berlin. a global party held mostly without spectators. fireworks light up cities assorted says hello to 2020 one. was coronavirus running rampant, health advisors advising people to stay home, watch on tv. also, the u.k.'s final departure

from the eu single market at midnight brussels time. and on the eve of a year that will see her leave office, angela merkel describes coronavirus as a once in a century challenge. ♪ i'm phil gayle. welcome to the program. the pandemic has put a series damper onew year's eve parties this year. one of the first countries to arrive in 2021, new zealand, was able to celebrate without restrictions. with covid-19 wiped out in the pacific nation, crowds gathered to celebrate the start of the new year without any need for

masks for social distancing. inustralia, the international spectacular sydy harbour bridge fireworks went ahead, but a recent new outbreak meant people had to stay home and watch on tv. hong kong staged a dazzling light and laser show, but january 1 is not as important as the chinese new year, which will be celebrated in february. in pyongyang, thousands of north koreans masked up to attend the official fireworks display. here in europe, the united kingdom would leave the eu' customs union and central market at midnight. the u.k. will then trade goods with the 27-member bloc under a new treaty agreed with brussels

last week. >> goods from britain roll off the ferry. it's the last day of the year and the last day of the united kingdom in the eu. the u.k.'s membership of the customs union and single market ends, and with it custom-free-trade. a deal struck on christmas eve wilkin -- will ensure goods will flow without tariffs, but red tape could force delays. >> the smallest thing, even just a couple more minutes, would drive us to prove that their merchandise is customs-approved with the right documents and the right barcodes. if that takes just a couple minutes, we know that even with normal activity, there is a risk of those infamous traffic cues.

>> wednesday, the parliament foot on the trade deal agreed with the eu. lawmakers had just hours to scrutinize the 1200-page document. only few voted against it, even though many agree to did not fulfill boris johnson's brexit promises. but for the prime minister, the goods were delivered. >> here it is. i know the question you will all be asking yourselves is have i read it, and the answer is yes. >> at the port of dover, the last day of the year began with clear skies and clear passage to europe. foreign a half years after britain's voted to leave the european union, a cliff edge brexit has been avoided, but rough seas could be over the horizon -- four and a half years after britons voted to leave the european union.

phil: welcome. it looks cold. is the port ready to become a customs border? what changes will it see? >> there will be lots of changes here, but let take one last moment to look at these fairies in the background. that is one of the last fairies that is going to go across in just a little while, to the british harbor with dover. trucks are still rolling on at the moment, and this is the last time that they can do this easily and freely because there is just nothing between them and this ferry there. of course, everything will change. there will be so many more controls. there will be lots of paperwork, and a lot of bureaucracy. for the truckers themselves, this is going to become so much harder.

also, it has symbolic importance. this is the final cut between the two sides that for around 50 years were so closely linked. phil: how are people feeling there? >> people are a bit sad. you do feel among the inhabitants here a certain amount of grit. people who work for the port. the port here is really what kelly -- what calle lives off. this is there mainstay. -- that is their mainstay. they felt that they were so closely tied to britain. there was no border, nothing between them, just this bit of water here, which is 37 kilometers. nothing, more or less. they are sad, but they also in a way are quite matter-of-fact and

say, we will have to learn to live with it. if this is what they wanted, then we cannot help it. we just have to arrange ourselves so that we make do. yes, we are losing them as close friends, but they will still stay neighbors. that is really pretty much what everybody here says. phil: that is pretty much what the british prime minister, boris johnson, is saying. he productive future relationship between the u.k. and eu will be close -- he predicts the future relationship between the u.k. and eu will be close. what are you saying? >> boris johnson is saying it is almost not there. of course, that is not true. it is a big change for people who live in this area. this is somehow the end of the european union. in a way, it means that for the political side, it will play

into people's lives, really, and they will just have to figure out how to look to the future. there's a certain sadness, and of course, they will have to manage. they will just have to make do, and they, of course, are afraid of certain fallout if they should be less transport coming through here, but people just cannot help it. they say this is politics and they would never have chosen to do this. >> thank you. for the last time this year but maybe not for the last time, alex moves amongst us. this has been torturous, about 4.5 years of negotiations. what will actually change when midnight strikes? >> is going to be more paperwork, more red tape coming. one of the big changes we will see is the end of free movement.

