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Original title: Storage, multi-departmental exercises, standby patrol boats … the reason for this in the UK is not simple
On December 13, trucks lined up at the Port of Dover, Kent, England Xinhua News Agency / European News AgencyA building tide is sweeping the UK!
On the road outside of Dover, the main ferry port of Kent, England, a large number of trucks lined up on the 12th and stretched for almost 5 kilometers.
The day before, there was a truck congestion scene in Calais, a port city in northern France, and the line was about 10 miles long. Local officials said the number of trucks bound for Calais and the Channel Tunnel has increased by 50% in the past three weeks.
The transition period for the British “Brexit” ends on December 31 this year and negotiations on future relations between the UK and the EU are pending. As the ‘no-deal Brexit’ draws ever closer, many British supermarkets are busy hoarding food and other commodities, especially suppliers of medicines and medical equipment, and must make all preparations for possible changes in the new epidemic of the crown.
Britain “Brexit” on January 31 this year, entering an 11-month transition period. Britain and Europe started negotiations on future relations with a trade deal as the core in March and hope to reach an agreement during the transition period. If an agreement is not reached before December 31, there will be a “hard Brexit” and bilateral trade will return to the framework of the World Trade Organization from 2021, re-implementing border inspections and charging tariffs. This means that the cost of trade between Britain and Europe will increase by then, and the negative impact on the UK may be more serious.
Since December, the leaders of Britain and Europe have communicated frequently. Both sides said last week that the possibility of not reaching a trade agreement is greater.
On December 9, at the European Union headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, European Commission President Von der Lein (right) welcomes visiting British Prime Minister Johnson. Xinhua News Agency / AFPMain differences
Trade negotiations between the UK and the EU dragged on for nine months and the main differences were fisheries issues, level playing field and contract performance management.
Regarding fisheries issues, the conflicts between the two parties are mainly focused on access and quotas for fishing vessels from EU countries in British waters.
For a long time, according to the EU Common Fisheries Policy, the majority of fishing quotas in British waters have been allocated to EU countries. The UK believes this is unfair and hopes to correct this “mistake” through “Brexit”, regain control of fishery resources in its own waters and prioritize British fishing vessels.
David Frost, who is in charge of trade negotiations on behalf of the UK, once told the British Parliament that the issue of fisheries may be the biggest obstacle at the negotiating table between Britain and Europe. In fact, the contribution of fisheries to the British economy is not significant. Statistics released on October 5 show that marine fisheries accounted for just 5.5% of the total value added (GVA) of UK agriculture, forestry and fisheries in 2019.
The thorny issue of fishing is that the EU asked the UK to allow EU fishermen to continue fishing in British waters in the future, while some British “Brexit” factions regard fishing rights as an “important symbol. “of national sovereignty. Johnson is very sensitive to this. Analysts believe Johnson may need to use fishing as his “military medal” to manage the Brexit process.
On December 11, fishing boats docked in the port of Bridlington, England. Xinhua News Agency / AFPThe core of the level playing field is state subsidies. The EU believes that if the UK wants to enter the EU single market with a population of more than 400 million people, it must abide by EU rules and require the UK to keep up with the EU in terms of environmental, labor and social standards, and state subsidies. Otherwise, UK companies can rely on their own more relaxed supervision and Excessive domestic subsidies gain an additional competitive advantage, putting EU products at a disadvantage.
Britain hopes for more autonomy and refuses to accept the EU’s strict requirements on state subsidies.
In terms of performance management, the British government announced the Internal Market Act in September, in which clauses involving Northern Ireland were deemed to invalidate the ‘Brexit’ deal, sparking controversy. On the 8th of this month, the United Kingdom and the European Union announced that the two parties had reached an agreement in principle on the pending issues related to the implementation of the “Brexit” agreement, especially as regards the border between Ireland and North Ireland. The UK agreed to revoke the disputed clause from national law.
Hard work
On December 13, the President of the European Commission, Von der Lein, delivered a speech in Brussels. Xinhua News Agency / European News AgencyOn December 13, the President of the European Commission, Von der Lein, and British Prime Minister Johnson again had a phone call about the negotiations between Britain and Europe. She delivered a video speech at noon that day, saying that she and Johnson unanimously decided to authorize their teams to continue negotiations and strive to reach an agreement in the little time left. “Although the negotiating teams on both sides have been exhausted by continuous work, both parties have a responsibility to work harder.”
Ding Chun, director of the Center for European Studies at Fudan University, believes that from the perspective of meetings between UK and European leaders and promoting high-level negotiations, the UK and Europe do not want to see a ” No-deal Brexit “and are currently in the” final pressure “stage. The two parties may eventually make some changes and announce an early or framework trade agreement before the end of the year, and postpone the relevant technical details before “polishing.”
Wang Zhanpeng, director of the Center for British Studies at Beijing University of Foreign Studies, believes the two sides are very likely to form a relatively vague framework for state subsidies regarding the stalemate in trade talks between the UK and the US. EU, while the EU can make compromises on the fishing side. The two parts will gradually enrich the details of this vague framework in the next year to several years; Even if they may face obstacles in real operations such as short-term customs declaration, the two parties must form a temporary agreement to ensure the unhindered flow of supplies and goods against the epidemic related to people’s livelihood. .
This is a fishing boat docked at Shoreham-on-Sea pier in southern England on October 11. Shoreham-on-Sea is one of the British government designated fishing ports Xinhua News AgencyThe British people are not optimistic about the prospect of “Brexit”. The results of a survey published on the 13th by the British consultancy “British Thinking” showed that 66% of those surveyed expected a “no-deal Brexit”, 58% thought it would have a negative impact on their lives and only 26% I thought not. Their lives.
The Sunday Times reported that as the possibility of a “no-deal Brexit” increases, the British government has signed an agreement with four freight forwarding companies to organize 3,000 trucks to transport food and medicine to the UK each week; 16 government departments will send personnel Participate in the exercise scheduled for the 16th to deal with the worst situation, several officials approved in advance hundreds of emergency plans to deal with “all foreseeable scenarios.”
In addition, four British patrol boats have been on standby. Once the negotiations between Britain and Europe fail, they will protect fish in British waters from the first day after the end of the transition period “Brexit” on the 31st.
