Officials push for a pre-Christmas agreement, after weeks of argument over fishing and business rules.
Read moreBBC News Europe

UK and EU 'haggling', as hopes for trade deal rise
Officials push for a pre-Christmas agreement, after weeks of argument over fishing and business rules.
Top Stories

UK and EU 'haggling', as hopes for trade deal rise
Officials push for a pre-Christmas agreement, after weeks of argument over fishing and business rules.

Bosnia migrant camp closure leaves 1,400 in cold
Residents of the camp close to the border with Croatia set fire to tents as they are forced to leave.

Gunman kills three police officers in France
Police were investigating domestic violence in a village, and the suspect has now been found dead.

Truckers clear of Covid board ferries for France
Those with a negative test result can now leave the UK, but it could take days to clear the backlog.

Erdogan: Human rights court ruling 'hypocritical'
Turkey's president condemns a call by Europe's rights court to free a jailed Kurdish political leader.

Macron's dog in video plea to be kind to pets
The French president's pooch sends the Christmas message "adopt with awareness!"

Italy seeks engineer to build new Colosseum floor
The project will have a budget of 18.5m euros (£16.7m; $22.5m) and work is set to start next year.
Featured Contents

UK and EU 'haggling', as hopes for trade deal rise
Officials push for a pre-Christmas agreement, after weeks of argument over fishing and business rules.

Bosnia migrant camp closure leaves 1,400 in cold
Residents of the camp close to the border with Croatia set fire to tents as they are forced to leave.

Gunman kills three police officers in France
Police were investigating domestic violence in a village, and the suspect has now been found dead.

Truckers clear of Covid board ferries for France
Those with a negative test result can now leave the UK, but it could take days to clear the backlog.

Erdogan: Human rights court ruling 'hypocritical'
Turkey's president condemns a call by Europe's rights court to free a jailed Kurdish political leader.

Macron's dog in video plea to be kind to pets
The French president's pooch sends the Christmas message "adopt with awareness!"

Italy seeks engineer to build new Colosseum floor
The project will have a budget of 18.5m euros (£16.7m; $22.5m) and work is set to start next year.

Bosnia migrant camp closure leaves 1,400 in cold
Residents of the camp close to the border with Croatia set fire to tents as they are forced to leave.

Gunman kills three police officers in France
Police were investigating domestic violence in a village, and the suspect has now been found dead.

Truckers clear of Covid board ferries for France
Those with a negative test result can now leave the UK, but it could take days to clear the backlog.
Features & Analysis
Watch/Listen
Latest Updates
How to be happy
Video content
Video caption: Tips for happiness after a tough year from Denmark and South Korea Tips for happiness with two women from Denmark and South Korea.
All ferries from Newhaven before Christmas fully booked
Copyright: DFDSFurther along the coast from Dover, lorry drivers have been urged not to travel to Newhaven Port, as all ferries leaving there before Christmas are fully booked.
In an joint statement on behalf of Newhaven Ferry Port, DFDS and the Sussex Resilience Forum, the parties said they were working with the government to try and arrange Covid testing for drivers already booked on sailings before Christmas.
Drivers with bookings, including those at the port, will be kept updated as the work goes on, the statement added.
Drivers clash with police in Dover
Copyright: PA MediaImage caption: Police hold back drivers trying to enter the Port of Dover Lorry drivers have clashed with police in Dover as they continue to be held up by the French travel ban.
Footage shows a handful of police officers attempting to push back a small crowd of mostly men o on Wednesday morning.
France lifted the travel ban, but requires drivers to have a negative covid test before entry is granted.
Drivers are to receive rapid lateral flow tests, which can give results in about 30 minutes, but it could take some days to clear the backlog.
Those who return a positive result will be checked again and then offered “Covid-secure” hotel accommodation.
Copyright: PA MediaImage caption: Police and drivers at the Port of Dover What's happening?
Copyright: PA MediaImage caption: Traffic blocks the Port of Dover after French authorities announced that the coronavirus ban was lifted, with restrictions Lorry drivers in Kent have spent a third night sleeping in their vehicles waiting to get access to France.
- France shut the border for 48 hours on Sunday over the UK's new virus variant.
- It reopened it's borders on Tuesday night, but new regulations require all drivers to have had a negative Covid-19 test result.
- It could take "a few days" to clear the backlog of lorry drivers in Manston and parked up around Dover, Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick has said.
- Soldiers have joined NHS Test and Trace staff in Kent to carry out rapid tests on thousands of stranded lorry drivers.
- The Netherlands and Belgium have also relaxed bans on arrivals from the UK, as long as they have a recent negative result.
- But more than 50 other countries are continuing to block travellers from the UK.
By Luke Sproule
BBC News NI

By Douglas Fraser
Business and economy editor, Scotland
By John Campbell
BBC News NI Economics & Business Editor
By Dearbail Jordan
Business reporter, BBC News









