that means that automatic right of british citizens to be able to live, to work, to study in the eu will stop. instead, there will be more immigration rules. there will be a call for visas, and it will be more complicated. the u.k. will implement a new points system for immigration to make sure eu citizens are treated the same as non-eu citizens, but for tourists, there will be complications. they have to get travel insurance, and there will also be issues bringing pets in and out of the bloc. they have to get paperwork for that. phil: not a complete change everywhere, though, right? >> that's right. northern ireland will still have to follow a number of rules because they wanted to prevent the hard porter across the

island of ireland, and gibraltar as well, which is a tiny british territory, stuck right next to spain. a deal has been struck between spain and the u.k. only a few hours ago which would put gibraltar into the schengen area to make sure they will not have a hard porter there either. -- hard border there either. the service industry makes up 80% of the british economy, particularly the financial services, especially the city of london, and no one knows what the rules will be. for example, can british banks sell their products to the eu? don't know, that still has to be fleshed out. it sounds crazy, but remember the british prime minister boris johnson wanted to do something very simple, as he said, which

was to take back control. he, for example, put a lot of focus on making sure british waters would be british. the fishing rights perhaps getting more focus than, say, financial services. will: from what you're saying, it does not sound as though this is the end. >> am afraid it is not going to be the end. there is much less to flesh out. this could end up leading to the breakup of the united kingdom itself. that's because scotland voted to remain in the eu. they are also being forced out because they are part of the u.k.. they want independence, and if that happens, the u.k. will no loer exist. i think we can say this is the beginning of the end of brexit, and there is more to come. phil: the u.s. says it will increase tariffs on a range of

eu goods in the latest development in a 60-year battle. new charges are being imposed on airplane parts from france and germany. police in pakistan have arrested 24 people after a hindu temple was set alight and destroyed. several muslim clerics were among those taken into custody. the temple became a target of muslim protest after the minority hindu community was given permission to [inaudible] the vatican says pope francis will not host new year's eve or new year's day ceremonies because of a flareup of sciatica. this is the first time in years that ill health has caused him to miss a significant papal event. german chancellor angela merkel

has called on germans to help beat the pandemic by sticking to the rules in the weeks and months ahead. in what is likely to be her final new year's address, the chancellor said the country is facing hard times. now that vaccinations have begun, hope is in sight. >> after a year dominated by one issue, it came as no surprise that the main theme of chancellor merkel's traditional new year's address was the pandemic. "the coronavirus pandemic was and is a once in a century political, social, and economic challenge. it is a historic crisis that has demanded a great deal of all of us and too much of some of us. i know that mustering this historic effort has required tremendous trust and patience on your part and continues to do so. though the pandemic and its effect on german society dominated the speech, it was also a message of hope with the

biontech-pfizer vaccine already in use in several countries. with the end of her political career beckoning, merkel ended on a personal note. "there will be general elections in nine months and i will not be running for reelection. today i will likely be speaking to you on new year's as federal chancellor for the last time. i do not think i'm exaggerating when i say that never in the past 50 years have we all experienced such a difficult year, but never have we greeted the new year with so much hope, despite our concerns and skepticism. so you and your families have my best wishes for good health, confidence, and blessings in the new year, 2021."

phil: our correspondent watched the chancellor's address in full. probably her last one in 15 years in office. what do you make of it? >> unless those elections produce a very difficult situation where coalition talks go into the next year, it is her last one, so there's a chance we might see her in the new year. we saw very emotional scenes this year, her talking about in parliament it was breaking her heart having to implement such covid-19 measures, particularly going into that lockdown. we saw a chancellor this evening who was a lot more her old self, i would say. she talks about this most likely being her last address. she says it's all about covid-19 and only brushes in passing big issues like climate change and europe's space in the world.

no agenda-setting at all, but i chancellor trying to show empathy. >> she talked about this being the most difficult year of her tenure. how satisfied have germans been? >> they have been very satisfied, and this against a backdrop of rising figures in germany, but she was transparent from the word go. she is the one who called on her state premieres in october 2 implement touching -- implement something approaching a lockdown . she is soaring in opinion polls, though one must say that the old wisdom are crisis times for

government -- phil: it's interesting. a year ago, you escwa angela merkel will be remembered for, it would be -- a year ago, if you asked what angela merkel would be remembered for, it would be the migrant crisis. will it be that for this? quick she will be remembered not just in germany, but the one who called for multilateralism, who called for europe to work together, despite the initial reflex being very national. we will still remember her for migration, but this is the big game changer. she wanted to have a grand legacy with germany having had the eu presidency during the second half of this year. she had big plans for china, those not really coming true. she used to be the migration chancellor until covid-19 came.

