France reopens UK border after paralysing busiest port

Bloomberg

Vital trade and travel links between the UK and continental Europe slowly reopened after France lifted a blockade at Britain’s busiest port that heightened a sense of economic isolation as the pandemic worsened and a high-stakes political drama unfolded over Brexit.
European Union citizens and residents able to show negative Covid-19 tests will be able to travel from the UK, according to French Prime Minister Jean Castex. Ferries arriving from Calais and the trucks they carry were moving in the early hours of Wednesday morning, and those transporting fresh foods asked for priority clearing the backlog.
Near Dover, police clashed with some truckers angry that they’ve been waiting since Saturday and are trying to get home for Christmas. Many are lined up for coronavirus tests that they need for passage into France.
France cut off shipments from Dover in southeast England on Sunday because of concern over a faster-spreading variant of Covid-19 that prompted the UK government to lock down London and
surrounding areas.
What followed was 48 hours of cross-Channel political bartering over the reopening of routes just as negotiations with the EU over a post-Brexit trade deal intensified. With less than 10 days to go before a transition period ends on December 31, the upheaval gave a sampling of the potential pain Britain’s closest continental neighbour can unleash.
The UK found itself effectively isolated as more than 40 countries restricted flights, including many EU members. On Wednesday, the Nikkei reported that Japan will suspend all foreign arrivals from the UK while the Philippines will halt all flights from December 24 to
December 31 to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus variant. India, Hong Kong and Singapore have implemented similar measures.
Almost 3,000 trucks have been stuck in southeast England, lined up on the side of the highway and the tarmac of a local airport — a logjam that threatened the supply of some fresh food items in British supermarkets. German airline Deutsche Lufthansa AG said it would airlift fresh produce to the UK on Wednesday to ease any potential shortages.

Testing Talks
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson called French President Emmanuel Macron to try to find a solution and both sides had promised to resolve the border issue within hours. Instead, the impasse dragged on over a disagreement on how to ensure truck drivers were not carrying the new coronavirus strain into France.
The French side was pushing for haulers to take PCR tests, which give a result in 24 to 48 hours, two people familiar with the matter said. But the UK government’s statement said truckers will be subject to lateral tests, which take only about 15 minutes but are less accurate.
The British military and National Health Service will establish multiple testing sites in Kent, the county where Dover is located, Sky News reported.
The new travel restrictions will apply until at least January 6, the French government said. The British side asked to publish any announcement late in the day to avoid too many trucks driving to Kent, according to a person familiar with the matter.
“Truckers shouldn’t, and it’s important, gather at departure points in Kent to avoid saturating the system we’re putting into place,” Jean-Baptiste Djebbari, French junior transport minister, told BFM TV.

Isolating Britain
Non-essential travel between the UKand the EU is set to be temporarily restricted anyway from January 1, when Britain leaves the continent’s customs union. As a so-called third country, the UK will be subject to Covid-related restrictions.
With 2021 looming, the broader contours of Britain’s future relationship with the EU are still being thrashed out by negotiating teams holed up in Brussels trying to finalize a trade deal.