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Even if the trucks at Dover are rolling again, thanks to the corona tests, the delay is enormous. For many drivers that means: Christmas in a truck. The EU Transport Commissioner blames France for the chaos.
Something’s on the move again: after a days stop in south-east England, trucks can return to continental Europe from the British port of Dover and via the Eurotunnel. But things are moving very slowly. Thousands of vehicles are still waiting on the British side, including a few hundred from Germany.
EU Transport Commissioner Adina Valean blamed France for the chaos: “I condemn that France goes against our recommendations and returns us to the situation we were in in March, when supply chains were broken,” she wrote Valean. Twitter.
A negative corona test is required to enter the EU. British Transport Secretary Grant Shapps asked drivers to be patient. He warned that they had to follow instructions “to get the traffic moving.” “It will take days instead of weeks, but it will take patience,” Shapps told the BBC. Many truck drivers still won’t reach their families at Christmas. Shapps tweeted that there were more serious delays despite the start of testing. He urged truckers to continue avoiding Kent. “Getting to the area will slow down your journey.”
British-French borders must remain open
Shapps reiterated that the Franco-British border should remain open during the holidays. Traffic should also continue through the Eurotunnel. Shapps wrote on Twitter that he spoke with his French colleague Jean-Baptiste Djebbari. “We have agreed that the Franco-British border at the Eurotunnel, Dover and Calais should remain open during Christmas so that truckers and citizens can return home as soon as possible.” Djebbari confirmed the deal.
Commissioner Valean praised the British side. Authorities would test 300 drivers per hour. Valean called on the other EU member states to relax rest periods and lift bans on driving during the holidays so that drivers can return to their families in time for Christmas.
France closed its borders after a new, possibly even more contagious, variant of the coronavirus spread across the UK. Numerous trucks quickly got stuck in the region around Dover. After days of negotiations, an agreement was reached. But first the British authorities had to install test stations. The military also assisted with some 170 emergency services.
Now France also wants to help clear the jam and sent firefighters and 10,000 corona tests across the English Channel. 15 members of the fire brigade and 10 civil defense volunteers should help test truck drivers in the southeastern English port city, the prefecture of the Hauts-de-France region in northern France announced.
Clashes in Dover
Because there was no progress for a long time despite the announcement of the reopening of the borders, some drivers lost patience. There were clashes with police in Dover and at least one man was arrested. The situation was still tense, he said Wednesday night from the local government. A police car is said to have been damaged at the disused Manston Airport, about 30 kilometers north of Dover, where more than 3,700 vehicles were parked.
