[ad_1]
President-elect Joe Biden has said he doesn’t want to see a protected border between Ireland and the UK.
Biden highlighted the importance of protecting the Northern Ireland peace deal in the Brexit process in a call with Boris Johnson this month after he won the US election.
The Johnson administration is seeking a trade deal with the European Union, but says it is willing to go without one.
That could complicate the situation at the sensitive Northern Ireland border with Ireland, the UK’s only land border with the EU.
Biden told reporters in Wilmington, Delaware, on Tuesday that the border must be open.
Biden (pictured today) highlighted the importance of protecting the Northern Ireland peace deal in the Brexit process in a call with Boris Johnson this month after he won the US election.
Johnson (pictured yesterday) is looking for a trade deal with the European Union, but says he’s willing to go without one
“We don’t want a protected border,” he said, responding to a question from a journalist about what he would say to Brexit negotiators.
The 1998 Good Friday peace accord that effectively ended Northern Ireland’s 30 years of sectarian violence created institutions for cross-border cooperation on the island.
Johnson introduced legislation in September that would break Northern Ireland’s protocol to the Brexit divorce treaty that seeks to avoid a physical customs border between the British province and Ireland, a member of the EU.
Biden, who has spoken out about the importance of his Irish heritage, warned months ago as a Democratic presidential candidate that the UK must abide by the 1998 accord as it withdraws from the bloc or there can be no separate US deal.
Johnson has never met with Biden, and commentators suggest the prime minister will have to work hard to foster the “special relationship” between the historic allies.
Ireland’s prime minister said on Monday that he expected the outline of a Brexit free trade deal to emerge later this week, despite what the EU negotiator called “fundamental divergences” in the talks.
It comes after truck drivers got stuck in miles of M20 queues as French authorities tested the Channel Tunnel’s border controls that they say will be in place if there is no Brexit deal.
Getlink, which operates the Channel Tunnel, said the queues were ‘not representative’ of a no-deal Brexit, as half of the available lanes were blocked.
Highways England also said it had closed entry and exit lanes at Junction 11 in Kent today due to the number of heavy vehicles parked on the shoulder.
The delays were due to French authorities “testing the impact of EU and Schengen immigration controls” at the Eurotunnel terminal in Folkstone in the event of no agreement.
Trucks queuing on the M20 in Kent, waiting to access the Eurotunnel terminal at Folkestone. French authorities tested border controls that they say will be in place if there is no Brexit deal
Cargo trucks queuing along the M20 in Kent. Getlink said the queues were ‘not representative’ of a no-deal Brexit, as half of the available lanes were blocked.
A Getlink spokesperson told MailOnline: ‘They [the tests] They were carried out by French authorities to test the impact of EU and Schengen immigration controls in the event that no agreement was reached.
“However, the queues are not representative as they only used half of the available lanes / cabs.”
The spokesperson previously said: “The backlog (of traffic) piled up this morning during tests conducted by authorities in preparation for Brexit.”
They added this afternoon that traffic was now flowing ‘smoothly’ through the terminal and services were operating normally.
It is understood that more intermittent border tests will take place before the end of the Brexit transition period on December 31.
The photos showed dozens of cargo trucks queued along the M20.
Freight trucks queuing along the M20, with two ambulances also seen on one of the lanes. Getlink said this afternoon that traffic was now flowing ‘smoothly’ through the terminal
The delays were caused by the French authorities who tested the impact of EU and Schengen immigration controls at the Eurotunnel terminal in Folkstone in the event of no deal.
Freight trucks queuing along the M20 in Kent, while half of the available lanes were blocked. It is understood that more intermittent border tests will take place before the end of the Brexit transition period on December 31.
Highways England tweeted: ‘M20 heading for the coast at J11 Westenhanger – Entrance is now closed due to heavy congestion in the area due to Eurotunnel delays.
“Due to heavy heavy vehicle congestion at this location, for safety reasons we have also closed the exit entrance at J11 Westenhanger due to the number of trucks that park along the shoulder until the exit.”
A spokesperson for the Road Transport Association told MailOnline: “There is a lot of speculation about how the highway network leading to and from ports will work with or without an agreement.
“Subsequent delays or congestion are unavoidable, but necessary at this time as testing is ongoing.”
The Channel Tunnel connects Folkestone with Coquelles near Calais in France.
