Hundreds of Dutch truck drivers stuck in the UK upon Eurotunnel closure
Hundreds of Dutch truck drivers are estimated to be stuck in the United Kingdom. This is due to the travel restrictions imposed after a new, more infectious strain of the coronavirus was identified there. Transport and Logistics Netherlands (TLN) reported this.
As France has decided to close its border with the UK, many truck drivers have been unable to reach the European continent. “Many drivers are in long traffic jams in front of the ferries and the channel tunnel,” says a TLN spokesperson. Together with the Dutch Federation of Trade Unions (FNV), they are urging the cabinet to take action so that the drivers can be back home before Christmas.
UK Home Secretary Priti Patel said discussions were underway between the UK and France “to find a resolution” to France’s border closure. France’s Europe minister Clément Beaune said any plans would be agreed upon by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and French President Emmanuel Macron and would come into effect from Wednesday. Patel said potentially testing truck drivers at ports was “part of the discussions that the transport secretary is having with his counterpart in France right now” and added that “getting those tests up and running can happen relatively quickly.”
__
Read more:
Dutch,
English