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Creed Meets Polish Agriculture Minister to Discuss Brexit

The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Michael Creed TD, today met his Polish counterpart, Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development Krzysztof Jurgiel, in Warsaw to discuss the implications of Brexit for the Irish and European agri-food and fisheries sectors.

Speaking after the meeting, the Minister said: “This was a very worthwhile opportunity to discuss the many challenges presented by Brexit for the agri-food and fisheries sector with a very important EU partner. I was particularly pleased to note the extent to which Ireland’s concerns are very much shared by Poland, which also has an important agri-food trade with the UK. Minister Jurgiel and his Ministry share much of Ireland’s analysis of the potential difficulties, and have identified the same key issues that will have to be dealt with, including the need for continued free access to the UK market and the need for ongoing equivalence in standards between the EU and UK post-Brexit. As has been the case with my other recent engagements with EU colleagues, there is much common ground on which we can build, and I look forward to developing these relationships further over the coming months.”

Noting that this latest bilateral takes place on the day that the UK formally makes its Article 50 notification to the European Council, Minister Creed took the opportunity to emphasise again the range of actions taken by him and his Department to date, and their readiness to engage in the next stage of the process. He said “A huge amount of work has been done in recent months in terms of analysis, consultation and engagement. We are well prepared for the next phase of this process, and I look forward to ensuring that the interests of the agri-food and fisheries sectors are protected as we face the many challenges that lie ahead.”