that's what she is now. phil: thank you. you can see angela merkel's new year's address in full at midnight berlin time in three hours here on dw, and of course, on all our platforms. we will take a look at some of the latest coronavirus developments around the world. i start in the u.k., which has seen nearly 1000 covid-19 deaths for two days in a row. in italy, new infections have risen sharply to more than 20,000. 7000 more the day previously. italy has seen the highest number of covid-related deaths, and china has approved its first covid-19 vaccine for general use. it's declared 79% effective,

though it has not published full trial data. migrants brazing cold conditions in bosnia-herzegovina were expected to be taken to new accommodation but were instead to -- were instead returned to the camp they had been sheltering in. it is on the so-called balkans route used by people trying to get into the eu as they flee war and poverty. the eu says more than half of bosnians are living without food and shelter. humanitarian groups have condemned the migrants' treatment. >> for many, it is back to this camp, a site that has been uninhabitable for a week now. buses were sent to transport them to a new camp, but they never left. in the town we are headed to, there were heavy protests from

locals. migrants spent the night waiting in the buses. >> they did not give us any updates. they were saying we have to wait until the government will take the decision, so they did not take any decision. finally, they just said you have to go back to the camp. >> the situation is spiraling out of control. the bosnian red cross and volunteers are providing the migrants with one warm meal a day. the camp was set on fire over a week ago after it was closed down with no alternative accommodation arranged. why the camp was set on fire is still unknown. the bosnian red cross described the situation as an all-time low for human dignity. >> its catastrophic -- it is catastrophic. those who make the decisions about the migrants should see what is going on here. something has to be done, and i cannot just wait for what

happens tomorrow. other camps in bosnia are overfilled. phil: take a look at some sport. we start with tennis. andy murray has pulled out of the season open delray beach open in florida. the three-time made and former world number one had accepted a wildcard to play in the final tournament early next week, but the brit has decided it is not worth the risk. he slipped to 122nd in the rankings after playing seven matches in 2020. in basketball, becky helen has made history by becoming the first woman to take site.

she could not prevent the spurs from losing. she became the nba's first female official full-time assistant coach in 2018. as well as his success on the track, he has also campaigned against racial injustice. he is a prominent supporter of the black lives matter movement. 20/20 was a year to forget for germany's national football team -- 2020 was a year to forget for germany's national football team. it ended with a loss to spain, and of course, there was the coronavirus pandemic. germany played just eight games

in eight months. they also had troubles off the pitch. >> seen here sending out a warm christmas message, but the video of the german football association president and his national team coach is over a year old. for 20/20, there was no joint appearance. some think there is tension brewing between the 2 -- for 2020, there was no joint appearance. some think there is tension brewing between the two. german media claim they have met privately. the president supposedly wanting the german national coach to step down after the european championship. "i once again made it very clear among us that i want more trust on matters that have been discussed internally." but the rift could also be why

live still has his job. the germany coach has been trying to build a new team for more than two years now. there are promising signs often civilly -- offensively, but on the defense, there are still cracks. "what is important during rebuilding is to give the players time to develop. when i see that the teastill needs this or that to be successful, then i will definitely do it, but at the moment, i don't see any reason." however, time is running out. in march, there are world cup qualifiers followed in the summer by euro 2021. an early exit could spell his end, but who could replace him?

during the holidays, there's time to take stock. color appeared to hand out and all of branch in an end of your message. the entire coaching staff and the players want it this way i'm confident they will do the right thing by continuing on the path they have taken. what makes color so optimistic is unclear, just like so much else. phil: as we say goodbye to 2020, dw correspondence around the world have been asking people what they want for next year. as a common thread, they want it to be very different from this year. >> i wish good health for every person, for everybody in germany

in 2021. >> my goal in 2021 is actually putting my passport to use and being a bit more free. like, we are out, but it would be so nice to be masked-free, to be able to meet emily, friends, to be able to actually hughem, to be able to dthe normal things again. -- to be able to meet family, friends. >> for myself, i'm hoping to be able to live a normal life. i don't want a life of struge, although in li, there is struggle no matter what. nothing is easy. >> i hope we can go back to work again. i'm a dancer and would like theaters to open again so that humanity can find its smile. >> that i make it to 2022.

that's what i think we are all thinking about. thousands of pele every day dying. at my age, i just want to make it to 2022. phil: i will be back at the top of the hour. please join me. until then, you can get updates on our website, dw.com. ♪

>> warm welcome to ts week edition of "foc on europe." thanks for joining us today. more and more migrants are hoping to reach the uk now, because they fear a brexit deal may make it tougher to enter the country. dreams of a better life are leading them to embark on the risky journey from france across the british channel. some are getting on tiny boats, using shovels as paddles. their goal is to reach the white cliffs of the english coast. the coast guard often has to help migrants in distress, because the crossing