registerme
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Post by registerme on Jul 25, 2022 17:50:25 GMT
Nails it.
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Post by bracknellboy on Jul 25, 2022 18:20:45 GMT
it was blatantly obvious and stated by a number of commentators, that leaving the EU, would not lance the peculiarly UK boil of nasty anti-EU and particularly anti-French rhetoric that has pervaded the UK political scene for many years. Far from it. Having them as easy bogeymen to target is just far too convenient. All the UKs problems may have been caused by the EU, but now we've taken back control all our problems continue to be caused by the pesky foreigners.
Leave the EU such as to require greater border and passport checks, requiring more people ? Problems as a consequence ? Not the UKs fault gov, it's those bloody french at it again*.
Don't like the consequences of the NI protocol a Brexit govt signed up to ? Not the UKs fault gov, its those bloody foreigners, trying to make life difficult for us because of spite.
And so it will continue. The eurosceptic right wing need the convenient foreign bogeyman, and the popular press need it to sell copy.
[*Even though of course we also have chronic queues at UK airport border controls]
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michaelc
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Say No To T.D.S.
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Post by michaelc on Jul 25, 2022 19:09:17 GMT
it was blatantly obvious and stated by a number of commentators, that leaving the EU, would not lance the peculiarly UK boil of nasty anti-EU and particularly anti-French rhetoric that has pervaded the UK political scene for many years. Far from it. Having them as easy bogeymen to target is just far too convenient. All the UKs problems may have been caused by the EU, but now we've taken back control all our problems continue to be caused by the pesky foreigners. Leave the EU such as to require greater border and passport checks, requiring more people ? Problems as a consequence ? Not the UKs fault gov, it's those bloody french at it again*. Don't like the consequences of the NI protocol a Brexit govt signed up to ? Not the UKs fault gov, its those bloody foreigners, trying to make life difficult for us because of spite. And so it will continue. The eurosceptic right wing need the convenient foreign bogeyman, and the popular press need it to sell copy. [*Even though of course we also have chronic queues at UK airport border controls] And the solution to the border chaos is....? (Personally I think its to make politicians and senior leaders use the same facilities that we have to as borders are often terrible all over the world with nobody important seeming to care much but I digress....)
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agent69
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Post by agent69 on Jul 25, 2022 20:19:59 GMT
it was blatantly obvious and stated by a number of commentators, that leaving the EU, would not lance the peculiarly UK boil of nasty anti-EU and particularly anti-French rhetoric that has pervaded the UK political scene for many years. Far from it. Having them as easy bogeymen to target is just far too convenient. All the UKs problems may have been caused by the EU, but now we've taken back control all our problems continue to be caused by the pesky foreigners. Leave the EU such as to require greater border and passport checks, requiring more people ? Problems as a consequence ? Not the UKs fault gov, it's those bloody french at it again*. Don't like the consequences of the NI protocol a Brexit govt signed up to ? Not the UKs fault gov, its those bloody foreigners, trying to make life difficult for us because of spite. And so it will continue. The eurosceptic right wing need the convenient foreign bogeyman, and the popular press need it to sell copy. [*Even though of course we also have chronic queues at UK airport border controls] But are the EU making things unnecessarily difficult in an attempt to ensure Brexit is not a success?
EU citizens arriving at Heathrow airport still have access to express immigration clearance via the E-gates. The EU could extend the same courtesy to all UK passport holders travelling to EU airports, but have chosen not to do so
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adrianc
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Post by adrianc on Jul 26, 2022 8:25:26 GMT
But are the EU making things unnecessarily difficult in an attempt to ensure Brexit is not a success? No. "The EU" aren't doing anything. France manages French customs. Correct. The UK has chosen not to implement inbound infrastructure at many entry points, because it's not ready yet. That's not the French being difficult. It's the UK being incompetent. We aren't "taking back control", but that's exactly what the French have done. They're simply doing what their Shengen membership requires them to do - check all incoming travellers from outside the borders. We aren't, because we aren't yet able to because we've wasted the six years since we knew it was going to be needed. It's almost like some people think that ending freedom of movement shouldn't have applied to US, only to THEM. Looks like the weekend's issues were caused primarily by a French staff shortage on Friday. That was quickly resolved, but the extra processing time per vehicle (relative to before) meant that there simply wasn't the infrastructure to clear the backlogs. It's that knife-edge without serious redevelopment of the port to add more booths - which, of course, were never needed before. And anybody who's been through Dover knows how tight space constraints are there. www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/dover-folkestone-travel-brexit-port-b2130361.html
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markyg61
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Post by markyg61 on Jul 26, 2022 8:58:06 GMT
I'm sure I remember sometime back being told we'll just have to casually flash our new blue passport and we'd be waved on through...  |
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keitha
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2024, hopefully the year I get out of P2P
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Post by keitha on Jul 26, 2022 9:25:17 GMT
I can remember 20 years ago leaving Bulgaria after a holiday Germans and Dutch went through 1 Channel, rest of Europe except UK Another UK and rest of the world was the 3rd channel.
