The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Vaccine row fallout could ease tensions
The botched attempt by the European Commission to scrap the Northern Ireland protocol to allow a vaccine export ban may help ease some Brexit tensions.
Brussels has been widely criticised by member states, including the Irish government, for this tactic and the fallout may have made it more willing to discuss problems around the Brexit free trade deal.
Before the vaccine row it was refusing to engage properly via the committee structure set up to tackle trade problems. But it is now under political pressure to be seen to resolve these in a way that does not again threaten the protocol.
Committees to tackle these issues that were stalled are coming back to life, thanks to a realisation in Brussels that it needs to draw a line under the vaccine row to avoid further criticism from member states.
Red meat is in the firing line in Brussels as it drives ahead with its policies to “green” policy and reduce carbon output, while improving health.
Brussels has launched a 180 million euro (£155m) fund for food promotion, but now it wants the red meat sector to be excluded from support.
It stopped short of an outright ban, thanks to farming lobby pressure, but has made clear that red meat will not be looked on favourably when projects are being assessed.
This is on grounds it does not fit with its plans to cut EU carbon output and because plant-based diets could reduce cancer levels in the EU27.
Animal welfare pressure groups say the Commission should go further and block all funding for meat promotion.
In London, Boris Johnson, with his newly found green credentials, has hinted that a carbon tax that would hit meat and dairy products could be one of the measures to help fill the taxation black hole Covid has created.
Meanwhile, a new Commission report says Common Agricultural Policy measures, including greening, have had a positive impact on soil quality.
This coincided with a consultation on a new soil strategy and the environment commissioner describing soil as a “treasure beneath our feet” that needs to be protected for farming and the environment.