A new package of proposals which will guarantee “unfettered access to the UK’s internal market” and reduce post-Brexit checks and paperwork for Northern Ireland have been unveiled today (Wednesday, January 31) by the British government.
The proposals are set out in a new policy paper – Safeguarding the Union – which has the backing of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and which aim to get the Northern Ireland Executive at Stormont back up and running.
According to the policy paper the proposals will remove “unnecessary bureaucracy when moving goods within the UK internal market system”.
It also highlights that the “protection of Northern Ireland’s rural and farming communities remains a key priority to ensuring that economic benefits are felt across the whole of Northern Ireland”.
Currently under the Windsor Framework – the Northern Ireland specific Brexit deal agreed by the UK and the EU – there is currently a two lane operation for goods coming in to Northern Ireland from Great Britain .
There is a green lane for those goods that will stay in Northern Ireland and a red lane for those that may go on to the EU.
But there will be major changes to the Windsor Framework and this will include a “new internal market guarantee” which will see the green lane replaced.
“The measures will mean that there will be no checks when goods move within the UK internal market system save those conducted by UK authorities as part of a risk-based or intelligence-led approach to tackle criminality, abuse of the scheme, smuggling and disease risks,” the policy paper states.
It also outlines that agrifood, members of the schemes “will not have to rely on hundreds of vet-signed certificates when moving goods, instead using a single general certificate”.
In addition there will be “legislation to maximise the flow of goods across the UK,” it states.
The UK Government has stated however that it is also its position that the “Windsor Framework applies entirely consistently with Northern Ireland’s constitutional position within the UK”.
Northern Ireland
The Safeguarding the Union document details that previously banned seed potatoes and a range of native tree species prioritised by industry “will also be able to move again – including hawthorn and apple trees, with more species being added on an ongoing basis.”
“Garden centres can now use the Northern Ireland Plant Health Label to move products to Northern Ireland rather than requiring EU phytosanitary certification,” it outlined.
Under the proposals livestock can move from Northern Ireland to Great Britain for shows and sales with the freedom to return within 15 days which it states would abolish “previous requirements that made moving livestock temporarily more difficult”.
A total of 15 markets including Ruthin, Lanark, Dumfries and Carlisle have now been registered to benefit from this and the Stirling market is in the process of undergoing final authorisation.
One other key issue highlighted in the document is that “legislation to confirm Windsor Framework labelling requirements will apply across the United Kingdom”.
It is set out in the 76 page document that this is “in line with our longstanding commitments to remove any disincentive for suppliers, manufacturers or retailers to place goods on the market in Northern Ireland.
“This will provide a critical, legally binding UK-wide solution”.
Veterinary medicines
The Safeguarding the Union document also confirms that there are plans to “introduce legislation in the spring that would avoid new regulatory divergence between Great Britain and Northern Ireland on veterinary medicines”.
This will ensure “continued supply of necessary veterinary medicines in Northern Ireland beyond 2025, pursuing an agreement with the EU on a long-term basis but if necessary, by a guarantee of flexibilities that would be deployed by the government,” it states.
The document also references new rules which came into force today on goods moving from the EU to Great Britain – but goods moving from Northern Ireland to GB – including via Dublin – are exempt from these.
