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CALAIS: The chief executive of Getlink, which operates the Channel Tunnel linking Britain and continental Europe, yesterday downplayed the risk of border chaos hours before Britain begins life outside the world’s largest trading bloc.
When Britain casts off from the European Union, firms that drive nearly $1 trillion in annual trade will have to navigate new rules and red tape to do business across the newly restored hard border. A narrow trade deal was only reached a week before a December 31 deadline.
“For sure, with such a change, and we only got the agreement a few days ago, there will be some adjustments over the next days and weeks,” CEO Yann Leriche said at the Eurotunnel Calais terminal. “It won’t be chaotic.” Getlink had invested 47 million euros in infrastructure to deal with new customs formalities required from 2300 GMT on Thursday, Leriche said.
Britain’s exit from the EU’s single market comes as Getlink’s earnings reel from the coronavirus pandemic. It has run fewer freight trains as Europe’s economies suffer unprecedented peacetime slumps and travel restrictions devastate passenger numbers.
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