UK must play by EU rules, warns Barnier

The EU’s chief negotiator on Brexit, the former French farm minister Michel Barnier, has warned the UK against any move away from what is known as the European farming model.

This is based around current structures deemed to be delivering socially, economically and for the environment.

This model has been the basis of the CAP for many years.

Mr Barnier claimed that if the UK opted to move away from EU rules in areas such as food safety and food quality, it would find it very difficult to secure access to the EU-27 market after Brexit.

He said the European Parliament could block any deal where the UK had moved away from these core EU principles.

These comments were triggered by suggestions from the US that the UK should adopt its regulatory approach, rather than that of the EU.

This would allow, for example, chlorine-washed chicken and GM food.

Mr Barnier, however, insisted the UK must decide whether it wanted to stay close to the European approach, or move away from it and accept the trade consequences of doing so. Brazil is again facing criticism of its food safety standards after Russia banned the import of pork and beef.

This was on grounds that it had detected residues of the growth promoter ractopamine, which is banned in Russia and by many others, including the EU.

These claims have been rejected by the industry in Brazil, which claims it does not use the growth promoter.

However, Russia insists it has detected residues in meat samples, and until it can be persuaded otherwise the ban will stand.

This is a blow for Brazil’s efforts to show that, in the wake of the recent substandard meat bribery scandal, it has cleaned up its industry.

It also emerged at a critical time in the Mercosur negotiations, with Brazil and others pressing the EU to increase its reduced tariff beef import quota from its initial 70,000 tonnes offer.

Picture: AP. The EU’s chief Brexit negotiatior, Michel Barnier.