“The manifest unpreparedness” of Brexit by the British poses “real risks” for the management of cross-Channel traffic in the coming weeks, warns the prefect of the North, while noting the progress underway, in a letter addressed to Prime Minister Jean Castex.
“The technical changeover of the United Kingdom to third country status is technically successful on the French side but fishing for a manifest lack of preparation on the British side”, deplores the prefect of the North defense and security zone, Michel Lalande, in this letter dated January 14, which takes stock of the consequences of Brexit two weeks after its entry into force.
This situation entails “real risks in the event of a resumption of activity”, he notes, while heavy goods traffic between the United Kingdom and France begins to gain strength after the beginning of January. very calm.
Trucks sometimes blocked for more than 60 hours
“The low level of traffic, the relative absence of goods transported for import, but also the initial flexibility of the State services in formal controls mask the difficulties which are nevertheless very real”, the storage car parks at the port of Calais and at the exit of the Channel Tunnel having already found themselves saturated several times, worries Mr. Lalande.
He underlines that many heavy goods vehicles remain blocked there during “disproportionate delays”, sometimes exceeding 60 hours.
Among the problems raised is the fact that “the health certificates completed by the British authorities are incomplete and unsatisfactory, leading many heavy goods vehicles to disembark in France while the absence of this formality cannot be regulated”.
Another problem weakening the “smart border” system, which must allow document control during the crossing, is that agents of transport companies often scan the wrong documents.
They drive to French car parks where heavy goods vehicles are stored which must be regularized 50% of trucks which should not be there.
An improvement despite everything
Recalling “the constant dialogue between the French and British services” in the face of these difficulties, Mr. Lalande indicates that the situation has improved since the beginning of the week, in particular due to a tightening of controls on the French side.
If Tuesday 12, 30 heavy goods vehicles had been escorted across the Channel for lack of formalities, no more trucks without a health certificate were to be deplored on Wednesday, the transport companies having “fully assumed their responsibilities”, he writes.
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Concerns about fishing
In his letter, the prefect also points to the concern that continues to reign in the French fishing sector, the terms of application of the cooperation agreement taking time to become clear. He said he feared that the port of Boulogne-sur-Mer might lose “its status as the leading French fishing port in the long term, given the foreseeable reduction in the landings” of seafood. A meeting on the same topic was held. Friday in Boulogne between representatives of the State and fishermen.
The sub-prefect in charge of Brexit, Paul-François Schira, warned that the controls, which for the moment allowed “the goods to pass if there was no health risk observed”, were going to be tightened : “For certain documentary non-conformities, we will reject the goods or destroy them”. It is a question of applying regulations “increasingly better and therefore with the consequences which are attached to them”.
“When a third-party product returns to France, it must have these health documents which at least assure us of the nature and quality of the products”, corroborated the deputy director of Food, forest agriculture.
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