The chaos at Dover Port going into this weekend is blamed on inadequate staffing by French border controls to process the seasonal peak in holiday travel through the port with the start of the school holidays.

Of course, these checks are a product of Brexit, which put an end to the free movement of people, hence the detailed passport checks on individuals travelling.

It has also manifested itself at airports where UK passport holders travelling to the EU have to have passports checked separately.

No progress

There will be no progress in EU-UK negotiations over the coming weeks while the Conservative party selects a new leader. However, in an escalation of the divide that is growing between the UK and EU, the EU has announced the launch of four new infringement proceedings against the UK for noncompliance with the Northern Ireland protocol.

This is in response to the UK government legislation to override the protocol passing through the first phase of the legislative process in the House of Commons this week.

First step

Infringement proceedings are the first step in a process where there is an issue of believed noncompliance.

It involves the EU contacting the UK requiring the noncompliance to be addressed within a two-month time frame and if this isn’t done, the matter can go before the European Court of Justice (ECJ), which, if it finds in favour of the EU, could issue a fine.

The EU also has the option of imposing retaliatory sanctions against the UK, which is where the risk to Irish farmers and exporters increases.

If the EU were to choose this option, the likelihood is that the UK would respond and a trade war would begin.