With the increasing container traffic in the port of Antwerp in Belgium, the European Union intends to support Antwerp to expand its port capacity and capacity under the framework of the "Connect European Facilities" (CEF) plan. Earlier this year, the Port of Antwerp and the Belgian Ministry of Transport and Public Works submitted an application to the European Union for funding support from the European Commission. It is reported that this Extra Container Capacity Antwerp (ECA) project will receive nearly 11 million euros (approximately USD 12.87 million) from the EU CEF fund. In this project, the Port of Antwerp focuses on optimizing the land use and sustainable growth of the existing port area, increasing productivity, and minimizing the crowded docking of ships and emissions from terminal operations. The EU CEF Fund intends to build the Port of Antwerp into a key project for the green and sustainable development of European ports, and to expand the port's container capacity through innovative solutions. Compared with the same period last year, the throughput of the Port of Antwerp in the first half of this year increased by 5% to 120 million tons. Container transshipment has been a business that has been growing since 2014. In the first half of the year, it increased by 4.3% over 2020 and 3.9% (in tons) over 2019. Conventional groceries returned to their pre-epidemic levels, an increase of 41.2% over the same period last year. After the Brexit, administrative complexity has increased and customs inspections are cumbersome, which often leads to congestion, delays and rising costs of transport between the EU and the UK. These problems have led to an overall downward trend in cargo flow between the UK and Europe. However, the cargo throughput between the Port of Antwerp and the UK increased by 11.1% in the first half of this year compared to the same period last year, and the cargo throughput with Ireland increased by 12.1%. The United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union five years ago. Since then, Ireland has actively sought direct maritime trade routes with the European continent, skipping the "land bridge" of the United Kingdom. In this way, trade in goods remains in the EU customs zone, eliminating the need for customs procedures and customs duties in transit through the UK. Many new offshore routes have been added between Dublin, the capital of Ireland, and the port of Antwerp. Jacques Vandermeiren, Chief Executive Officer of the Port of Antwerp, said that the positive growth data of transshipment with the United Kingdom and Ireland confirms the importance of short-distance sea transportation and container transportation. "After Brexit, Antwerp wants to be the gateway between Europe and the UK and Ireland more than ever."