The European Commission’s acceptance that the UK will not seek an extension of the Brexit transition period beyond December is progress of sorts.
This will bring a new focus to negotiations that have made little progress, in part because delay has always been the commission’s favoured option.
In Brussels and London, plans are now being put in place for a more focused approach, with both insisting a “no deal” outcome needs to be avoided. At the same time, both are positioning themselves to avoid the blame if this happens.
Despite months of talks, the sticking points around fishing, adherence to EU regulations and the Irish border remain the same, with no resolution in sight.
With a December deadline, London and Brussels are back in the last-chance saloon, but this time knowing that economic damage from coronavirus makes no deal even more economically risky.
The EU’s chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, this week criticised the UK for taking the talks backwards by trying to put Geographic Indication products back on the trade agenda, despite this issue apparently already having been resolved.
The Irish government has agreed a 50 million euro aid package for beef producers who have been hit hard by the coronavirus crisis.
Beef finishers then faced a double blow because processors have responded by reducing production, leaving farms over-stocked with finished cattle.
The Irish government says this is an “emergency response” to a “dramatic economic shock” that demands action by the EU and national governments.
The Irish plan will need state aid approval from the EU and the implementation details are being negotiated between the government and farming lobby.
Meanwhile, the European Parliament has agreed to a request from the commission for unused rural development funds in the CAP to be used to help with coronavirus-related measures.
The European farm lobby organisation, COPA, is forecasting an increased grain harvest in Europe this year. It says output in the EU27 and UK will be up by around 5% on 2019 at 305.5 million tonnes.
However, this hides the fact that wheat production is expected to fall, with maize production rising – a situation COPA says could have a significant impact on farm incomes.
