France and the United Kingdom are jointly working on ways to find a way to lift border closures that have snarled one of Europe’s most important trade routes.
Boris Johnson, the British prime minister, should crystallize his thoughts regarding trade agreement just days before the Brexit cliff edge. Much of the world closed borders to the UK over recent days after London identified a highly contagious new COVID-19 strain, leaving hundreds of truck drivers stranded in southern England.
France closed its border to arrivals of Britons and trucks from Britain. To avoid further misunderstanding, French minister Clément Beaune noted that both Britain and France would announce a deal to restart freight by Wednesday.
“We speak to our colleagues in France constantly on a range of issues and that work has been underway over the last 24 hours and we’ll continue today,” Home Secretary Priti Patel confirmed.
Asked if there would be a resolution today, Patel said that Britain is working to get a resolution. “We’ll see what materialises today,” Patel added.
The new COVID-19 strain in the UK frightened entire Europe
The discovery of the new COVID-19 strain, just months before vaccines are expected to be widely available, caused a new wave of panic across Europe.
With Britain in effective COVID quarantine just 9 days before it is due to exit informal EU membership, one of the biggest changes in modern British history, some shoppers stripped shelves in supermarkets.
As financial markets tumbled, stranded lorry drivers near the port of Dover said they just wanted to get back home in time for Christmas.
