You should only celebrate Christmas in the cabin of your truck. It’s not a good opportunity for the Dutch truck drivers who are still stuck in British Dover. Some drivers are still trying to secure a spot on a ferry to IJmuiden, including Maurice Van Son.
“I was in Dover on a Monday afternoon and it wasn’t really nice,” he says in Goedemorgen Nederland. “You don’t know what will happen and when you can go to the other side. Nothing is known, except that it will be closed for 48 hours anyway. Agreements will be made, but that was not clear either. It was just a matter of waiting.”
“I drove already last night.”
Van Son is now on his way to Newcastle hoping to catch the ferry this afternoon. Yesterday afternoon I got a compensatory answer from my boss that the crossing was arranged via Newcastle. I drove already last night. This is six hundred kilometers to the north of England. If all goes well I can take the boat to IJmuiden this afternoon at 4:00 UK time Then I will arrive tomorrow morning around ten o’clock. So I will go home. “
Maurice Van Son in his truck.
The blockade was announced on Sunday. “And this had to do with the fact that we learned about the rapidly changing variable that is happening more quickly. Then we intervened after that,” explains Secretary of State Raymond Knobs (Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations). All kinds of conversations are going on with European countries and of course with the UK as well. Then what comes out now will come out and hopefully they’ll be back home by Christmas. Then they can enter the Netherlands, based on a negative Corona test. “
‘Connecting problems’
Although Van Son has returned home, many truck drivers are still stuck in Dover. According to former Secretary of State Uri Rosenthal, a solution is in preparation. And it turns out that they can return to the mainland under the known conditions. It’s badly needed because it’s a massive setting out there in Dover and the surrounding areas. We are not only dealing with this situation, but also with the last days before Brexit. This necessitates correlation of problems. That is why there are so many trucks now. “
Now agreements have been concluded between France and the United Kingdom and rapid tests are being distributed. These agreements are very complex. France said people are allowed to attend and lead Eurostar as well. But the Belgians say again that only the Belgians are allowed to enter Belgium. For the Dutch, it may mean that they can continue, but it is very complicated and everything changes from hour to hour and minute to minute. “
A confrontation between Macron and Johnson
According to Rosenthal, politics is now really difficult between France and the United Kingdom. This is where the confrontation between French President Macron, who is sitting at home with Corona, and British Prime Minister Johnson on the other side takes place. This all plays together and does not enhance the speed of work. Sometimes, it also encourages sudden turns. ‘
Rosenthal, who has an apartment in England, hears from all sorts of people in the political corner that they are totally amazed at Johnson’s approach. “I promised the British at first a wonderful birthday, with more people allowed to visit than we do, then suddenly pulls the plug on the basis of the British variant of Coronavirus. This is while this alternative has been known in the British medical and political circles for some time.”
“I heard it systematically crumble.”
Rosenthal also notes that Johnson is now under severe political pressure. I heard him systematically deteriorating. This means that sudden changes in his policy are constantly occurring. If there is an agreement, it will not be until the fifth and twelfth hours of December on the 31st of December. Whether it was a bargain or not, we simply don’t know at the moment. It’s still totally inflated due to this coronavirus case. It may last until January. I don’t even rule it out. “
Read also: European Commission President Sees Road to Brexit Deal: ‘Optimism is Justified’
Written by: Bert Van Dorn
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