Brexit is back. The British have now left the European Union, but the two parties are still arguing about their future relationship. Time is running out to reach a resolution and the news is piling up quickly, so we’ll have a quick update on what happened this week.
Last Thursday, we got a taste of what might await us if the UK and the EU don’t come together: a mile-long queue of trucks at the British port of Dover.
That traffic jam was about 30 kilometers long on Thursday, but can get much longer in a no deal scenario. In that case, the British government expects to queue at the border of up to seven thousand truck drivers who want to enter the EU without the correct papers. The drivers would then have to wait about two days before they can cross the border.
Customs expects that delay and congestion in the port of Rotterdam will also be inevitable in the first four to six weeks of 2021 due to Brexit. It is expected that one in four carriers going to the UK does not have the correct documents.
“Despite the facilities realized and the many preparatory work by customs and other parties in the port, there will be delays,” said Nanette van Schelven, Director General of Customs, in conversation with NU.nl earlier this week.
Customs will operate in crisis mode in the first weeks of January. This means that the help and service desks are anticipating an increase in the number of questions.
There is agreement on one point
The EU and the UK still disagree in trade talks on fishing, fair competition and surveillance. However, the parties were unanimous on one point over the past week: it will be difficult to reach a trade agreement in time, even though a continuation of talks is not ruled out this week.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Thursday after a phone call with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen that the negotiations were “in a serious state”. If the EU does not want to make significant concessions, he says negotiations will fail.
Von der Leyen, for her part, said it will be “a major challenge” to get everyone on the same page in the trade talks with the UK.
Michel Barnier, chief negotiator on behalf of the EU, also played a part on Friday by stating that the EU and the UK have “only a few hours” left to avoid a no-deal scenario at the end of the year.
The net closes
Barnier made his statement after telephone contact on Friday between Johnson and Von der Leyen.
The latter said after the phone call that “substantial progress” had been made, but both leaders stressed that the parties are still very far apart on fisheries.
In the current situation, all European fishermen are allowed to fish in all EU waters. Those appointments will expire in three weeks.
For the British, fishing is mainly of symbolic importance. With slogans like Take back control Brexit advocates in the UK have been insisting on their sovereignty for some time. “We respect British sovereignty, but if they keep our fishermen out, the EU must be able to respond,” Barnier said.
Now that 2021 is around the corner, the question is whether the parties will come out on time. “A deal is possible, but the path to it is very narrow,” said Barnier. In other words, the net around the negotiating area seems to be closing.
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