Brexit: UK's request on meat ban 'gives chance for calm'

Ireland's European commissioner, Mairead McGuinness, has said the UK's request for a postponement of a ban on some British meat products being sold in NI provides a chance for "calm".

Exports of chilled meats from GB to NI are due to be banned at the end of June under the terms of the NI Protocol.

The UK has asked for the deadline to be extended until the end of September.

NI Agriculture Minister Edwin Poots has said getting rid of the protocol "is the only solution".

Earlier this year the UK unilaterally extended other protocol "grace periods" which contributed to a worsening relationship with the EU.

The EU has said those actions by the UK breached the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement and international law because it was not consulted.

Last week, the UK formally requested a extension of the chilled meats grace period.

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The European Commission has asked the UK for an urgent meeting to discuss the request.

Mairead McGuinness was announced as Ireland's European commissioner last year

Ms McGuinness told the British Irish Chamber of Commerce that the EU will try to resolve the sensitive issues in NI and hopes the protocol can be depoliticised over time.

Grace periods

The Northern Ireland Protocol is the part of the Brexit deal which keeps NI in the EU single market for goods.

The EU does not generally permit the import of chilled meat products like mince and sausages from non-member states.

Since January, producers in Great Britain have not been able to sell those products in the EU.

However, in December 2020 the EU agreed to a six-month grace period to allow supermarkets in Northern Ireland to re-orientate supply chains away from Great Britain.

The UK has asked the EU to extend a grace period for chilled meats until the end of September.

In recent weeks the issue has seen growing tension between the EU and UK with the UK refusing to rule out a unilateral extension of the grace period.

The EU has warned it could respond with legal action which could ultimately lead to the introduction of tariffs on British goods.

The Northern Ireland Protocol is the part of the Brexit deal which keeps NI in the EU single market for goods

Meanwhile, Northern Ireland Agriculture Minister Edwin Poots said that a UK/EU veterinary agreement as a way out of problems with the protocol was not going to happen.

Mr Poots, who was answering questions at Stormont for the first time since announcing he was standing down as DUP leader, said he had told European Commission Vice-President Maros Sefcovic that the level of checks on goods coming from Great Britain to Northern Ireland was "preposterous".

He said the system would become "unworkable" once current grace periods expired and the full range of controls kicked in.

'Taking a battering'

EU officials and representatives of the Irish government have suggested that a Swiss-style veterinary agreement could dispense with 80% of the checks across the Irish Sea border.

Mr Poots said the EU appeared to be "hanging their hat" on its application to the whole of the UK.

"That isn't going to happen in reality so getting rid of the protocol is the only solution for the people of Northern Ireland and government needs to act," he said.

SDLP assembly member Matthew O'Toole said the protocol was helping food businesses with easy access to both EU and GB markets.

By contrast, he said exporters in GB faced problems getting into the EU with produce stuck in warehouses and "going out of date quicker than the average DUP leadership".

Mr Poots said that any advantage with exports was more than outweighed by problems with importing materials from GB.

He said importers were "taking a battering" with additional cost and trade friction which would increase at the end of the grace periods.

"The delusion that it is a win-win situation is just that, it's a delusion."

Sinn Féin assembly member Liz Kimmins said the DUP had been responsible for much of the current situation by pursuing a hard Brexit.