VSIt was one of the struggles of Brexit supporters: after leaving the country from the European Union and more than thirty years under the colors "European bordeaux", British passports will regain their pre-European color. The first "dark blue" passports will be issued starting in March, British Interior Minister Priti Patel announced on February 22.
First photos of Brexit blue passport as Boris Johnson shows off early batch https://t.co/jAjHJ1M3jJ https://t.co/tgO9kxXYcv
"Leaving the European Union has given us a unique opportunity to restore our national identity and chart a new course in the world", writes Priti Patel in a communicated. "Returning to the iconic blue and gold design, the UK passport will once again be linked to our national identity and I look forward to traveling with it", she added.
This new passport will also be "The greenest", the ministry added, the carbon footprint linked to its production being reduced to zero, and also the safest, thanks to the use of innovative technologies.
Made in Tczew, Poland
Nodding to supporters of Brexit, it is the French group Gemalto which won the 260 million pound contract over eleven years (311 million euros) against its British competitor De La Rue, which claims to have been forced to lay off 170 employees. In addition, Gemalto will produce these passports at its site in Tczew, Poland.
Irony goes supercharged as the new blue passport is made in Poland by French / Dutch firm and UK passport maker De La… https://t.co/qXXiHIdHeV
“I don't remember the slogan“ British jobs for Polish workers ”, but here it is in action. In a way, it is a success ", journalist Paul Lewis writes with irony.
This paradox has not escaped commentators. "I like the new British passport printed in Poland and designed in France", said former MEP Seb Dance. "Of course, the previous – which allowed the British to work, study and retire freely on their own continent – was probably more useful ".
I actually like the French-designed Polish-printed new UK passport. Of course the previous one – which allowed Bri… https://t.co/hrhQCleKZY
Theresa May had defended this return to the color of yesteryear
A seemingly innocuous subject, the color of the passport had already ignited the debates in Parliament. "I think it's wonderful if people find this blue passport, Boris Johnson said in December 2017 on ITV News. I remember a sense of personal loss and outrage when he was replaced. " Theresa May, then head of government, had defended this return to the color of yesteryear, judging that the passport was the "Mark of our independence and our sovereignty". The pro-Brexit tabloid The sun had campaigned for the return of the color blue, first used in 1921 on passports, then abandoned in 1988.
However, there was no requirement for London to change the color of its passports, as EU member states such as Croatia had blue passports. Scottish Prime Minister Nicola Sturgeon mocked"Retrograde and narrow obsession in favor of a blue passport".
The humorous account titled Parody Boris Johnson cracked a Tweet assassin : “Everyone who voted for Brexit knew exactly what they were voting for. Wait three times longer at passport control, with a passport that has created jobs in Poland and layoffs in Britain. "
