© AP
Traffic in and around the British port of Dover is back to “normal” after long queues held back the holiday exodus for days. But it looks like those long queues will become the “new normal” in the post-Brexit era.
source: BELGA
The delays were due to additional border controls after Brexit and a shortage of staff at French authorities at checkpoints in Dover. However, the port reported on Twitter that as of Sunday at 2.15 a.m. (3.15 a.m. BST), the temporary system for managing excess traffic in the area has ended and it can lead traffic directly to the port.
Tourism and shipping traffic is back to normal. However, this probably wouldn’t be the last time such a mess would arise in the port. British Prime Minister candidates Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak pointed the finger at French border guards. Sunak said the French should “stop blaming Brexit and start hiring the staff needed to meet demand”. His opponent, Truss, who is currently foreign minister, said she had been in touch with her French colleagues and also spoke of a “lack of resources at the border”.
But on the French side, diplomats, government figures and border guards have declared that it is all the result of the post-Brexit era. All passports must be checked. “France is not responsible for Brexit,” French Transport Minister Clément Baume added.
By Sunday, the problems were as good as they were resolved. – © Reuters
‘The new normal’
But there is also an understanding for the French in the UK. According to Lord Ricketts, the former British ambassador to France, significant delays in Dover will become the “new normal” after Brexit. He says the long queues are the inevitable result of the British decision to leave the European Union and the entire bureaucracy they have imposed on them. The shortage of French border guards is a short-term tactical problem. The serious long-term problem is that this is the first time we’ve seen full border pressure after Brexit. Even with a full crew of French border guards, there will still be significant delays because the port of Dover cannot handle the volume.”
“The basic fact is that no matter how many they are, given the size of the port, given that the government has not invested in expanding facilities, it will stay that way — that will be the new normal.”
