RPT: REVIEW - Stalled Cross-Channel Traffic Over COVID-19 Offers Glimpse Of Possible Post-Brexit Chaos

BRUSSELS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 23rd December, 2020) The detection of a new strain of the coronavirus in the United Kingdom days ahead of the Brexit deadline that prompted many countries across the world to suspend air traffic with the European nation is showcasing what London could expect again in several days amid a looming final Brexit.

Kilometers of truck queues in the UK's southeastern border county of Kent and on the continent serve as a warning of chaos that Brexit could create in a few days, and may be a way to exert more pressure on London to strike a trade deal by the end of December.

The fall of the UK pound on international markets, trucks stuck in Kent and risks of shortages on supermarket shelves give the British a glimpse of what 2021 could hold for them if the interminable negotiations between London and Brussels on a free trade agreement do not lead to imminent success.

These disruptions are apparently unrelated to the UK's exit from the EU. It is instead the ultra-contagious COVID-19 mutation detected in southeastern England, London and Wales that has led more than 20 countries to suspend air traffic with the UK, and the neighboring ones to close their borders with the island nation for 48 hours starting Sunday night.

However, French Secretary of State for Transport Jean-Baptiste Djebbari said on Monday that the European states would soon introduce a bloc-wide health protocol to resume travel flows with London. The announcement gave hope that Paris would allow 2,000 to 3,000 truckers to cross the border every day as quickly as possible under certain conditions, as well as somewhat removing the prospect of a shortage of lettuce, cauliflower and citrus fruit feared by the supermarket chains in the UK in the event of a prolonged suspension of the traffic across the English Channel.

JOHNSON APPEALS TO MACRON TO ALLAY CONCERNS

Late on Monday, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that he held phone talks with French President Emmanuel Macron, adding that they both seek to resolve the current problems as fast as possible.

"I want to stress that we in the UK fully understand the anxieties of our friends about COVID, their anxieties about the new variant, but it is also true that we believe the risks of transmission by a solitary driver sitting alone in the cab are really very low. And so we hope to make progress as fast as we possibly can. I want to repeat that these delays only apply to a very small percentage of food entering the UK, and, as British supermarkets have said, their supply chains are strong and robust, so everyone can continue to shop normally," Johnson said during a televised press briefing.

The prime minister added that these delays only affected human-handled freight, which is only 20 percent of the total arriving from or departing to the European continent.

Nevertheless, Johnson's personal appeal to Macron to put aside his concerns has obviously fallen on deaf ears, since discussions were still underway between London and Paris to find a solution.

With the Brexit deadline approaching, the United Kingdom, groggy from a 12-week lockdown and an already very high death toll from COVID-19, still cannot agree with the European Union on the main stumbling blocks, including the key one � the fisheries issue.

For the Labour and Liberal opposition in the UK, much of the responsibility for the crisis lies with the Conservative prime minister, who in June refused to ask the European Union for more time to reach a post-Brexit trade deal. The idea was that on January 1, 2021, Britain would regain control over its political and economic life.

With great optimism, Johnson had let the UK citizens get a glimpse in July at the prospect of "a return to normalcy in November at the earliest and, possibly, for Christmas." However, on Saturday, the prime minister finally made a U-turn and imposed new restrictions across the country, after spending months hoping publicly for a "merry Christmas."

The Brexit negotiators seem to have concluded, one week away from the final deadline, that they cannot agree on the fisheries rights in the UK territorial waters. Though progress has been made on the level-playing field, the respect of European standards and most other points in the discussion, fishing rights seem to be the ultimate stumbling block. In addition, French fishermen threatened last weekend to block ferry traffic to the UK, which would be disastrous for the goods transportation between the EU and the island nation.

With tensions increasing, it seems that tariffs will be applied at customs on goods crossing the English Channel both ways, slowing down business traffic for some months. In every port of the channel, the authorities have put in place systems for control of documents, created buffer parking spaces, while the customs teams have been beefed up to deal with the Brexit consequences on January 1.

As for the EU, the European Commission continues to ring the alarm bell. Commissioner for the Internal Market Thierry Breton poured petrol into the fire, by telling the BFM tv broadcaster on Monday that "Brexit is a tragedy which deprives Great Britain, also confronted with the circulation of a new very contagious strain of the virus, of the assistance which the European Union could have provided it."

According to the EU commissioner, if the UK decided to stay in the European bloc, it would have had, like all European countries, up to 50 million Euros ($60.9 million) in assistance from the Next Generation EU fund to cope with the current issues triggered by the new coronavirus strain.

As for companies trading with the UK, they expected difficulties with Brexit after January 1 but did not anticipate more problems associated with the coronavirus pandemic. They have great difficulties to understand why trucks cannot cross the Channel. There is only one driver per truck that could be tested when crossing, which is not the same as having planes carrying hundreds of tourists or businessmen between the UK and the EU.

Commenting on the situation, Bernard Heemskerk, the head of the Heemskerk logistics company in Belgium's Villers-la-Ville, told Sputnik that the company also faced difficulties due to the new traffic ban, with its truckloads unable to reach the UK.

"I had to cancel four out of five shipments to England. We did not load here, in Belgium, yesterday, because I could not have repatriated my trucks and my drivers. I hope these measures taken in a rush will be lifted quickly. The crossing will be difficult enough with Brexit, without any further decision preventing us from working," Heemskerk said.

Serge Fontaine, working for the Refractory Partners construction firm in Belgium's Ghlin village, also told Sputnik about similar problems.

"We have English suppliers of raw materials and we are not sure that we will be delivered on time. This will stop the production of insulating refractory products which must then be exported. It is a big issue for us," Fontaine said.

EU INCREASING PRESSURE ON UK OVER HEALTH CRISIS

With the detection of the new coronavirus strain, the United Kingdom faces a new wave of isolation that can have a serious impact not only on the country but also a number of European nations and businesses.

Belgian member of the European Parliament Tom Vandendriessche, addressing the situation, told Sputnik that Belgium's northern Flanders region was severely affected by the temporary stoppage of goods traffic with the UK, mainly from the port of Zeebrugge.

"Trucks could still leave Belgium on ferries to England yesterday, but truckers cannot come to the continent from Dover, Newhaven or other ports. Today everything is at a standstill. For how long, nobody knows. Brussels is talking about 48 hours, or a long week until January 1, 2021," Vandendriessche said, adding that uncertainty grows, as little is known about the mutation.

According to the lawmaker, the European Commission is using this mutation to tighten the screws in the Brexit negotiations during these last several days.