Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he has made an assessment of the potential merits of a common veterinary area to reduce the need for additional checks on animals at the border with the EU after the transition period.

At the end of 2020 the UK will leave the EU’s customs area and the EU’s single market. We will maintain our own Sanitary Phytosanitary (SPS) system so that we can set our own rules and standards. The UK has been clear that the UK-EU future relationship will be based on friendly relations and free trade, not on the EU’s treaties or principles - there will be no regulatory alignment.

The UK and the EU may agree equivalence in certain areas to reduce practical barriers to trade at the border. However, this will only be done if the UK’s regulatory autonomy is respected and there is no role for the ECJ.