EU leaders warn of no-deal Brexit

EU leaders have warned member states to prepare for a “no-deal” Brexit, which would have a catastrophic effect on Irish agriculture.

The UK government was again defeated in a vote on how parliament should approve any final Brexit agreement. A joint statement from the EU and UK released in Brussels on Tuesday, confirmed that “serious issues remain on the border backstop”.

This is in relation to the arrangement agreed last December that would minimise border disruption between the Republic and Northern Ireland. The UK government is looking at how this might be extended to the wider UK to avoid a border in the Irish sea but this idea is not gaining much support in Brussels.

Speaking in Vienna, EU lead negotiator Michel Barnier said “we need more realism in what is possible and what is not outside the EU” and again emphasising that it was not possible to “maintain the benefits of the current relationship while leaving the EU framework”.

Next week’s Council of Ministers is likely to hear that the Irish border issue has not been resolved, and will probably be pushed back until October’s Council. This is despite June having been declared as the deadline for resolving the backstop arrangement between the UK and EU.

It is likely to create a pressure cooker atmosphere at the October council with the concern for Irish farmers that the Taoiseach will be forced to accept a compromise on last December’s agreement.

The uncertainty of a Mercosur agreement being close to conclusion remains. Koen Dillen of the European Commission’s DG Agriculture stated a deal is now extremely likely as member states look at “the bigger picture”, with no timeline.

Commissioner for Agriculture Phil Hogan insisted the ball is in the court of the Mercosur countries. He said negotiations are nowhere near reaching resolutions on the policy issues raised by the EU: “There is a long way to go in terms of convincing the Mercosur countries of what needs to be done to secure a deal.”

Read more

Selling of CAP begins