EC calls for reopening of essential trade links to UK

Brussel

THE European Commission called on member states to reopen critical trade and passenger transport links to the United Kingdom, while discouraging non-essential travel, a step towards ending the chaos at Britain's busiest port.

The Brussels-based commission said in a statement that freight transport to and from the UK must be allowed to continue uninterrupted but that any unnecessary journeys should be avoided "until further notice".

"Flight and train bans should be discontinued given the need to ensure essential travel and avoid supply chain disruptions," the EU's executive arm said on Tuesday.

The British government is desperately trying to reopen trade routes to France after a day of cross-Channel political bartering failed to end the impasse.

France shut down freight traffic from Dover in south-east England at midnight on Sunday due to fears over a faster-spreading mutant strain of Covid-19 that forced the UK government to impose a strict lockdown on London and surrounding areas.

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Spain and Portugal, meanwhile, are among more than 40 countries restricting flights and effectively isolating the UK.

European Union ambassadors are set to discuss the recommendation later on Tuesday, and the bloc's governments have previously vowed to coordinate their response.

Two days of border disruption have seen more than 1,500 trucks backed up along roads in south-east England and threatened shortages of some fresh food items in British supermarkets before Christmas.

It also gave the country a taste of the border upheaval that may be coming in less than two weeks time, if the UK fails to strike a trade deal with the EU before the Brexit transition period ends on Dec 31.

Without an agreement, Britain will default to trading with the EU on World Trade Organization terms, with the imposition of costly tariffs and quotas.

Non-essential travel between the UK and the EU is set to be temporarily restricted anyway from Jan 1 when Britain leaves the customs union. As a so-called third country, the UK will be subject to Covid-19-related restrictions.

The Commission said truck drivers arriving from the UK could be asked to take coronavirus tests or go into quarantine - as long as the requirements do not disrupt supply chains.

But French and British officials have been at odds over the type of test to use, said two people familiar with the matter.

The French side is pushing for hauliers to take PCR tests, which give a result in between 24 and 48 hours, while the UK prefers lateral flow tests that are less accurate, but take only about 15 minutes - so could ease the queues faster.

Richard Ballantyne, who heads the British Ports Association, said he is hopeful there could be an exemption for freight drivers that would be combined with testing for Covid-19 at the border.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson spoke to French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday to try to resolve the issue, while Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has been in regular contact with his French counterpart over the past two days.

The UK's Road Haulage Association welcomed the European Commission's statement.

"We hope the French government will lift this unnecessary ban immediately as a result," said Rod McKenzie, managing director of policy and public affairs for the trade group. "The backlog will take days to clear and the sooner this begins the better."

Shares of European airlines highly exposed to the UK market largely held to earlier gains. EasyJet rose 4.4 per cent after deferring costly jet deliveries earlier on Tuesday. British Airways owner IAG advanced 5.1 per cent, while Irish discounter Ryanair Holdings was little changed.

But the head of the Scottish Seafood Association, Jimmy Buchan, said the European Commission's move had not come fast enough and accused France of being "reckless". He said the delay would be manageable if trucks can get moving by the end of Tuesday, but that any longer would carry the risk of spoiled food.

"In the busiest market week before Christmas, people are stranded and little thought was given to the people it would leave stuck and unable to get home to their families before Christmas," he said.

The stand-off comes as Brexit talks with the EU intensify over fish, a politically sensitive issue. The UK made an offer that would see the value of fish EU boats catch in British waters shrink by 30 per cent, a substantially smaller drop than the 60 per cent it was demanding last week.

The bloc, however, refused to accept a reduction of more than 25 per cent, saying even that was hard for countries like France and Denmark to accept, said officials with knowledge of the discussions. REUTERS, BLOOMBERG