UK and EU expected to declare sausage war ceasefire next week
Negotiators will move to stop the outbreak of a sausage trade war next week by agreeing a ceasefire in the row over an EU ban on British bangers in Northern Ireland.
Sources on both sides predicted a deal would be done next week just days before the June 30 deadline for a grace period in the Northern Ireland Protocol for chilled meat preparations.
The UK has threatened to unilaterally extend the grace period, as it had done for supermarket supplies and parcels, so British sausages could still be stocked in Northern Irish shops from July 1.
Brussels warned that move would break international law for a third time and be met with punitive tariffs, which could lead to a trade war.
European Commission officials briefed EU diplomats on the UK’s request for a three month extension to the grace period, ahead of next week’s talks.
Ambassadors gave informal approval to the extension after Maros Sefcovic, the commission vice-president, told them a banger ban could spark unrest at the start of the marching season in Northern Ireland.
The delay would be on the basis that the UK would not change its food safety rules during it, as was agreed when the six month grace period was agreed last December.
An EU official said media reports of a six month extension, dismissed outright by UK officials, were surprising.
“I know we think that three months is short,” an EU official said, “but we haven’t discussed it in detail yet with the UK.”
“We’re now discussing with member states and the European Parliament. My gut feeling tells me an agreement could be next week.”
Both sides have signalled openness to agreeing an extension, which Lord Frost said would give “breathing space” over a row that has stoked tensions in Northern Ireland.
The banger ban could be avoided if the UK and EU strike a veterinary agreement but Britain will not agree to Brussels' demands it aligns with its food safety and animal health rules. The UK wants its system to be seen as equivalent to the EU's rather than dictated by it.
EU diplomats warned that a long term solution to the problem had to be found rather than the grace period becoming permanent.
The Protocol, which is part of the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement, prevents a hard border on the island of Ireland by creating an Irish Sea customs border with Britain.
Northern Ireland continues to follow almost 300 EU rules, from sardine marketing to seal fur regulations, to prevent the need for more checks on the island.
Lord Frost has said that the Protocol is not working and that British goods face too many burdensome checks when exported to Northern Ireland, which is having a “chilling effect” on intra-UK trade.
Unionists fear that the forced changes to EU supply chains will put a wedge between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK.
Brandon Lewis said it was "reasonable" to assume that changes will be made to the Northern Ireland Protocol as it is "not sustainable" in its current form.
The comments came after outgoing DUP leader Edwin Poots said he had received a personal assurance from the UK Government that significant changes will be made to the Protocol.
Appearing before the Northern Ireland Affairs committee, Mr Lewis told MPs: "We are very clear that the current position of the Protocol is not sustainable, it is causing issues for businesses and consumers and citizens in Northern Ireland, and we need to rectify that.
"I think it is reasonable for anybody to take the view that we have said that there will be changes because there has to be, the current status quo is not sustainable."
Asked about businesses being hit with tariffs because goods moving from Great Britain to Northern Ireland are classed as being "at risk" of entering the EU’s Single Market, he said, “the Protocol has got to work in a pragmatic way and proportionate way.”