Channel 1 they didn't even look at the passports. Channel 2 a quick inspection of Passport, channel 3 detailed check of Passport, Questions as to where you were going and a bag search so this sort of thing has been going on some time.
A German acquaintance came to the UK last Week via Amsterdam, Amsterdam is point blank refusing to transfer bags between flights and he said the piles of bags in the airport are horrendous.
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adrianc
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Post by adrianc on Jul 26, 2022 9:48:01 GMT
I can remember 20 years ago leaving Bulgaria after a holiday Germans and Dutch went through 1 Channel, rest of Europe except UK Another UK and rest of the world was the 3rd channel. Seems... unlikely. 20 years ago would have been early 00s. Schengen was set up in the mid 90s with 7 members, expanded to 15 members by the early 00s. It's far more likely that the three channels were Schengen, EU/EEA, and RoW. The UK would, obvs, have been the second. We could have joined Schengen, but negotiated a permanent opt-out as part of Maastricht (same as the Euro).
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ilmoro
Member of DD Central
'Wondering which of the bu***rs to blame, and watching for pigs on the wing.' - Pink Floyd
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Post by ilmoro on Jul 26, 2022 10:01:37 GMT
I can remember 20 years ago leaving Bulgaria after a holiday Germans and Dutch went through 1 Channel, rest of Europe except UK Another UK and rest of the world was the 3rd channel. Channel 1 they didn't even look at the passports. Channel 2 a quick inspection of Passport, channel 3 detailed check of Passport, Questions as to where you were going and a bag search so this sort of thing has been going on some time. A German acquaintance came to the UK last Week via Amsterdam, Amsterdam is point blank refusing to transfer bags between flights and he said the piles of bags in the airport are horrendous. Obviously came through on Thurs. Technical failure in the baggage handling system ... KLM restricting all passengers to hand luggage only. Hold baggage has followed on. Schiphol has been having similar problems to Heathrow over the summer, again due to staff shortages.
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keitha
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2024, hopefully the year I get out of P2P
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Post by keitha on Jul 26, 2022 10:07:25 GMT
Anyone would think these baggage handling companies thought "if we lay staff off they will come running back when the situation gets better and we need them"
I have to say from the other side I know of 2 people locally who were furloughed by Company A on 80% then took a job with B, and when A has asked them to go back have resigned.
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Post by bernythedolt on Jul 26, 2022 10:56:37 GMT
I'm sure I remember sometime back being told we'll just have to casually flash our new blue passport and we'd be waved on through... That was never really the case. Even before Brexit, passports had an electronic chip which they place over a reader at minimum. Some countries I've visited in the past half dozen years even stand every visitor in a booth and take your picture while your passport is open on the reader. Our experience of passing through Eurotunnel passport controls last month, both UK and French in both directions, was identical to the previous dozens of times we've done it prior to Brexit.
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markyg61
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Post by markyg61 on Jul 26, 2022 13:29:16 GMT
I'm sure I remember sometime back being told we'll just have to casually flash our new blue passport and we'd be waved on through... That was never really the case. Even before Brexit, passports had an electronic chip which they place over a reader at minimum. Some countries I've visited in the past half dozen years even stand every visitor in a booth and take your picture while your passport is open on the reader. Our experience of passing through Eurotunnel passport controls last month, both UK and French in both directions, was identical to the previous dozens of times we've done it prior to Brexit.
I was being facetious....
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mrk
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Post by mrk on Jul 26, 2022 22:54:51 GMT
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Post by captainconfident on Jul 27, 2022 10:00:16 GMT
Take Back Control and Regaining Our Sovereignty have the air of Britain confidently bestriding the continents with confidence and self assurance. But you can tell that project has failed as all you hear is whinging about 'punishing us' and similar. Always in the context of explaining one of the painful truths of Brexit. We went through customs and it was practically the same as before Brexit! Forget Brexit Benefits, anything that is not worse than it used to be is a triumph worth putting in writing.
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Post by bernythedolt on Jul 27, 2022 11:06:53 GMT
Take Back Control and Regaining Our Sovereignty have the air of Britain confidently bestriding the continents with confidence and self assurance. But you can tell that project has failed as all you hear is whinging about 'punishing us' and similar. Always in the context of explaining one of the painful truths of Brexit. We went through customs and it was practically the same as before Brexit! Forget Brexit Benefits, just the fact that something has not turned into a disaster is worthy of putting in writing. When many here are labouring under a misapprehension, not helped by Chris Grey's blog, that stamping our passports is a 'painful truth' Brexit disaster heralding the end of civilisation as we know it, then, yes, it is worth correcting the record with one's own personal experience. Most sensible commentators accept the delays at Dover were due to lack of staff at the French border control. Nothing to do with Brexit, blue passports or stamping passports as some would LOVE to believe.
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