Brexit consequences for Northern Ireland
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“Sausage war”: EU grants London a reprieve
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Maros Sefcovic, Vice President of the EU Commission, hopes for “good will” from the British side. Photo: Johanna Geron / Reuters Pool / AP / dpa / archive image
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Brussels / London The virtual sea border between Great Britain and Northern Ireland continues to cause controversy between Brussels and London. Now there is a compromise – but it can only be an interim solution.
In the “sausage war” between the EU and Great Britain there is for the time being a “ceasefire”. On Wednesday, the EU extended the transition period for the unhindered export of meat and sausage products to Northern Ireland until September 30th.
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Due to different hygiene rules, such products should actually no longer have been imported from England, Scotland and Wales to Northern Ireland from July onwards. For this purpose, London wants to continue to orient itself, at least temporarily, to the EU standards for meat products that are currently in force in Great Britain, as the British government announced.
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The British Brexit Minister David Frost announced that there would be no adjustment to future changes to the EU rules. “This is a positive first step, but we still need a permanent solution.” EU Vice-Commission President Maros Sefcovic also stressed in Brussels that “goodwill” is needed to find a solution.
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The background to this is the regulation stipulated in the Brexit agreement that the British province of Northern Ireland will de facto remain in the customs union and internal market of the EU even after Brexit. This is to prevent goods controls between Northern Ireland and the EU member Ireland in order to prevent tensions in the former unrest province. But controls now have to be carried out instead between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK. This leads to difficulties in intra-British trade, for which London and Brussels hold each other responsible.
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In Brussels it was stressed on Wednesday that the extension of the deadline was only granted to avoid supply problems and to allow supermarkets in Northern Ireland to adjust their supply chains. It is also a condition that imported meat products are accompanied by official UK health certificates and that they are only specially packaged and labeled for sale to end consumers in supermarkets in Northern Ireland.
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© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210630-99-208135 / 2
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