EU shellfish war is ‘petty revenge’ for UK vaccine victory

THE EU is trying to punish Britain for its success in the Covid vaccine race by imposing a ban on imports of UK shellfish, a senior Minister has told The Mail on Sunday.

There is mounting Government anger over the EU’s ban on the export of live mussels, oysters, clams and cockles from Britain’s so-called ‘Class B’ waters – which account for the vast majority of the produce – which is being seen as ‘petty revenge’ for Brexit.

Correspondence between Whitehall and the European Commission appears to show that Brussels had previously assured the UK that the exports would be allowed, only to perform a U-turn after Brexit.

The Minister said: ‘This is endof-empire stuff. They are trying to punish us for daring to become a nation state, and dread us succeeding on our own in case it encourages others to follow suit. The triumph of our vaccine programme has led to this petty revenge.’

The British Government is pointing to an email sent by Christine Middlemiss, the UK’s chief veterinary officer, to an official at the Commission on September 16, 2019, to clarify that ‘live bivalve molluscs’ could be sold to the EU after Brexit if their purity was certified by a ‘model animal health certificate’. The official responded that such shellfish ‘exported to the EU for purification can be certified’ with that documentation.

In a briefing note attached to the documents, the Department for the Environment, Food & Rural Affairs [Defra] stated: ‘The reply endorsed Defra’s view and agreed that the appropriate certificate was the one Defra officials had suggested. This exchange therefore corroborated for Defra that the trade could continue following the end of the transition period.’

Environment Secretary George Eustice has described the ban on unpurified molluscs as an ‘indefensible’ move which threatens to devastate the UK’s fishing industry.

Tory MPs have urged the Prime Minister to take retaliatory action such as slowing down the UK’s approval of fishing licences to EU vessels seeking access to the UK’s territorial waters.

Fishermen whose business has already been hit hard by the closure of restaurants during lockdown had been assured by the Government that there would only be a brief hiatus in their trade with the bloc between January and the introduction of a new EU import certificate in April.

But two weeks ago, the Commission told the British shellfish industry that the ban on both farmed and wild molluscs would become permanent on the grounds of public health.

Now shellfish can be transported to the Continent only if they have been treated in expensive purification plants first.

Lord Frost, who led the UK’s Brexit trade talks with the EU, is now tackling the crisis along with Mr Eustice and Cabinet Office Minister Michael Gove.

Lord Frost has said that the EU was still adjusting to an independent Britain on its doorstep, adding of the transition: ‘I think it’s been more than bumpy, to be honest. I think it’s been problematic. I hope we’ll get over this’.