JERSEY’S government has backed closer UK alignment with European standards, claiming it could deliver a “big win” for the Island’s economy.
Sir Keir Starmer is planning to introduce legislation to allow the UK to align with future European standards designed to ensure a single market in the trade of goods and services.
The new legislation, expected later this year, would give the UK government a fast-track route for introducing draft laws to align with future European standards without Parliament having to hold a full vote each time.
Jersey ministers said a proposed Sanitary and Phytosanitary agreement between the UK and EU – currently under negotiation as part of the post-Brexit “reset” – offers an “opportunity to ease the flow of Jersey’s fisheries and agricultural exports to France and the rest of Europe”.
“That could be a big win for our fishers and farmers,” the government said in a statement.
“At the same time, reducing barriers to importing food into Jersey from the continent can bring benefits for Jersey consumers.”
However, the plans to “dynamically align” the UK with EU rules – potentially without full parliamentary scrutiny – have provoked strong opposition from the Conservatives and Reform UK.
Conservative shadow business secretary Andrew Griffith said it would mean Parliament is “reduced to a spectator while Brussels sets the terms”.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has vowed to oppose the legislation “every step of the way”, calling the plans “a backdoor attempt to drag Britain back under European Union control”.
However, the government said the process would allow it to deliver a planned EU deal on food standards, which it has estimated will be worth billions of pounds a year to the UK economy by cutting red tape for exporters.
Jersey’s government said that officials from the Environment and External Relations departments have been in “frequent dialogue with UK counterparts as the negotiations have progressed, to ensure that the Island’s interests are properly understood and represented”.
