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Minister McIlveen has said that she wants to see local companies in Northern Ireland have a free trade agreement that allows them to continue to access markets in Europe following UK withdrawal negotiations with the EU.
She said that a senior level team was being set up within the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) to consider the effects of leaving the EU on the NI agri-food sector.
Minister McIlveen said that the Department would communicate with government in London as future arrangements with the EU are made. “We, as an industry, need to prepare for the discussions that are ahead of us,” she said.
Minister McIlveen made the comments following a meeting between the two DUP MLAs and representatives from the Ulster Farmers’ Union, NI Meat Exporters Association, NI Grain Trade Association and Dairy UK.
“The outcome of the referendum vote will undoubtedly cause change for farmers and processors within Northern Ireland. It is only right that we take our time to agree our new relationship with the EU. For now, it is very much business as usual,” she said.
Minister McIlveen said that she planned to ensure farmers and processors were not disadvantaged by leaving the EU and that a “strong relationship” is maintained between NI and the EU, and in particular the Republic of Ireland.
“Just because we will be out of the EU does not mean that we will not be trading with the EU,” Minister McIlveen said.
Brussels
Meanwhile, at the extraordinary plenary session of the European Parliament in Brussels on Tuesday, Minister McIlveen’s party colleague and Northern Ireland MEP Diane Dodds delivered a similar message.
“Our nation has not turned its back on Europe. We are not inward-thinking. We have for a long time sought a new relationship with our European allies,” Dodds told MEPs.
In her address to MEPs, Sinn Fein’s Martina Anderson highlighted that, similar to Scotland, most voters in Northern Ireland voted to remain in the EU in last week’s referendum.
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