UK lifts post-Brexit permits for truckers as trade recovers

Britain has lifted travel restrictions on truckers that were imposed to avoid border chaos after the country’s economic split from the European Union at the end of last year.

The government said Tuesday that it was scrapping the “access permit” that truck drivers had to show to enter the southeast England county of Kent, home to the port of Dover and the U.K. end of the Channel Tunnel. It said temporary road barriers erected to control truck backlogs will be dismantled over the weekend.

The “Kent passport” was introduced Jan. 1 to regulate Europe-bound freight traffic after the U.K. left the EU’s economic structures in the final stage of Brexit. The split meant new checks and paperwork for traders, leading to fears of delays and traffic jams.

The Department for Transport said the measures were being lifted because truckers have been arriving at the border prepared, and freight volumes between the U.K. and the EU were “at normal levels.”

British exports to the EU plummeted by 5.7 billion pounds ($8 billion) in January compared to the previous month and recovered by 3.7 billion pounds ($5.2billion) in February. Imports also saw a sharp decline in January and a weaker rebound in February.

The British government has downplayed the impact of Brexit, saying coronavirus restrictions also played a role in the economic slump.

The U.K. has delayed the imposition of checks on some goods from the EU until the end of the year to give businesses more time to prepare. It also has postponed checks on some goods moving to Northern Ireland from other parts of the U.K. Those checks were agreed to as part of the U.K.-EU divorce deal in order to avoid creating a hard border between Northern Ireland and EU member Ireland.

But the measures have angered British unionists in Northern Ireland, who say they drive a wedge between Northern Ireland and the rest of the U.K. Opposition to the new customs rules was a factor in a week of street violence in Northern Ireland earlier this month. Unionist politicians are demanding the government rip up the Northern Ireland arrangements in the Brexit agreement,

The EU is annoyed at unilateral British trade decisions, and has begun legal action against the U.K. for allegedly breaching the Brexit deal, a legally binding treaty.

The two sides have held meetings to try to resolve the dispute but say significant differences remain.

MADRID (AP) — British and Spanish foreign ministers said a new round of talks held Friday over the status of the disputed territory of Gibraltar following Britain’s exit from the European Union were productive and significant progress was made.

The meeting was between Spain's José Manuel Albares, Britain’s David Cameron and European Commission Vice-President Maros Sefcovic in Brussels. Gibraltar Chief Minister Fabian Picardo also attended. It was the first time representatives from the four areas had come together for talks on the issue.

In a statement after the meeting, the parties said "discussions took place in a constructive atmosphere, with significant progress achieved.

“General political lines have been agreed (on), including on airport, goods and mobility. Negotiations will continue over the coming weeks to conclude the EU-UK Agreement,” it added.

All sides are eager to clinch a deal before European elections in June.

Britain left the European Union in 2020 with the relationship between Gibraltar and the bloc unresolved. Talks on a deal to ensure people and goods can keep flowing over the Gibraltar-Spain border have made halting progress in the 19 rounds of negotiations so far, but both Spanish and U.K. officials have recently expressed optimism about a deal.

In Britain’s 2016 Brexit referendum, 96% of voters in Gibraltar supported remaining in the EU. The tiny territory on Spain's southern tip depends greatly on access to the EU market for its 34,000 inhabitants.

Gibraltar was ceded to Britain in 1713, but Spain has maintained its sovereignty claim ever since. Relations concerning the Rock, as it is popularly referred to in English, have had their ups and downs over the centuries.

A major sticking point has been who controls Gibraltar’s airport, which under the proposed free-movement deal would be an external border of the EU. The U.K. and Gibraltar have resisted Spain’s insistence that Spanish border officials be based at the airport, which is also home to a Royal Air Force base.

The British Foreign Office said Thursday that while it did not expect a final agreement Friday, "getting senior political figures from the UK, European Commission, Spain and Gibraltar in one room is significant.”

Associated Press writer Jill Lawless reported from London.