"A good day for dairy"

The future EU–UK Dairy Framework takes a step forward.

Dairy matters: there are 700,000 dairy farms across the European Union, 12,000 milk and processing sites, and more than 300,000 people working in the sector. The dairy sector is the industrial and societal backbone of rural Europe and beyond. Even more importantly, dairy matters to consumers. Affordable and high-quality milk, cheese, butter and other products, rich in protein and healthy natural fats, are a mainstay of European diets.

In today’s Annual Convention of the European Dairy Association (EDA) in Dublin, EDA President Michel Nalet acknowledged the effort of both negotiation teams to come to a withdrawal agreement.

“The European dairy industry is integrated across borders. This is especially true for the island of Ireland but applies also to the rest of Europe. We therefore welcome the news that the UK and EU negotiators have reached a deal on the withdrawal agreement and on the political declaration on the future relationship between the EU and UK. We have consistently called for both sides to avoid a no deal situation and to ensure the closest possible future trading relationship. We now look to EU and UK leaders to sign off the agreement as quickly as possible to allow the EU and UK parliaments to ratify” stated Michel Nalet.

“It is in the interest of the dairy industry and of the citizens, in the Union as well as in the United Kingdom, that this withdrawal agreement secures the free movement of milk and dairy products between the UK and the EU.

We call now to the decision makers on both sides to act responsibly!”