The FTA has welcomed plans by the French authorities to dismantle a substantial part of the migrant camp in Calais in the next few days.
However, the FTA conceded that moving the whole camp to a different location much further away from the port and Eurotunnel terminal, as it has previously called for, might be “a tricky issue”.
Speaking after a meeting yesterday with Xavier Bertrand, newly elected president of the Nord Pas de Calais Picardie region, FTA head of European policy Pauline Bastidon said moving the camp was “not that easy” from a practical point of view and would necessarily involve the agreement of not just regional but national authorities in France.
While moving the camp would undoubtedly help to reduce the numbers of migrants in Calais, she said, determining a new location was something that would need careful consideration.
“We wouldn't want to remove the camp from Calais and end up with another one in Zeebrugge or Cherbourg,” she cautioned.
The planned removal of the southern portion of the current camp, however – believed to contain 800-1,200 migrants - should help alleviate their numbers in the region.
At the meeting yesterday, which also involved the RHA, Eurotunnel and P&O, Bertrand confirmed he was to meet today (18 February) with the British ambassador in Paris to discuss the problems in Calais. He also pledged to raise the issue at the forthcoming Franco-British summit on 3 March.
A further meeting between those at yesterday’s talks is being planned for April.
Finding a permanent solution remains tricky though. “We need to be realistic,” Bastidon said. “It’s a very complex problem that involves many different layers of government, many stakeholders and many different parameters that will be tricky to resolve in six months.”
RHA chief executive Richard Burnett said the meeting with Bertrand had been “a step towards a concerted effort to eliminate the problems in the Calais area”.
He added: “It was immediately apparent and encouraging to learn that all those present were of the same, firm opinion that the issue must be addressed by those on both sides of the Channel.
“Many [vehicle] operators are now taking longer and more expensive routes in order to avoid the risks of travelling via Calais,” he continued. “This is adding substantial cost to the supply chain and transport companies will not return to Calais until and unless they can be confident that the safety of their drivers can be assured and the problem has been resolved.”
