![\"UK-EU](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Brexit-e1771411932246.jpg\")
\t\tThe government is pushing to “reset” relations with the EU\t<\/p>\n\t\t\tWednesday 25 March 2026 4:34 am
\n\t\t\t\t\t\u00a0|\u00a0\u00a0Updated:\u00a0<\/p>\n
\t\t\tTuesday 24 March 2026 4:47 pm\n\t<\/p>\n
\t\tThe government is pushing to “reset” relations with the EU\t<\/p>\n
Fans of Clarkson\u2019s Farm will know that, for British farmers, dealing with the EU presents an endless stream of headaches and paperwork.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But things are changing fast \u2013 too fast, many worry \u2013 in the UK\u2019s complex web of food production, and farmers and manufacturers are scrambling to meet changes in legislation coming down the pipeline.<\/p>\n
The UK and the EU are working to realign on food standards, aiming to cut border checks and paperwork that have made exporting to the EU arduous, as part of broader renegotiations with the bloc spearheaded by Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves.<\/p>\n
Addressing the issue, Defra secretary Emma Reynolds said: \u201cWe are resetting our relationship with the EU, our closest and largest trading partner, to make trade easier and cheaper, and deliver tangible benefits for British businesses.\u201d<\/p>\n
The EU is internationally recognised for its strict legislation on food standards. But the EU does not have higher standards than the UK, despite what ominous \u2018Not for EU\u2019 stickers on packaging might lead you to believe. The situation is more nuanced. Standards vary across different sectors; the UK is stricter than the EU on several animal welfare regulations, for example.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But in the first few months of this year, alarms have sounded on animal welfare in the supply chains of some of the UK\u2019s biggest food and drink brands. In January, Tesco suspended sourcing of Scottish salmon from a fish farm in Skye after footage emerged of employees irresponsibly dumping diseased fish into a sea loch. In February, eight major restaurant chains \u2013 including KFC, Nando\u2019s, and Popeyes \u2013 dropped their pledge to stop using fast-growing \u2018franken-chickens\u2019.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Complex web of different regulations<\/p>\n
International trade deals made by both the UK and EU since Brexit have brought different standards to the table, so that identifying the discrepancies and bringing them into alignment poses a hard task.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The UK signed a free trade agreement with Australia in 2021 and, in 2024, entered into the CPTPP (Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership) with eleven other countries.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Negotiations on a trade agreement with Gulf states have been ongoing since 2022, despite backlash from British farmers \u2013 anxious that they\u2019ll be undercut by chicken importers producing to lower animal welfare standards \u2013 as well as from human rights and environmental organisations concerned about a lack of legal protections for migrant workers and the environment in the Gulf.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, government figures state a 22 per cent drop in the value of UK food and agricultural exports to the EU since 2018, with modest gains made in exports to other markets.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\tRead more<\/p>\n
\t\t\tLabour\u2019s inheritance tax reforms face legal test as farmers argue unlawful consultation<\/a><\/p>\n Rachel Reeves has called for closer EU alignment. In her recent Mais Lecture, Reeves said that \u201cno partnership is more important than \u200bthat between the UK and our European neighbours\u201d and that \u201ccloser alignment is the right course for Britain.\u201d<\/p>\n