June 23, 2016 is a date that future schoolchildren will remember in history class as the dayEurope split. Indeed, to everyone’s surprise, the British people decided to disassociate themselves from the European project by 51.9%. Negotiations between London and Brussels for an exit agreement were very long, with the formalization of the Brexit and the UK’s exit set for December 31, 2020. Negotiations between the UK and the 27 European countries culminated, on December 24, 2020, in an agreement that determines the rules applicable to relations between the UK and the Union in a number of areas. This agreement, which was unanimously accepted by the 27 member countries, provisionally came into force on January 1, 2021.
Return of customs duties
European companies are confronted with the problem of customs duties and the implementation of cumbersome customs formalities. The consequences of such an increase are of course obvious for British companies, but they also exist on the French and European sides, both in B2B (higher prices charged by suppliers across the Channel, with potential repercussions on profitability, difficulties in exporting French products) and B2C (customs duties to be added to shipping costs).
Electronic travel authorization for the United Kingdom
Having already introduced a passport requirement, which came into force in October 2021, the UK is set to introduce an Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA) system by 2023.
Similar to ESTA for travel to the USA, this authorization will first be tested in March 2023 for nationals of Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman. Thereafter, the rest of the world could join the system at the end of 2023.
Application for this authorization is expected to cost £18 (21 euros).
What about health cover in the UK?
The answer varies according to your status and the length of your stay in the UK. If you’re going for less than 90 days, you can use your European Health Insurance Card until it expires, but it’s strongly recommended that you take out additional travel health insurance, given the medical costs in the UK. For students in the UK, or expatriates and foreign workers in the UK, you’ll need to take out private international health insurance to avoid what can quickly become very high medical costs.
What are the consequences for European tourists, students and expatriates in the UK?
Whatever your reasons for traveling to the UK, it goes without saying that the cost of living, already very high in the capital, will be even higher. As a result, your travel and living budgets will have to be revised upwards. The Erasmus program has been discontinued by the UK and is being replaced by the Turing program, the details of which have yet to be worked out. If you want to learn English, destinations such as Ireland, Malta or Scandinavia now appear to be real alternatives for European students.
Brexit: a challenge above all for the English themselves
Indeed, the Brexit is rekindling the various independence aspirations of the rather pro-European Ireland and Scotland. In addition, many are concerned about the impact of Brexit on the country’s attractiveness to potential investors. There is also the question of the creation of a new financial center in Europe. Amsterdam seems to be taking advantage of this opportunity to become the location for the creation of a new European financial center. The British must hurry to make the Brexit viable by creating a real battery of agreements on the themes of free trade, immigration, European Union funding programs…
