UK, EU extend grace period of three months for chilled meats into N.Ireland

Chilled meats from Great Britain, such as sausages, which would otherwise be prohibited in Northern Ireland, will continue to move from Great Britain to Northern Ireland after the UK and the EU agreed to extend the grace period allowing this until 30 September.

The extension means that Northern Ireland consumers will be able to buy chilled meat products from Britain, and allows for further discussions to continue on a permanent solution, a statement from the UK government said.

Earlier ,last week, a high court in Belfast ruled the Northern Ireland Protocol is lawful after a group of unionist politicians had challenged the protocol in judicial review proceedings.

Despite the UK having unilaterally extended another grace period in place for supermarket goods sent from GB-to-NI earlier in the year, and the EU subsequently launching legal action, this extension to the chilled meat grace period was formally granted.

Foreign Affairs minister Simon Coveney said “I welcome that the EU has responded positively to the UK’s request for an extension to the grace period on chilled meats. This cooperative approach recognises that the Protocol is jointly owned and must be jointly implemented,”

A source said the point of the Protocol was to provide time to find a permanent solution to moving chilled meats between Britain and Northern Ireland.

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