The Eurostar terminal at Brussels’ Midi train station will be modified in the context of Brexit, Finance Minister Vincent Van Peteghem announced.
As the UK will leave the European Union’s internal market on 1 January, goods being imported from or exported to the UK will become subject to customs formalities, Van Peteghem explained, whether or not a post-Brexit agreement can be reached.
As a result, a General Administration of Customs and Excise will have to be up and running from the new year, for which the Council of Ministers decided that the SNCB and the Belgian Buildings Agency would provide temporary structures on tracks 3 and 4 of the station.
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A post-Brexit trade agreement, meanwhile, is looking less and less likely, with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson saying that an agreement was “very, very likely” to fail and Commission President Ursula von der Leyen saying at a European summit that hopes of an agreement were low, according to AFP.
The UK left the EU at the end of January but remains part of its internal market and customs union until the end of the year. If no deal is reached, World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules will apply between the two, with high tariffs and extensive customs controls.
Jason Spinks
The Brussels Times
