OT. The futures Bright, the Futures Brexit!!!

[Andy_Faber]

Interesting use of the word ‘normality’...seeing as pre-Brexit we didn’t need a Green Card to drive abroad. So ‘normality equals ‘pre-Brexit’?

Correct.

The worker bees are chipping away at all the little inconveniences caused by Brexit to return us to the free flowing days of old. Not a party political rant (obviously), I'm told its the backroom boys who work on such stuff.

Not needing a Green Card for all the countries included in the new deal is not actually correct by the way so its actually a slight improvement. I believe another 'slight improvement' is an agreement in the pipeline whereby travellers to Greece won't get stung with Turkish mobile phone charges when close to the Turkish coast, and this is a UK thing the EU for some reason (bureacracy?) can't agree

[swaledale]

There are of course lots of individual things being negotiated, which will smooth someof the issues created by brexit - just a shame that the cost and time wasted on these, plus the adverse effects on busness wasn't avoided by remaining within the customs union and single market but hey ho, w will I'm sure be back there in the not too distant future, when a sensible government realises that a 15 year trade deal with Australia worth less than 0.02% of the UK GDP is not going to replace trade with the EU.

I see the rapacious phone companies are to reintroduce mobile phone roaming charges in europe for the UK even though they don't ahve to, just because they can.

Also be wary that its the EU being intransigent in agreeing things, sometimes it is, but often its the Brexiteers view that they are entitled to the same benefits as pre Brexit, without paying anything! How many times was that obvious falsehood trotted out eh?

[ramAnag]

‘Little inconveniences’? You mean like much longer queues to get through passport control...the need for all travellers to pay for their own travel insurance rather than benefit from their EHIC...our lack of trade with our nearest neighbours, and the shortages of workers and goods that we are currently experiencing...those sort of things?

[Andy_Faber]

‘Little inconveniences’? You mean like much longer queues to get through passport control...the need for all travellers to pay for their own travel insurance rather than benefit from their EHIC...our lack of trade with our nearest neighbours, and the shortages of workers and goods that we are currently experiencing...those sort of things?

Are you saying you don’t take out your own travel insurance anyway? Reckless stuff indeed, I’m guessing you didn’t mean that after the thing you shared about USA

[Geoff Parkstone]

indeed Andy, the EHIC might have given UK citizens access to European health care facilities but it wont pay repatriation for broken limbs or other significant issues, or give UK citizens access to any greater health care facilities than those afforded to nationals of that country: hence the healthcare tourism that we saw pre Brexit.

So for those who laud the NHS for providing the best healthcare in Europe, beware reliance on EHIC in, for example, Bulgaria.

All EHIC really does is perhaps reduce the cost of your travel insurance a little as it deals with minor health issues - you get a broken hip in France, as a friend of mine did, and the EHIC contribution barely scratched the surface of the total cost - eg provided some A&E cover at triage stage, but after that it was down to the individual's credit card as first port of call.

[ramAnag]

Are you saying you don’t take out your own travel insurance anyway? Reckless stuff indeed, I’m guessing you didn’t mean that after the thing you shared about USA

I’m not always talking about me, AF...and obviously the EHIC is completely irrelevant to US travel anyway.
As it happens I have decent travel insurance via my banking arrangements, but I have also benefited from the EHIC in the past, albeit for relatively minor health issues...an eye infection in Portugal and one of my dependents developing an ear infection in Spain, both of which were dealt with very well indeed.
I’m far from wealthy but, probably like you, relatively comfortably off...there will however be plenty of families further down the financial ‘pecking order’ who may be rather more dependent on the health care reciprocity offered via the EHIC when holidaying abroad in Europe.

Surprised you only picked up on one of the four ‘little inconveniences’ I identified and didn’t actually deny the existence of the others.

[Geoff Parkstone]

" plenty of families further down the financial ‘pecking order’ who may be rather more dependent on the health care reciprocity offered via the EHIC"

As an over 60 diabetic with associative escalated health care risks, I had to pay £ 25 travel insurance for a week in Greece, inclusive of cancellation cover. That was in a small "covid window" last September and excluded covid cover, and the costs may now have increased a little as covid escalated its grip on Europe under wave 2, but its still pretty cheap.

The EHIC credit in a premium rating would be a tiny part of it, lets say its 20% - or a fiver. So for a family of 4 that's no more than a £ 20 hike I'd estimate. Frankly if you cannot afford that as part of your holiday budget, you probably shouldn't be going on holiday in the first place: or maybe buy one less round of drinks in the club etc....... If this is what you think is a swingeing cost of Brexit, then you must be rapidly running out of plausible negatives.

[ramAnag]

" plenty of families further down the financial ‘pecking order’ who may be rather more dependent on the health care reciprocity offered via the EHIC"

As an over 60 diabetic with associative escalated health care risks, I had to pay £ 25 travel insurance for a week in Greece, inclusive of cancellation cover. That was in a small "covid window" last September and excluded covid cover, and the costs may now have increased a little as covid escalated its grip on Europe under wave 2, but its still pretty cheap.

The EHIC credit in a premium rating would be a tiny part of it, lets say its 20% - or a fiver. So for a family of 4 that's no more than a £ 20 hike I'd estimate. Frankly if you cannot afford that as part of your holiday budget, you probably shouldn't be going on holiday in the first place: or maybe buy one less round of drinks in the club etc....... If this is what you think is a swingeing cost of Brexit, then you must be rapidly running out of plausible negatives.

Hmmm...did I use the phrase ‘swingeing cost of Brexit’?
Nope...thought not. The context was Andy’s ‘little inconveniences’. As I’ve suggested, there seem to be lots of those and some not so ‘little’ ones too.
Perhaps rather than wasting your time misrepresenting my words maybe you could point out the conveniences and advantages of Brexit.

[Andy_Faber]

indeed Andy, the EHIC might have given UK citizens access to European health care facilities but it wont pay repatriation for broken limbs or other significant issues, or give UK citizens access to any greater health care facilities than those afforded to nationals of that country: hence the healthcare tourism that we saw pre Brexit.

So for those who laud the NHS for providing the best healthcare in Europe, beware reliance on EHIC in, for example, Bulgaria.

All EHIC really does is perhaps reduce the cost of your travel insurance a little as it deals with minor health issues - you get a broken hip in France, as a friend of mine did, and the EHIC contribution barely scratched the surface of the total cost - eg provided some A&E cover at triage stage, but after that it was down to the individual's credit card as first port of call.

In an opposite but equal situation, my mother in law broke her hip in Spain and it was fixed (excellently) without her once needing to show her EHIC

[Andy_Faber]

I’m not always talking about me, AF...and obviously the EHIC is completely irrelevant to US travel anyway.
As it happens I have decent travel insurance via my banking arrangements, but I have also benefited from the EHIC in the past, albeit for relatively minor health issues...an eye infection in Portugal and one of my dependents developing an ear infection in Spain, both of which were dealt with very well indeed.
I’m far from wealthy but, probably like you, relatively comfortably off...there will however be plenty of families further down the financial ‘pecking order’ who may be rather more dependent on the health care reciprocity offered via the EHIC when holidaying abroad in Europe.

Surprised you only picked up on one of the four ‘little inconveniences’ I identified and didn’t actually deny the existence of the others.

Not denying them rA, and there are many, just pointing out a baby step that as it happened will benefit me and mine.