France could deploy customs officers to patrol Eurostar trains after Brexit transition period

Eurostar has also warned passengers of post-Brexit requirements

Eurostar trains leaving London for Paris could be temporarily patrolled by French customs officials after the Brexit transition period in order to monitor goods entering the European Union.

It comes as negotiations over a future trading agreement between the UK and the bloc continue over the weekend with significant issues remaining and just seven working days until Britain’s membership of the single market and customs union expires.

Speaking to the Financial Times, the French minister responsible for customs measures, Olivier Dussopt, said officials had yet to agree with British authorities how post-Brexit customs controls will function.

“There’s a discussion under way between the French and British authorities to allow French customs to have an official presence on British soil at points of embarkment,” he told the newspaper. “While we wait to reach agreement… we will adapt, for example, by having checks inside the trains.”

In a recent update Eurostar also urged passengers to prepare for changes, including ensuring passports have six months validity remaining and warned that new customs procedures are “likely to be introduced”, with the onus on the individual to check rules and laws on goods.

“French and Belgian customs officials will be on board some of our trains to carry out checks,” the company’s advice added. “If you’re travelling to Lille, Amsterdam or Rotterdam there will be a designated area where you can declare your goods.

Eurostar is also warning customers to take out travel insurance as European Health Insurance Cards (EHIC) will not be valid after 31 December and advises passengers to arrive at the station “a little earlier than usual” to allow time to pass through security and passport control.

The remarks from Mr Dusspot follows a warning from Parliament’s Brexit committee that government delays in preparing the country for the end of the transition period on 31 December risks the “worst possible start” to new year for both citizens and businesses.

With just seven working days left until the UK leaves the EU’s single market and customs union, there are “significant concerns” about how border arrangements will work, the report added.

Committee chair Hilary Benn said: “The government still cannot provide businesses, traders and citizens with certainty about what will happen in all the areas affected by the negotiations, but as we leave the rules of the single market and the customs union, firms exporting to the EU will face more red tape, unfamiliar forms and extra costs from 1 January whatever happens.

“Some progress has been made. We welcome the agreement on the implementation of the Northern Ireland Protocol, for example. 

"But we are worried about the consequences of trucks not having the right paperwork, traffic disruption around ports, and the UK’s security being affected by loss of access to EU law enforcement databases."