The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Hogan lays into backstop claim
The EU farm commissioner, Irishman Phil Hogan, has ripped into Boris Johnson over his claim that the backstop must go. Speaking in Ireland, Mr Hogan said the EU “would not buckle” to pressure from London.
Controversially, he claimed it was rich of Mr Johnson to describe the backstop as undemocratic, describing him as an “unelected prime minister” who had voted in favour of the Withdrawal Agreement.
Mr Hogan, who hopes to become trade commissioner in the new European Commission, said a no-deal departure by the UK would create a “foul atmosphere” which would have “serious consequences” for UK trade negotiations and relations with the EU.
He said no-deal would hurt everyone, but would hurt the UK most of all.
Meanwhile, despite spin from Downing Street, the French and German presidents made clear to Mr Johnson that they were not convinced technical alternatives would either work or be acceptable to the EU27.
This is a key issue for agriculture and will decide whether or not Irish food exports to the UK will be tariff free.
A positive is that three years on from the referendum, both sides are finally into the red meat of deal-making rather than diplomacy.
The UK has now withdrawn its representatives from all Brussels committees. This will leave the UK with no involvement in decisions, while still paying into the EU and, more importantly, with no inside track to the Brussels gossip machine.
According to a report from the European Commission, just over half of eggs are still produced in basic enriched cage systems.
The EU is reporting some growth in alternatives such as organic, free range and barn production systems, but this is concentrated in the northern European member states.
The growth figures for alternatives could look even worse after Brexit, since the UK accounts for 40% of free range eggs.
The number of laying hens in the EU, at 417 million, rose by 8% over the past two years.
Production is concentrated in seven member states – France, Germany, Poland, the UK, Italy, Spain and the Netherlands. Of the alternative systems, 29% are barn, 15% free range and 5% are organic.
Traditional cages were banned in favour of enriched systems in 1999 but this was not fully implemented until 2012. Austria is set to ban enriched cages this year and Germany will do so by 2025.