Short Straits Summit: Exploring Dover’s Vital Role in Britain’s EU Reset
Two weeks before the Prime Minister welcomed EU leaders to the UK for a Summit aimed at resetting Britain’s post-Brexit relationship with the bloc, another gathering took place near Westminster. Under discussion was how a narrow stretch of 21 miles of water and modern infrastructure can help keep Britain working.
With the political and media focus firmly on the future relationship between the UK and the European Union, important work is already underway to reduce friction when it comes to trade, travel and tourism.
A recent Summit, exploring the essential role of the Port of Dover in the nation’s relationship with the EU, heard how a combination of ambition, modern technology, and infrastructure could prove vital in making any new arrangements work for the UK.
The Short Straits Summit explored the Port of Dover’s role in stimulating economic growth and learned about progress on Dover’s plans to establish the world’s first high volume green shipping corridor. It drew together MPs, officials, trade experts, and industry leaders to focus on a route that carries a third of all UK-EU trade.
Dover and Deal MP, Mike Tapp, told attendees that the Port, “remains a frontline for trade, for cooperation and for economic resilience.” It has been a hub that has supported centuries of commerce between Britain and the continent, and in the post-Brexit world, it is the place where those ties must be rebuilt.
The Port is busy, not just with freight and travellers but with ideas. Dover is much more than a border crossing. It has become a testing ground for the kind of innovation, partnership, and resilience that the Government wants to place at the heart of its foreign and economic policy.
“There’s never been a better time to show the world how strongly Britain and France work together, - not just to trade goods, but to lead on innovation, decarbonisation, resilience, and friendship,” Tapp told attendees.
Doug Bannister, CEO of the Port of Dover, reminded guests that the geographical position of Dover is an unchanging reality, whatever the political climate. It has been the key gateway with Europe for centuries and will continue to be so in the future.
“We have faced challenges before many times in the past but what has endured through all of them is the vital role of the short straits,” he explained. “It is the short stretch that ensures prosperous societies, prosperous businesses, and prosperous nations.”
That narrow stretch of water, from Dover to Calais and Dunkirk, currently handles £144 billion in annual UK-EU trade, plus ten million passengers each year. Dover remains the entry point for food, medicine, auto parts, and finished goods moving in both directions. It is also a pinch point. If things go wrong in Dover, the ripple spreads across the nation, into the arteries of just-in-time logistics networks that cannot afford friction.
Those numbers highlight the critically important economic role that the Port is already playing. However, all of those attending the Summit are ambitious to achieve even more.
“With the right strategy, you can grow Dover’s role by backing smart infrastructure, efficient borders, and strong bilateral partnerships,” Mike Tapp MP told guests. “But that means the right investment - not just in roads and port facilities, but in the digital and green technologies that will shape the future of global trade.”
As Tapp suggests, unlocking the economic potential of Dover is an industrial, political, and logistical challenge. But it is also urgent. “This isn’t abstract,” Tapp reminded guests. “It’s about jobs, stability, and pride in what we do.”
For the UK government, resetting the nation’s relationship with the EU means starting where the connection still exists, - physically, commercially, and diplomatically. Dover ticks all three of those boxes.
As was reiterated at the Summit, the Foreign Office has always valued the strong relationship between the UK and France, with shared common values, mutual respect, and similar global interests. The strength of that historic bond will be amply demonstrated in July when French President, Emmanuel Macron, pays a State Visit to the UK.
That State Visit reflects the political reality that, as the UK continues to navigate the challenges created by growing global trading uncertainty, recalibrating the relationship with the EU is now a key priority. That shift is also seen in the importance that the Government is attaching to the EU Leaders’ Summit that the UK is hosting on 19 May.
In Dover, that recalibration is already a daily reality, not just rhetoric. Bannister described how port operators across the short straits are no longer waiting for directives from the Government and are instead working proactively to reduce friction and enhance sustainability.
“We’re not just content to sit on our laurels,” he said. “We are increasingly taking the leadership role across some really strategic developments.”
These include decarbonisation of transport routes and investment in automation and digital customs processing. “Collectively, the partners in the short straits are investing billions,” he said, pointing to the port’s 2050 strategy, which aims to fuse low-carbon supply chains with high-efficiency border flows.
For all the enthusiasm, there is realism too. The system is fragile. Delays, weather, or new regulation can cause quick bottlenecks. Others noted the fall in Britain’s global logistics ranking over the past decade. The country was once 4th in the World Bank’s Logistics Performance Index. It is now 19th. “You can have very efficient logistics,” Natalie Chapman, Head of Public Affairs for Logistics UK explained, “but without the right infrastructure, investment and regulatory environment, you’re running uphill.”
The EU Leaders’ summit will not resolve trade flows at a stroke. But it may restart the institutional relationships that make smoother movement possible. And in the meantime, Dover has become the most concrete example of what a reset could look like and the benefits it could bring.
The road back to frictionless trading with Europe may still be long, but one thing is for certain. It runs through Dover.
