A steady trickle of trucks rolled off ferries and trains on either side of the English Channel on Friday, a quiet New Year’s Day after a seismic overnight shift in relations between the European Union and Britain.
The busy goods route between southeast England and northwest France is on the front line of changes now that the U.K. has fully left the economic embrace of the 27-nation bloc, the final stage of Brexit.
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A steady trickle of trucks rolled off ferries and trains on either side of the English Channel on Friday, a quiet New Year’s Day after a seismic overnight shift in relations between the European Union and Britain.
Britain left the European bloc’s vast single market for people, goods and services at 11 p.m. London time, midnight in Brussels, on Thursday, in the biggest single economic change the country has experienced since World War II. A new U.K.-EU trade deal will bring new restrictions and red tape, but for British Brexit supporters, it means reclaiming national independence from the EU and its web of rules.
The break comes 11 months after a political Brexit that left the two sides in the limbo of a “transition period” in which EU rights and rules continued to apply to Britain.
The vital supply route was snarled for days after France closed its border to U.K. truckers for 48 hours last week in response to a fast-spreading variant of the virus identified in England.
New checks were also in place across the Irish Sea. A dozen trucks rolled off the first ferry to arrive at Dublin Port from Wales before dawn, clearing the new customs inspections without delays.
Brexit could also have major constitutional repercussions for the United Kingdom. Northern Ireland, which shares a border with EU member Ireland, remains more closely tied to the bloc’s economy under the divorce terms. So while goods will continue to flow freely across the Irish land border, there will be new procedures for trade between Northern Ireland and the rest of the U.K. In the long run that could pull Northern Ireland away from the rest of the U.K. and toward its southern neighbor.
“The United Kingdom remains our neighbor but also our friend and ally,” said French President Emmanuel Macron in his New Year’s address to the nation. “This choice of leaving Europe, this Brexit, was the child of European malaise and lots of lies and false promises.”
A man gives a document to the driver of the first truck, from Estonia, entering the Eurotunnel terminal Friday, Jan.1, 2021 in Coquelles, northern France. Eleven months after Britain's formal departure from the EU, Brexit becomes a fact of daily life on Friday, once a transition period ends and the U.K. fully leaves the world's most powerful trading bloc. (AP PhotoLewis Joly, Pool)
“For the majority of trucks they won’t even notice the difference,” said John Keefe, spokesman for Eurotunnel, the railway tunnel that carries vehicles under the Channel. “There was always the risk that if this happened at a busy time then we could run into some difficulties, but it’s happening overnight on a bank holiday and a long weekend.”
Lories disembark from the first ferry coming from Britain after Brexit, Friday Jan.1, 2021 in Calais, northern France. Britain left the European bloc's vast single market for people, goods and services at 11 p.m. London time, midnight in Brussels, completing the biggest single economic change the country has experienced since World War II. (AP PhotoLewis Joly)
Britain left the European bloc’s vast single market for people, goods and services at 11 p.m. London time, midnight in Brussels, on Thursday, in the biggest single economic change the country has experienced since World War II. A new U.K.-EU trade deal will bring new restrictions and red tape, but for British Brexit supporters, it means reclaiming national independence from the EU and its web of rules.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson, whose support for Brexit helped push the country out of the EU, called it “an amazing moment for this country.”
“We have our freedom in our hands, and it is up to us to make the most of it,” he said in a New Year’s video message.
Lories disembark from the first ferry coming from Britain after Brexit, Friday Jan.1, 2021 in Calais, northern France. Britain left the European bloc's vast single market for people, goods and services at 11 p.m. London time, midnight in Brussels, completing the biggest single economic change the country has experienced since World War II. (AP PhotoLewis Joly)
The break comes 11 months after a political Brexit that left the two sides in the limbo of a “transition period” in which EU rights and rules continued to apply to Britain.
The trade agreement sealed on Christmas Eve after months of tense negotiations ensures that Britain and the EU can continue to buy and sell goods without tariffs or quotas. But companies face sheaves of new costs and paperwork, including customs declarations and border checks.
The English Channel port of Dover and the Eurotunnel braced for delays as the new measures were introduced.
