Barnier warns they’ll ban our dogs and cats from Europe if there’s No Deal

MICHEL Barnier yesterday threatened that cats and dogs will not be able to cross the Channel after Brexit if Britain leaves the EU without a deal.

The European Commission’s chief negotiator said he is making contingency plans for the possible failure of talks.

But he claimed this could lead to British planes not being allowed to land in Europe and pets unable to cross the Channel.

Under the EU’s pet passport scheme, dogs, cats and ferrets can travel to the Continent without going through quarantine. According to EU figures, 2 0,000 Brit- ish cats and dogs are taken on holiday by their owners every year. Animals that do not have pet passports can be quarantined or simply sent back home.

Mr Barnier told a French newspaper a no deal scenario ‘is not my preferred option’. He added: ‘But it’s a possibility. Everyone needs to plan for it, member states and businesses. We too are preparing for it technically.’ He recalled that without a deal the EU and Britain would revert to World Trade Organisation tariffs, with trade ties ‘like those we have with China’.

On Friday, Mr Barnier was accused of blackmail after he gave Britain a twoweek deadline to make concessions on a divorce agreement if it wants to unlock the next phase of talks in December.

He said it was ‘vital’ for Britain to increase its offer of what it is willing to pay towards the EU’s demand of up to 60 billion euros (£ 3billion).

EU leaders decided in October that there was insufficient progress on the exit bill as well as on Northern Ireland and the rights of Europeans living in Britain. They said they hoped to open talks on future relations and a post-Brexit transition period in December, but officials have warned that could slip to February or March.