Brussels urged to treat Christmas crackers in the same way as Cumberland sausages
CHRISTMAS crackers exported to Northern Ireland must be exempt from Brexit red tape in the same way as British sausages, Tory and DUP politicians have said.
British cracker makers face burdensome regulations for the first time this Christmas if they want to export to Northern Ireland because of Brexit and the Irish Sea border.
The festive treats are subject to new paperwork and testing rules.
Northern Ireland continues to follow some single market rules, including those on pyrotechnics from non-eu countries, to prevent a hard land border with EU member Ireland under the Northern Ireland Protocol.
However, the European Commission had said British bangers, exported to Northern Ireland, could have an exemption for “national identity goods” to stave off the UK-EU sausage war.
DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson urged the EU to agree to “sensible and practical solutions” over crackers, which are not widely popular in Europe.
He said: “I would encourage the EU to choose this route and find outcomes which work for everyone rather than continue with an approach where they’re happy to cancel Christmas just to punish the UK for Brexit.”
“Crackers are a British tradition and should be treated in the same way as Cumberland sausages,” said David Jones, the Tory deputy chairman of the European Research Group of MPS. “It’s crackers because Northern Ireland is part of our own country,” he added.
EU officials said Christmas crackers could benefit from simplified customs declarations under proposals for the reworking of the protocol if they stay in Northern Ireland.
Brussels has offered to dramatically cut the number of border checks on British goods to break the deadlock over the protocol. Talks are expected to last until early November. Hannah Bidmead is the founder of Kent-based Nancy & Betty, which produces handmade, luxury and sustainable crackers. It supplies the House of Commons, Harrods, Claridges and Fortnum & Mason and also delivers to Northern Irish customers.
“We spend more time on paperwork and we are paying our staff who are spending longer on doing it,” she said.
“We will still fulfil orders we get from Northern Ireland but it might take us longer because of the paperwork and we might get to the point where we need to say ‘no’ nearer to Christmas.”
Crackers exported to Northern Ireland from mainland Britain must now include labelling showing the importer’s names, registered trade name or trademark and postal address on each cracker or box of crackers.
They now also need to be sent to an EU testing laboratory for safety checks.
Meanwhile, Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission’s president, has warned she will try to block any new compromises in the negotiations over the Northern Ireland Protocol.
She has deployed Stephanie Riso, her deputy chief of staff and Brexit adviser, to inform colleagues in Brussels that the bloc won’t “go any further” on its plans to eliminate customs controls in the province.
A senior EU diplomat confirmed Mrs Von der Leyen’s hard line approach to the discussions currently taking place in the Belgian capital.
She has previously warned that the EU rules in Northern Ireland should be applied to the letter of the law.
Mrs Von der Leyen’s approach risks tightening tensions with Downing Street, which has insisted the EU’S proposals don’t go far enough to address concerns over the protocol, which ties Northern Ireland to about 300 Single Market to avoid a hard border.
What do you call a Eurocrat at Christmas? Holly unnecessary! What prevents Father Christmas from delivering in Ulster? The Northern Ireland Snow-tocol! Any Christmas cracker manufacturers wishing to make use of these jokes can contact the Daily Telegraph at the address on this page. More difficult to solve will be a growing row over restrictions on the transit of Christmas crackers between Britain and Northern Ireland. The Province is still subject to EU rules on the import of pyrotechnics, even small ones that come with a paper crown and wrapped in a cardboard tube. Brexiteers say that this is an outrage and they are surely right. Even Ebenezer Scrooge came to his senses at Christmas. There is still time for Ursula von der Leyen and Maros Sefcovic to avoid the charge of humbug.