use Parafe automatic passport control systems. There will then be random customs checks, before boarding or during the journey. Europeans will be able to travel to the United Kingdom for three months without formalities. The British have not yet decided whether they will require a visa for a longer period, noted Beaune. In any event, they will have to have a passport from October 1, 2021. The identity card will no longer be sufficient to cross the Channel.
>> Read also – The devastating consequences of a no-deal Brexit for the British
“Our device is ready, and it is (…) calibrated to cope with normal traffic”, noted the Minister Delegate in charge of Public Accounts Olivier Dussopt, recalling that the State had “recruited 600 additional customs officers to cope to Brexit “. The low traffic due to the pandemic allows a kind of break-in while waiting for better days, noted the ministers. Eurostar currently only carries 5% of regular travelers, according to its managing director Jacques Damas.
–
