Thousands of trucks must cross the Channel on Monday. The return of customs formalities raises fears of disruption.
The return of customs formalities that have disappeared for decades could cause disruptions from Monday, with the resumption of activity at full speed.
AFP
This is the first real test after leaving the single market and the customs union: the United Kingdom will see from Monday whether the border crossing goes smoothly, thousands of trucks having to cross the Channel after a week -end very quiet.
The success of the post-Brexit period is crucial for Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who also has other pressing issues to deal with. The United Kingdom is indeed hit hard by the coronavirus, with more than 75,000 dead, one of the worst results in Europe, and by the economic crisis that accompanies it.
Brexit also threatens the unity of the kingdom, with Scottish Prime Minister Nicola Sturgeon pressuring the British government to grant her the right to hold a new referendum on her nation’s independence. If she wins, she promises that Scotland, which voted 62% against Brexit in 2016, will join the European Union.
Perturbations
The UK’s new life outside the EU, after almost half a century of membership, has so far started off without a hitch. The trade agreement signed on Christmas Eve between London and the European Union, a week before the end of the post-Brexit transition period, avoids customs duties and quotas, which raised fears of chaos at the border .
But the return of customs formalities that have disappeared for decades could cause disruptions from Monday, with the resumption of activity at full speed. To be authorized to drive in Kent, lorry drivers bound for Europe must have an authorization, issued electronically, proving that they have previously completed the necessary formalities. Violators face fines of 300 pounds sterling (363 francs).
The government is concerned that truck drivers will travel to Dover without this sesame, causing delays and blockages in and around the port. He estimates that most large companies are ready for the new rules, but that up to half of small and medium-sized businesses may not have taken the necessary steps to export to Europe.
To avoid congestion, the government has provided for huge parking lots and permits to enter the Kent region. Arrived Friday morning on British soil, Alexandru Rareci, a truck driver from Romania, told AFP that he had had a “completely normal” trip. For the return, however, he confided that he had never heard of the driving license in Kent.
Mandatory testing
The new customs formalities are in addition to the obligation for truck drivers to present a negative test for Covid-19 within 72 hours before crossing the Channel, a measure imposed by France to avoid the importation of new cases.
The UK Department for Transport on Saturday announced the establishment of 20 new testing sites across the country over the weekend, followed by more this week. “These new centers, both at gas stations and at businesses, will help reduce delays,” Transport Minister Grant Schapps said in a statement.
The goal is to avoid a return to the chaotic scenes experienced around Christmas, when thousands of trucks were stranded in the United Kingdom after the border closure decided by France due to the outbreak of cases linked to a variant of the coronavirus . The trucks were finally able to leave after a massive screening operation involving more than a thousand soldiers.
Unlike the EU, the UK government has decided to gradually implement customs controls. They will only affect all goods from July.
Posted today at 04:30-
