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Gove: UK will work with the EU “over the coming days to fix the difficulties” that have arisen from the NI Protocol. He says officials will “work calmly” and “at speed” to resolve issues. GB exporters to NI have struggled to cope w/ new paperwork, espec for food & animal goods.
Gove tells @LouHaigh that the looming end to GB-NI grace periods - the 3-month grace period for Export Health Certificates expires just next month - “do need to be addressed” and he will be writing to the EU today with “specific steps” for doing so.
Gove has mentioned Export Health Certificates several times, in an indication of how pressing an issue it is. EHCs need to be check by vets and cost lots of ££. Northern Irish hauliers and businesses have warned that failure to address that problem will unleash more disruption.
A penny-drop moment, as Gove admits “there are a number of issues that I would not describe as a teething problems. They are significant issues which bear on the lives of people...”. He calls on GB-NI grace periods (doesn’t say which) to be extended to avoid shortages of goods.
That was a major shift in tone from Gove. Since January 1 the government line, despite lots of evidence to the contrary, was that issues facing GB-NI traders were “teething problems.” Now he admits that some issues are structural, risk livelihoods, and urgently need addressing.
Labour’s @hilarybennmp points out that NI Sec Brandon Lewis told the Brexit committee a few wks ago that it was not the government’s ambition to extend grace periods. He asks: What’s the policy? Gove dodges that Q, says UK will seek to resolve problems in the Joint Committee.
Nearly 5 weeks into post-transition life, the moment arrives...
Gove admits that issues facing British exporters to Northern Ireland are not "teething problems" and confirms that the government wants to extend grace periods
Big shift in tone and policy https://www.politicshome.com/news/article/michael-gove-admits-that-post-brexit-trade-issues-in-northern-ireland-are-not-teething-problems
Gove admits that issues facing British exporters to Northern Ireland are not "teething problems" and confirms that the government wants to extend grace periods
Big shift in tone and policy https://www.politicshome.com/news/article/michael-gove-admits-that-post-brexit-trade-issues-in-northern-ireland-are-not-teething-problems
NI Retail Consortium’s @MichaelAodhan says Gove is “absolutely right – we do need an extension to the grace period to ensure that hard-pressed NI families are not affected by further disruption in the availability of goods”
But “in the longer term, we need a workable solution”
But “in the longer term, we need a workable solution”
