The EU proposed measures to alleviate the situation in Northern Ireland

On Wednesday, the European Commission proposed four measures to alleviate the situation and problems associated with the supply of goods reported by citizens and businesses in Northern Ireland as a result of Brexit. The four documents presented by Maroš Šefčovič, Vice-President of the European Commission, on Wednesday evening are intended to further facilitate the movement of goods from Britain to Northern Ireland, while maintaining the integrity of the EU's single market. The College of Commissioners on Wednesday approved four documents, non-legislative texts, which the European Commission will be discussing with London in the coming weeks. The first is a "tailor-made" measure for Northern Ireland in the area of ​​food, plants and animals (sanitary and phytosanitary issues), which provides for a reduction of around 80% in controls. In practice, this means significantly simplifying certification and reducing official controls to a wide range of retail goods moving from mainland Britain for consumption to Northern Ireland. It complements the solutions put forward by the EU on 30 June to facilitate the movement of live animals from Britain to Northern Ireland. In order to protect the integrity of the EU single market, this would be subject to a number of conditions and guarantees - the completion of the construction of permanent border inspection posts by the UK, specific packaging and labeling that these goods are only for sale in the UK, and enhanced supply chain monitoring. The EU reserves unilateral action in the event that the relevant UK authorities or traders do not respond to or correct the identified problem. The second measure is more flexible customs formalities to facilitate the movement of goods from Britain to Northern Ireland - up to a 50% reduction in administration. This will halve the volume of documentation currently required for goods flows across the Irish Sea.