French customs agents disrupt Calais

Traffic jams built up around the French port of Calais as customs officers worked to rule, carrying out tighter checks on lorries heading for the Channel Tunnel and the ferry port.

Background 

On June 23rd, 2016, Britain narrowly voted to leave the European Union, stunning Europe and the world in general. The EU employs a set of policies for its 28-member states that aim to ensure the free movement of people, goods and trade among other services. Britain is deeply intertwined with the workings of the EU especially with regard to trade.

PM Theresa May’s leadership in the negotiations has been heavily criticised. She has been unable to form a consensus within the Parliament, or even her own party, for the course of Brexit. Her “directionless” leadership has not convinced most of her peers in Westminster and she was challenged by a no-confidence motion in early December 2018, which she narrowly won.

Despite her best efforts, the British parliament is not accepting the proposed Brexit agreement. Irrespective of whether they arrive on a deal or not, the UK is officially set to leave on March 29, 2019.

Analysis 

The A16 motorway near Calais became snarled up early on Tuesday. The biggest queues were close to the ferry port as well as the Channel Tunnel exit, and freight companies warned of long waits at border checkpoints.

For a second day, tailbacks of lorries stretched for several kilometres but ordinary traffic was still able to move. Drone footage from one TV reporter showed the extent of the queues near the Channel Tunnel. The action, which began on Monday, is aimed at improving pay and staff numbers ahead of the UK's expected departure from the EU on 29 March.

Dunkirk, further up the French coast, is also affected. Waiting times at Dunkirk port were more than two hours and every lorry was still being checked, ferry operator DFDS operator said.

While 100% border checks had stopped at Calais, it said waiting time there was "extensive", with traffic being diverted through the town.

As lorries came to a standstill there were reports that migrants had tried to board the vehicles to get across the Channel. Union officials said their "unlimited" action was aimed at "showing what will happen with Brexit" when the UK leaves the European Union.

The possibility of a no-deal Brexit has led to fears of major disruption on both sides of the Channel. The French government has announced plans to increase the number of customs officers in response to Brexit. The 300 deployed at the Channel Tunnel will be increased to 365 while the 64 at Calais port will almost double.

However, union officials say they want bigger numbers recruited because of Brexit, as well as better night pay and danger money.

If the UK becomes the third country, checks will become more in-depth. This is the first, full demonstration of what will happen. Budget minister Gérald Darmanin said France was prepared and he insisted there would not be a "bottleneck of the century".

The British government has also sought to allay fears, promising that lorries coming into the UK will be able to drive straight off ferries and Channel Tunnel trains by filling in a frontier declaration beforehand.

In January, UK officials staged an exercise involving a convoy of 89 lorries at a disused airport in Kent as part of its contingency plans.

The EU would prefer a "soft" Brexit with a transition period, as set out in last year's withdrawal agreement agreed by May and the other 27 EU countries, but was ready for the worst-case scenario.

Food industry and farming representatives in the rest of the EU have also expressed concern about potential disruption to massive trade flows with Britain, including tailbacks at borders or the closure of British fishing waters.

However, EU agriculture's experience of dealing with crises such as the Russian food embargo from 2014 and widespread cases of mad cow disease two decades ago would help it cope with an abrupt Brexit,

Assessment 

Our assessment is that a no-deal Brexit could be disastrous for the normal functioning of British society with an irrational fear of collapse and panic buying of resources. We believe that if the UK leaves without an agreement food shortage, massive lines at the customs and a spike in prices will become the norm in Britain. 

Image Courtesy: Romainberth (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Zone_portuaire_calais_phare.jpg), „Zone portuaire calais phare“, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/legalcode