New Year’s rules for Anglo-European trade

New Year’s rules for Anglo-European trade

Xinhua News Agency Author: 2021-01-03

■ This is the port of Calais, France, taken on January 1. In the early morning of the 1st, a total of about 200 heavy trucks traveled between the European continent and the United Kingdom through the port of France. Xinhua News Agency

According to the Xinhua news agency, at 0:00 on January 1, 2021, Britain and the European Union began to implement the agreement on future relations between Britain and Europe. In the early morning of January 1, nearly 200 cargo trucks in the port of Calais, France, cleared customs without a hitch.

“all the best”

The European company Getlink, which operates the infrastructure of the Channel Tunnel, said that in the early morning of day 1, a total of about 200 heavy trucks traveled between the European continent and the United Kingdom through the port of France and Canada .

On the 1st, the first truck from the port of Calais to the UK came from Romania. Calais Mayor Natasha Bouchard gave the car a symbolic order. The first truck to enter France from the UK was driven by a Ukrainian driver Victor. He smiled and told the media: “My colleagues in the UK congratulate me that I am the first person to drive to Europe (continent) (after the agreement goes into effect).”

Agence France-Presse reported that in Dover, the driver of a very small number of vehicles, including a vehicle with a Polish license plate, did not show the results of the new corona virus test and was asked to undergo a rapid test. virus in the port. In the port of Calais, France, after 36 trucks arrived on a ferry, three of them had to undergo additional inspections.

Alan Lee, a 52-year-old Dover resident, told AFP: “It’s great to see that the port is in place and there are no long lines of vehicles.”

Approximately 70% of Anglo-European commercial goods pass through the ports of Calais and Dunkerque in France. There are 60,000 passengers and 12,000 trucks traveling to and from the English Channel every day.

After nine months of negotiations, the UK and the EU reached an agreement on the future relationship between the two parties on December 24, 2020. The British Parliament approved the agreement bill on December 30. The EU has not yet ratified the agreement and agreed to implement it temporarily from January 1 to February 28, 2021.

Without fear of “Brexit”

The President of the Port of Calais, Jean-Marc Piceso, said on December 31, 2020: “We don’t want to see Brexit, but we are not afraid of it.” The French side has been working on Brexit for the past three years. In preparation for the end of the transition period, approximately US $ 15.6 million has been invested and the customs clearance system has been tested and put into operation many times.

Agence France-Presse reported that the French side developed the “smart border” system. The shipping company must fill out the cargo information in the system in advance and only need to complete a quick scan when crossing the border. After scanning, the green light is displayed, the truck is passing, and if the orange light is on, the truck needs more inspections.

The British Road Transport Association told the British “Times” this week that after the UK-Europe Future Relations Agreement enters into force, to ensure normal freight transport, 220 million forms of various types every year.

The headline on the front page of the British newspaper “Brexit” “Daily Express” from January 1, 2021 is “Our future, our Britain, our destiny”. The newspaper carried an article by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson that day. The article read: “We need to seize the ‘Brexit’ opportunity to fully develop the industries we are good at.”

The British newspaper The Independent, which tends to “stay in Europe”, expressed concern about the uncertainty of the UK’s development prospects, and asked in the daily issued on day 1: “Regain freedom or fend for yourself? ? “

Opinion polls show that, compared to the “Brexit” issue, the British people are now more concerned about the new corona epidemic. In the UK, more than 73,500 people have died from the new coronavirus infection. Johnson recently reminded the public that it won’t be easy for some time.

Publisher: Zhenglong