The House of Lords EU Energy and Environment
Committee today took evidence from Secretary of State MP. The Committee explored the
extent to which DEFRA is prepared for a ‘no deal’ Brexit and
outlined the implications for the following
areas:
Exporting Animals – In a ‘no
deal’ scenario, no animals from the UK will be able to be
exported to the EU until the UK has been “listed” as a third
country. The Secretary of State made clear that the EU are
currently not willing to allow the UK to apply for this status
until the UK has left the EU. The process could take up to 6
months; whilst Mr. Gove stated there is a possibility the EU may
agree to adopt a ‘fast-track’ approach allowing exports to resume
in 5 days, there is no guarantee of this approach being
agreed.
Borders and Ports – The
Secretary of State asserted that one of his biggest concerns is
what will happen at the UK’s ports. One fifth of the UK’s exports
go via the Dover Straights and the Eurotunnel to Calais. In a ‘no
deal’ scenario, the UK becomes a third country and all animal
exports have to be checked at a Border Inspection Post (BIP).
There is no BIP at Calais, so all animal and animal exports will
have to be re-routed. This is likely to have serious implications
for UK road traffic and for capacity at other
ports.
Waste – Waste exporters will
have to be reapproved to ship waste to the EU; a process that
normally takes 3-6 months. Exporters may have to wait until after
we leave the EU before they can apply to be reapproved. A 3-6
month hiatus in waste exports could mean 1.8million tonnes of
waste stranded in the UK. During the session the Secretary of
State was unable to give an update on the progress that has been
made in negotiating an alternative to this scenario
Fishing – Despite popular
belief that Brexit will mean taking back control of our waters,
the Secretary of State was clear that the UK will honour the
fishing quotas that will be agreed in December Council with the
EU. This meansEU fishermen will continue to have access to UK
waters as they do now for the first nine months of Brexit. When
questioned on whether his department had adequate resource to
police access to UK waters, the Secretary of State explained he
had presented a business case to HM Treasury for more staff and
more boats. As some will need to come from the Royal Navy, he
said he had written to the Defense Secretary just last night “to
reinforce the importance of the business case”.
Watch the session back here.
