Moments after the UK left the EU with an 11-hour agreement, the first trucks carrying goods across the new customs border presented their clearance documents to French agents before boarding a train to go through the Eurotunnel.
With Britain finally abandoning the EU’s single market and customs union, there was no first sign of the feared border chaos in the early hours of January 1, 2021.
Ivanov Shumeykov was the first driver sued by officers at the end of New Year’s Eve. He smiled and waved as his HGV passed the Eurotunnel controls in Folkestone, Kent, just after 11:00 pm. The first arrivals on the French bus after the end of the Brexit transition period were expected around 12:23 pm.
The scenes at Dover have been quiet, as many carriers have moved away to avoid being the first to test new border controls.
The flow of goods through the Eurotunnel Calais terminal was extremely light in the early hours of Friday morning. Yann Leriche, chief executive of Getlink that operates the Eurotunnel, told Reuters that adjustments to customs procedures may be necessary, but that there will be no chaos in the coming weeks.
But Matt Smith, managing director at HSF Logistics, which mainly ships fresh meat and chilled products between Britain and Europe, said the new post-Brexit customs systems and paperwork have not been tested.
“We are not sure to be honest, it seems like a headache,” he told AFP. “There will be delays along the line at some point.”
British and European companies have warned of the carnage as they learn to navigate a wall of bureaucracy and paperwork that threatens to disrupt the normal flow of almost € 1 trillion in annual trade.
The end of the Brexit transition period still leaves Northern Ireland in the EU’s single goods market.
Northern Ireland will also apply the bloc’s customs rules at its ports, although the region is still part of the UK’s customs territory, to prevent the return of a hard border with the Republic of Ireland.
To avoid disruption of cross-border trade and the return of checkpoints along the politically sensitive border with Ireland, the EU and the United Kingdom have agreed to transfer new regulatory and customs processes to the Irish Sea.
This means that checks are concentrated on trade between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
Many Northern Ireland-based carriers will keep volumes low in the early days of 2021, while waiting to see what the impact will be, industry figures said.
Although the UK formally left the EU at the end of January 2020, a transitional period meant that almost all tangible changes were postponed – until now.
As of Friday morning, individuals and businesses in the UK and abroad face a new and stunning series of bureaucracy, a large part of which has yet to be confirmed, covering everything from travel, residence, work and tourism to supply goods and services.
Government anxiety remains concentrated on the situation at Kent’s Channel ports, particularly after Covid-related delays in early December saw thousands of trucks stopped at an abandoned airfield – one of 10 locations prepared for possible Brexit disruption.
Officials are hopeful of a smooth start to the new era, but are prepared for possible delays next week, with government estimates suggesting that more than half of the smaller companies have not yet prepared for an end to the free movement of goods and services.
Boris Johnson ignored Brexit in his New Year’s message to focus on the Covid-19 pandemic, announcing the end of a year “when the government was forced to tell people how to live their lives, how long to wash their hands, how to many families could get together ”.
But he said the UK had “freedom in our hands” and the ability to do things “differently and better” now that the long Brexit process was over.
On Thursday night, French President Emmanuel Macron said the United Kingdom remains a “friend and ally”.
When the clock struck midnight in the UK, Scotland’s pro-independence prime minister, Nicola Sturgeon, tweeted: “Scotland will be back soon, Europe. Keep the light on. “
Former Ukip leader Nigel Farage, who played a key role in the 2016 Brexit referendum, reveled in the milestone, writing: “25 years ago, everyone laughed at me. Well, they are not laughing now. “
In a video message, Farage said: “This is a time to celebrate: 2021 as an independent United Kingdom. Cheers! “Before leaning into the camera and saying conspiratorially:” Too bad the pubs aren’t open. “
Thursday night marked the end of many earlier freedoms for British individuals and companies, to the point of restricting where cargo drivers can travel within the UK.
To prevent the accumulation of trucks at Canal ports, transporters now need what is called a Kent access permit, or “kermit”, to enter the county. From Friday, those without the 24-hour pass can be stopped by government officials, fined £ 300 and sent back.
An issue that was not resolved in the trade agreement, agreed between Johnson and the EU on Christmas Eve and approved by parliament on Wednesday, has been partially resolved.
A last-minute deal between the UK government and Spain will allow Gibraltarians to move freely between British territory abroad and the EU – but the deal will not come into force until the end of the year.