Aftermath of Brexit

The news from the United Kingdom do not stop. The British government had decided to postpone the final border controls on September 14, 2021, among other things due to supply bottlenecks for food. These border controls were to be introduced for the post-Brexit period. But less than two weeks later, the situation is worsening and there is also an acute shortage of fuel at the pumps.

But why do such supply bottlenecks occur?

The European Union has already been controlling goods from the UK since January 2021, due to the UK leaving the European Union. In addition, there are the after-effects of the Corona pandemic and the increasing bureaucracy with new immigration regulations. Most serious at the moment, however, is the fact that there is an acute shortage of truck drivers. In addition to shortages and delays in the supply of fresh food, Britons currently have to hope for fuel deliveries at gas stations. The military is currently being deployed to prevent a state of emergency.

All because of the Brexit?

The British government rejects Brexit as the reason for this and blames it solely on panic buying by Britons.
However, it’s questionable whether urgently needed truck drivers can be lured to Britain to work with a 3-month visa proposed by the government.

New timetable on introduction of border controls

The introduction of border controls has also been pushed back again. U.K. Brexit envoy David Frost attempted damage control, explaining the move as a way to spare businesses from additional border requirements due to the unplanned and prolonged fallout from the pandemic and Brexit itself.
Border controls on food to be shipped to the U.K. from the European Union, scheduled to take effect in early October, will now not be introduced until Jan. 1, 2022.

Another shift is being made in the introduction of safety declarations. The specifications of safety declarations and the inspection of certain food and animal products, mostly to protect against disease, will be postponed from the original date of Jan. 1, 2022, to July 2022.