Lories disembark from the first ferry coming from Britain after Brexit, Friday Jan.1, 2021 in Calais, northern France. Britain left the European bloc's vast single market for people, goods and services at 11 p.m. London time, midnight in Brussels, completing the biggest single economic change the country has experienced since World War II. (AP PhotoLewis Joly)
The vital supply route was snarled for days after France closed its border to U.K. truckers for 48 hours last week in response to a fast-spreading variant of the virus identified in England.
The pandemic and a holiday weekend meant cross-Channel traffic was light on Friday. Britain has also delayed imposing full customs checks for several months so that companies can adjust.
The British government insisted that “the border systems and infrastructure we need are in place, and we are ready for the U.K.’s new start.”
The first ferry leaves after the end of the transition period with the EU at the port in Dover, Friday, Jan. 1, 2021. Britain left the European bloc's vast single market for people, goods and services at 11 p.m. London time, midnight in Brussels, completing the biggest single economic change the country has experienced since World War II. (AP PhotoFrank Augstein)
New checks were also in place across the Irish Sea. A dozen trucks rolled off the first ferry to arrive at Dublin Port from Wales before dawn, clearing the new customs inspections without delays.
“We have avoided the kind of dramatic disruption of a no trade deal Brexit, but that doesn’t mean that things aren’t changing very fundamentally, because they are,” said Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney.
“We’re now going to see the 80 billion euros ($97 billion) worth of trade across the Irish Sea between Britain and Ireland disrupted by an awful lot more checks and declarations, and bureaucracy and paperwork, and cost and delay.”
A truck from Britain drives over green and orange lines on the road that is part of the new "smart border" customs infrastructure to enter France at the Eurotunnel terminal Friday, Jan. 1, 2021 in Coquelles, northern France. Eleven months after Britain's formal departure from the EU, Brexit becomes a fact of daily life on Friday, once a transition period ends and the U.K. fully leaves the world's most powerful trading bloc.(AP PhotoLewis Joly)
Brexit could also have major constitutional repercussions for the United Kingdom. Northern Ireland, which shares a border with EU member Ireland, remains more closely tied to the bloc’s economy under the divorce terms. So while goods will continue to flow freely across the Irish land border, there will be new procedures for trade between Northern Ireland and the rest of the U.K. In the long run that could pull Northern Ireland away from the rest of the U.K. and toward its southern neighbor.
In Scotland, which voted strongly in 2016 to remain, Brexit has bolstered support for separation from the U.K. The country’s pro-independence First Minister Nicola Sturgeon tweeted: “Scotland will be back soon, Europe. Keep the light on.”
European leaders also expressed regret at Britain's departure.
A lorry passes a barrier after disembarking the first ferry that arrived after the end of the transition period with the EU at the port in Dover, Friday, Jan. 1, 2021. Britain left the European bloc's vast single market for people, goods and services at 11 p.m. London time, midnight in Brussels, completing the biggest single economic change the country has experienced since World War II.(AP PhotoFrank Augstein)
“The United Kingdom remains our neighbor but also our friend and ally,” said French President Emmanuel Macron in his New Year’s address to the nation. “This choice of leaving Europe, this Brexit, was the child of European malaise and lots of lies and false promises.”
Jo Kearney in Folkestone, England, contributed to this story.
Follow all AP stories on Brexit at https://apnews.com/Brexit
Lorries that arrived after the end of the transition period with the European Union are checked at the port in Dover, England, Thursday, Dec. 31, 2020. Britain left the European bloc’s vast single market for people, goods and services at 11 p.m. London time, midnight in Brussels, completing the biggest single economic change the country has experienced since World War II. (AP PhotoFrank Augstein)
A man gives a document to the driver of the first truck, from Estonia, entering the Eurotunnel terminal Friday, Jan.1, 2021 in Coquelles, northern France. Eleven months after Britain's formal departure from the EU, Brexit becomes a fact of daily life on Friday, once a transition period ends and the U.K. fully leaves the world's most powerful trading bloc. (AP PhotoLewis Joly, Pool)
