First post-Brexit day for truck drivers and travelers. Nearly 200 trucks used the Channel Tunnel ” no problem “ on the night of Thursday December 31 to Friday 1er January, after the UK’s exit from the single European market and the reinstatement of customs formalities, said the management of Getlink, the tunnel operator.
After a break in maritime traffic for Christmas Eve, a first ferry from the United Kingdom after its divorce from the European Union (EU) also docked at the port of Calais at 10:15 am. Pride of Kent, of the company P&O Ferries, unloaded 36 trucks on the docks, of which three were directed for additional checks, the others being allowed to continue their journey, reported a spokesperson for the group Getlink. For the Eurotunnel, “The traffic was strong enough for an exceptional and historic night, everything went well”. “All the trucks had completed the formalities” now imposed by Brexit, “There was no rejection of trucks”, he said.
On the French side, the new formalities came into effect from midnight, with the arrival on the “Pit stop” – checkpoint for trucks leaving for the United Kingdom – a first heavy goods vehicle coming from Romania, carrying mail and parcels. In addition to the usual security and safety checks, officers scanned his license plate in front of the press. “I am very happy, it is a privilege for me”, said his driver, Toma Moise, 62, before the mayor of Calais, Natacha Bouchart, symbolically pressed the button authorizing his departure.
Formalities in both directions
Companies must now submit to formalities in both directions, and declare their goods to French customs, upstream on the Internet, via the computer system called “intelligent border”. On the basis of these declarations and a risk analysis made during the crossing, carriers are awarded either a green light allowing them to continue their journey, or an amber light, to stop them and bring them into compliance.
The CEO of the Port of Calais operating company, Jean-Marc Puissesseau, said “Serene”, Thursday, regarding traffic management, “Because for three years now, we have been able to perfect what we had prepared” to cushion Brexit.
Today, 70% of trade between the UK and the EU goes through Calais and Dunkirk. On average, 60,000 passengers and 12,000 trucks pass through it daily
Customs controls for train passengers
But it was not only in Calais that there were checks. A strange surprise awaited Eurostar passengers from London on their arrival on Friday on the platforms of the Gare du Nord in Paris: the first customs checks on goods, one of the consequences of Brexit. “In the first days of Brexit, there will be a lot of pedagogy, of explanations. We will gradually accustom travelers to these services and controls ”, explains the interregional director of customs for Ile-de-France, Jean-Roald L’Hermitte.
If the trade agreement concluded in extremis between London and Brussels does not provide for quotas or customs duties and avoids a “No deal” devastating, the upheaval is real. The free movement of goods and people to cross the border unimpeded is a thing of the past – except between Spain and the British enclave of Gibraltar, as well as between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
Thus, since 1er January, travelers arriving from the UK may be subject to quantity checks on alcohol and tobacco and value checks for other goods. “But these controls will not cause a major slowdown in flows”, assures Mr. L’Hermitte, specifying that they will not target every traveler.
“When I arrived, they asked me if I had any merchandise, food up to 300 euros. If it was, I had to pay taxes ”, says Stéphanie Bapes, a 35-year-old Frenchwoman who lives in London. “Like all French people, I bring meat, cheese or wine when I return to London. Now, meat will be banned in luggage and we will have to be careful what we bring back and check the government website. For the return, I will bring nothing suddenly, it’s fucked up “, she sighs.
Besides meat, milk and dairy products will also be banned, with a few exceptions. Flowers, fruits, vegetables and plants will be subject to phytosanitary control when they enter the EU.
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