The French are now fairly agreed across the political parties that if the UK wishes to go it alone the border at Calais can be removed, and the problems associated with it can be returned to Dover. Strangely enough the only party asking for a more measured approach is the FN, who are saying that it will mean loss of life in the English Channel. The current agreement is purely a French/UK agreement, and it only needs a two year notification from either side to end it. I think it is time to repatriate those building blocks from Calais and start the walls along the south coast.
I think the agreement may involve Belgium as well Frenchie. The Eurostar train goes from Brussels to London (not just from Paris and Lille) and you go through Belgian and British passport controls whilst still in Brussels.
You may well be right there, but the vast bulk of heavy traffic uses the ferries between Calais and Dover. It is not the passengers travelling so much as the goods that are checked on the lorries. People at Dover say they are not coping at present, and to have all of the customs paperwork to deal with in addition to passports would bring the whole place to a standstill. We saw something of the chaos earlier this year when the French in Dover didn't have enough staff on duty and people were stuck outside the port for 24 hours.
I'll start You obviously mean the south coast of Europe. At least Le Pen, if she became President, would not be spiteful to the British for daring to leave the EU.
To put it in simple terms, how will you deal with all of the customs and passengers at Dover when you have half of the work being done for you now?
I've been through Dover-Calais scores of times, mostly at least one set of customs just wave you through. The problem earlier this year was a deliberate short staffing bit of nonsense from the French customs. They often do the same on the French - Spanish border, part of the french favourite pastime of industrial action. The French, at last, have promised not to allow any migrants to congregate in Calais. They will take the firm action which should have been employed many years ago. The migrants will be given the chance to claim asylum in France or be returned to their country of origin. The migrant problem is theirs, nothing to do with the British. I'm sure there will be all kinds of warnings and threats until hard Brexit is fully completed.
So no answer, just a bit of wishful thinking. How will you deal with customs? Not sure when you last traveled through Dover, but not in the last few years. French/Spanish border has no border posts these days, so I have no idea what you are thinking.
I've been through Dover many times in the last few years, with and without towing a caravan. There is still a border post on the French/Spanish border which has been unmanned the last few times I've been through but I was held up there for a couple of hours a few years ago. I cannot understand what you are hoping to achieve by revelling in any potential problems. You may not have liked the Brexit result, but if you think banging on about any possible negatives will change the result you are in for a big disappointment.
The chaos may not be in Dover SH. The Eurostar begins in Paris or Brussels and then stops at Lille, Calaise Frethun and then London St. Pancras. At every station there are double passport controls ie. French and British, or Belgian and British. It is the British who control whether non EU. citizens have visas or other appropriate entry documents - not the French or Belgians. In future this would have to be done at St. Pancras. Brexit could also turn the Eurotunnel into the biggest white elephant of all time.
You are like so many SH, believing empty rhetoric, but unwilling to look in depth at the practical problems you wish upon people. Maybe if you expanded your reading and took in evidence that is being provided to those who have been asked to inform government, then you would not keep coming out with your regular comments, and would start to see, as many who voted out, that the problems are far greater than you would wish to acknowledge.
The French rely heavily on tourism. With the terrorist attacks in Paris and Nice there are less people choosing to visit France. If the French want to create unnecessary hassle it will only cause more loss of business. It has already been highlighted that Eurostar is a proven route used by undesirable visitors, the UK government needs to strengthen security a.s.a.p.
The problem you seem to suffer from is selecting to only read and highlight potential problems. Nobody I know that voted for Brexit expects a problem free negotiation and final exit from the EU. I fully expect the EU, especially the French will do their best to make it as difficult as possible. This is even more reason to leave this disastrous failing club. The UK voted to leave, it is clear that hard Brexit is the only option. France may well be leaving soon after for all we know!!
Shut your eyes, cross your fingers, and ignore anything that might show what the real world is about seems to be your attitude. The government today has signed up to the new Europol regulations because it finally realized what being outside of it meant to the security of the UK. As evidence to Westminster showed this was not a real choice, it was critical for the safety of people as far as possible. Who pays for Europol? The EU of course. So would you wish to leave it, or pay into the EU funds to keep access to it? Simple question. Everything to do with what you would wish to see happen.
The beauty of being outside of the straightjacket of the EU will allow the UK to participate where and when it deems desirable. There are many areas where co-operation can be easily achieved with the EU. This does not mean being part of the single market or sending large amounts of cash to the eurocrats who have defrauded us all over many years. Brexit is the real world, it is happening. The EU is falling apart. The EU must be horrified to realise that the UK will be at the front of any trade deal with North America and the EU will certainly get nowhere in the next 4 years.
So do you want to pay into the EU to stay part of Europol or not? You do not say. Just one issue. It cannot be too hard to give a straight answer. Maybe we can take a few more issues on board when you have thought out if you wish to say yes or no to Europol.
The British government are best placed to decide on the level of co-operation and areas in which they feel they want the British to be involved with the EU during the forthcoming negotiations. I'm sure if they want to contribute towards Europol they will do. It is such a small proportion of the enormous UK contributions it is financially immaterial.
So I think that your answer means yes we should continue to pay into the EU, if the government thinks it is the right thing to do, but you do not know. Clearly what you have read does not go into enough detail for you to form an opinion.
