On January 4, 2021, the first Monday of 2021, when Britain’s withdrawal from the European Union (Brexit) took effect, a large cargo truck headed for the border crossing at Dover, the British port of the submarine Eurotunnel connecting Britain and mainland Europe. I am going. Reuters Yonhap News
Grocery shortages are occurring in supermarkets in Northern Ireland, UK. This is because, with the end of the transition period at the end of last year, the actual Brexit was implemented, causing some disruptions in the supply of food from the UK mainland to Northern Ireland. According to Reuters on the 13th (local time), representatives of large UK retailers such as Tesco, Sainsbury, Asda, Marks & Spencer (M&S) sent letters to Michael Gove, head of the Office of State Affairs Coordination. They feared that there was a problem with the food supply in Northern Ireland after the transition period was over, and that without urgent government intervention, the confusion could increase in the future. This confusion is due to Northern Ireland’s particularity with Brexit. After the end of the Brexit transition period, the UK completely withdrew from the EU single market and customs union. However, Northern Ireland, which borders the EU member state of Ireland, is still British territory under the Northern Ireland Protocol, but remains in a single EU market and must comply with EU regulations. As a result, customs clearance and quarantine procedures apply to goods going from mainland England to Northern Ireland. However, the UK and the EU decided to apply a grace period for foods going from the British mainland to Northern Ireland for three months from January even after the Brexit transition period was over. It is that it will not make any changes from the current regulations so that supermarkets and the like can apply it to the new system. However, supermarkets and others said that despite the grace period, new procedures and catering practices are causing problems in the supply of fresh food from the British mainland to Northern Ireland. When the three-month grace period is over, further confusion is expected, so the government should create a working group to find a long-term solution. Gove, head of the State Affairs Coordination Office, promised to come up with a solution on this day. Prime Minister Boris Johnson was present in the House of Representatives that day, saying that trade between the British mainland and Northern Ireland is progressing smoothly. Article 16 is about so-called protective measures, and it contains content that allows one side to take unilateral measures in the event of an unexpected negative impact due to an agreement between the two sides. yunhap news