A short extract from The Guardian today;
Under the terms of the Brexit deal negotiated by Boris Johnson in December 2020, the EU introduced full import controls in January 2022 after a yearlong transition period. The UK government intended to do the same, but has delayed three times over the last year and the PAC report said officials could not give a “complete assurance that it would not do so again”.
Nice to see the level of control we have of our borders.
“Much remains to be done to introduce import controls, and in particular to ensure that traders and hauliers across the 27 EU member states are ready as the controls are phased in,” the report added.
As part of the upgrade, the UK must adapt port equipment and border checks by September to avoid huge disruption to holidaymakers and haulage firms when the EU switches to biometric identity checks that would force travellers to exit their vehicles.
Hillier said the government claimed it would develop “the most effective border in the world” by 2025, which she described as a “noteworthy ambition”, but “it is optimistic, given where things stand today”.
She added: “One of the great promises of Brexit was freeing British businesses to give them the headroom to maximise their productivity and contribution to the economy – even more desperately needed now on the long road to recovery from the pandemic. Yet the only detectable impact so far is increased costs, paperwork and border delays.
“The PAC has repeatedly reported on Brexit preparedness and at every step there have been delays to promised deadlines. It’s time the government was honest about the problems rather than overpromising.”
Overpromising = Lying.
BTW Hillier is chair of a cross party accounts committee who are concerned at the damage being done to trade with the EU.
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