The maritime connections between Ireland and the European mainland have, for many years, usually gone through the United Kingdom. The connections between Dublin and Wales and from Dover to Calais made it fast and easy to move freight from the Republic to the Continent.
Things changed radically on January 1. Great Britain left the European Union after what had been, let’s put it delicately, an uncomfortable fit since the beginning, as can be seen by the à la carte membership it enjoyed for decades.
But the borders have risen again, and the Irish have found that their main trade routes from the island to the mainland no longer exist, at least in the friction- and bureaucracy-free way they had before: now, checks and queues await.
And that is why Irish ports are bulking up their direction connections to the mainland. True, it’s quite a bit longer, but it’s free of paperwork interminable waiting times.
Ken Murray and Michael Daventry explain to us on Euronews (with text and video), what Irish politicians and port authorities are doing to handle the new situation and the alternatives they’re choosing. The continental ports they find mos appropriate for these new sea connections and Cherbourg and Bilbao.
It is true that the Irish are going to have problems with Brexit, but their problems pale in comparison to those the Scots are going to have to face: when told that if they voted for independence, they’d be forced out of the EU, and then had to watch as they were taken out against their will anyway.
As a curiosity, the different language versions do have their variations: the German edition, for example, puts Bilbao in the headline.
Euronews – 1/1/2021 – Europe
Ireland to bypass post-Brexit Britain with more direct sea routes to Europe
More ferries are to sail directly from Ireland to the European mainland in a move to circumvent the traditional trade route over mainland England and Wales. The British exit from the EU means that trucks passing through Irish ports will now have to undergo unpopular, lengthy and bureaucratic checks, particularly in the areas of agriculture, food and plants.
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Euronews – 31/12/2020 – Europe
Los puertos irlandeses notarán especialmente la tensión del Brexit
El puerto de Dublin es el principal punto de entrada y salida de las empresas de transporte que llevan productos desde Irlanda al continente europeo y y viceversa. La salida del Reino Unido de la UE significa que los camiones que entran en los puertos irlandeses ahora tendrán que someterse a controles prolongados y burocráticos, en particular en las esferas de la agricultura y la alimentación.
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Euronews – 1/1/2021 – Europe
Umweg über Bilbao? Irische Häfen müssen umdenken
Der Hafen von Dublin ist die erste Anlaufstelle für Speditionsunternehmen, die Produkte aus oder nach Irland transportieren wollen. Doch der Austritt Großbritanniens aus der EU bedeutet, dass Lkws, die in irischen Häfen eintreffen, sich fortan langwierigen bürokratischen Kontrollen unterziehen müssen, insbesondere bei landwirtschaftlichen Produkten, Lebensmitteln und Pflanzen.
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Last Updated on Jan 3, 2021 by About Basque Country
