UK-EU Summit Nears Amid Deepening Trade Deal Scrutiny
Food and farming deal on the table as UK weighs regulatory alignment against EU demands for financial contributions and mobility schemes.
Carla Rooney
A critical summit is set for November 20 to discuss potential agreements between the UK and the EU.
Draft documents reveal the EU demands a block on deporting EU criminals. Billions in contributions to improve living standards across member states are also required. The UK's participation in parts of the EU's internal market necessitates an appropriate financial contribution to reduce economic and social disparities between EU regions.
Under a proposed 'mobility' deal, the UK could agree to 80,000 young people entering the country each year. This scheme would allow 18-to-30-year-olds to travel from the EU for up to three years. The UK would spend £450 million annually to subsidise tuition fees for EU students.
Environment Secretary Dame Angela Eagle dismissed comparisons to past Brexit debates over bendy bananas. She stressed that closer alignment aims to boost trade with European neighbours. "This is actually about ensuring that we can do business with our closest neighbours," she stated.
We've got huge potential growth in our economy if we allow our farmers and food producers to be able to export into Europe again without all the huge uncertainty and the costs and frictions that Brexit brought us,
Dame Angela also highlighted the economic benefits. "We've got huge potential growth in our economy if we allow our farmers and food producers to be able to export into Europe again without all the huge uncertainty and the costs and frictions that Brexit brought us," she asserted. She declined to commit to a 24-month transition period for farmers, arguing that removing trade barriers quickly would bring immediate economic benefits.
New rules will apply to firms regardless of whether they trade with the EU. Manufacturers will have three years to clear existing stocks before a ban comes into force.
Concerns have emerged that a Brexit deal could lead to a ban on smoky bacon crisps. These crisps could be removed from supermarket shelves as part of Prime Minister Andy Burnham's Brexit reset deal.
Dame Angela Eagle, when questioned about these claims, told an interviewer to "get a life." She added, "Oh, Stig. I mean, really, we’ve had EU straight bananas, and now we’re talking about banning smoky bacon crisps, I think you should get a life."