Koeketiene
Well-known member
It's perverse isn't it, Belgium has no land boarders, people can drive back and forth with pink, black or yellow spotted diesel in their tanks, no one checks your passport or MOT or car insurance, there's just a little sign by the side of the road to say you're entering Belgium.
But arrive by yacht and customs officials are banging on your companion way door at first light, checking papers and in a few cases your diesel, RADAR paper work and drinking Roger's best coffee. It's just bizarre, all those millions of vehicles crossing and recrossing the land border and all this fuss about a few hundred yachts from blighty. Kind of makes you wonder about priorities. Or is it something buried in the psychie of a former trading nation that threats come from the sea?
Anyone entering Belgium overland does so from another Schengen country.
The assumption is that they were already checked when entering that country (or elsewhere in the Schengen zone).
Any sea border is treated as an 'outside border' of the Schengen zone and therefore it is Belgium's responsibility to check anyone entering by sea.
UK yachts attract perhaps more attention than most because Britain is not a Schengen country.
The main argument for Britain not signing the Schengen Treaty was that she wanted to retain control of her own borders (and check anyone entering the country).
Yet, when Belgium does exactly that the response from British yotties is almost universally hostile.
Odd.
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