Sylvie Mamias is Secretary General of Union Fleurs, which is lobbying with the Brexit negotiators in Brussels, together with VBN and other agricultural organisations, for the importance of securing plant and flower exports to the UK, which is the 2nd destination market. Mamias points out that the first phase has taken a long time. “There isn’t much time left to talk about future relations.”
In the second week of December 2017, the United Kingdom and the European Union reached a common understanding of the terms of their separation. The parties will now continue their negotiations with a focus on a framework for the new relationship.
In addition to the discussions about a framework for the new relationship, the UK and the EU will also start negotiating soon about a potential transition phase. This concerns the period immediately after Brexit has taken place on 29 March 2019. The transition period is expected to last for a maximum of two years.
Final decisions regarding a transition phase shallbe announced in October 2018. According to Mamias there are indications that the current EU market, which still includes the UK, might be able to continue functioning in the same way during the transition period. “It doesn’t change the fact that the EU and the United Kingdom are going to separate. But it would give governments and businesses more time to prepare, for example with regards to phytosanitary inspections and custom formalities.”
The transition period could also apply to other flower exporting countries, like Colombia and Kenya, and guarantee status quo during a certain period of time . They will nevertheless also need to make new trade agreements with the UK to secure their existing trade flows in the longer term. Mamias points out that all in all, the changes are going to be substantial, regardless of whether it’s going to be a hard or a soft Brexit. “Nothing beats a single market.”
