The Sunday night deadline set by the EU Parliament for an EU – UK trade agreement to be put in place is the latest Brexit deadline to be missed as talks continue in Brussels.

The Parliament had been insisting on a Sunday night deadline to allow them sufficient time to meet between Christmas and new year to approve a deal if it was agreed.

If there isn’t sufficient time for the EU Parliament to approve a deal, it could still take effect provisionally pending ratification by the Parliament in the new year.

France suspends freight imports from UK

Irish farmers anxiously await the outcome of talks as the Brexit chaos is about to overlap with the rapidly spreading coronavirus, especially in southern England due to a new strain of the virus.

This has led to the ‘Green lanes’ essential for Irish trucks amid freight ban chaos" target="_blank">French authorities suspending freight entering from the UK on Sunday night and will add to the delays already in place because of stockpiling ahead of the year.

Implications for land bridge

Closure of this trade by France has serious implications for Irish exporters as this route using Britain as a land bridge is the preferred route for Irish exports to mainland Europe. Even a 48 hour suspension has serious implications for Irish deliveries as fresh meat products in particular have limited shelf life and it is likely that exporters would have been sending extra deliveries in attempt to get out before the inevitable end of year disruption.

No immediate impact on farmers

Anything that disrupts deliveries to the market has the potential to cause delays in getting stock processed in Irish factories.

Delays of a day or two can be accommodated but if it was to stretch to a week or more then it is likely that production in Irish factories would be disrupted.

Trade between Ireland and Britain should be able to continue as normal because while there is a ban on the movement of people from Britain to Ireland, freight is permitted to continue moving as normal.

Also, transport of fresh produce will get priority once the routes from the UK open again and this will allow agri food exports move quickly. That means that provided there are no longer term delays, there should be no impact on farmers.

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