Smuggled meat sandwich in Brave New World after Brexit

Customs officials seized a pork sandwich from a truck driver who entered the Netherlands by ferry from Britain despite the man’s enthusiastic pleas to at least leave him the bread.

Other customs officials look at bags in the trunk of a car and argue over whether they should confiscate a box of potentially smuggled sardines.

The scenes, broadcast by the current affairs program in the Netherlands, showed the strict enforcement of import rules after Brexit after Britain completed its separation from the European Union on December 31, and made new arrangements for travel, trade, immigration and security cooperation. Effect.

„Welcome to Brexit, sir,” a customs officer said to the truck driver with a laugh. „Can you take meat and leave me bread?” The driver pleads in vain. The officer replied, „I’m sorry.”

The European Union does not allow travelers from outside countries to bring fruit, vegetables, meat or dairy products, even for personal consumption. Now, those overseas countries include Britain.

„We are simply implementing RegulationsBob Van Te Kloster, a spokesman for Dutch customs said. „As of January 1, travelers are no longer permitted to bring perishable goods from the UK.” He insisted that this was not an imprecise selection.

He said, „We have the same regulations for people coming from the UK at Amsterdam Airport.”

Due to the epidemic, the effects of the separation have not been fully felt. There is still relatively little traffic between Britain and continental Europe.

But the Dutch Current Affairs Program „One todayFollowed by a team of customs officials working at the port of Hook Van Holland, where about a hundred passengers disembarked after a nearly seven-hour ferry ride from Harwich Port in England.

The program quotes Rien de Ruijter, a team leader at the local customs website, who said that while passenger numbers are now low, he expects wait times and frustration to increase when travel restrictions are lifted.

„Customs policies have changed, but this has not been announced in England,” he said.

In another scene from the program, a customs official confiscates a box of sardines, declaring that fish is not allowed. But it turned out that the official himself was not fully aware of the new regulations. Passengers are allowed to bring a total of 20 kilograms, or about 44 pounds, of fish to the European Union

“This is not 20 kilograms,” another official concluded, looking at the tin.

“I don’t think anyone in the UK would have expected this before,” said Mr. de Ruyter. But this is Brexit. This is the new reality that we have to deal with. „