The days of smuggling pork pies into France – or stinky French cheese into the UK – could soon be over after the UK and EU agreed a deal to remove checks on food and animal products.
Ever since the end of the Brexit transition period, travellers between France and the UK have been banned from bringing a range of animal and food products with them – including meat, cheese and dairy products.
Now the EU and the UK have completed their deal to remove Brexit checks on imports and exports of food and animal products ranging from sausages and cheese to leather goods and flowers, with the new rules expected to come into effect from 2028.
The restrictions on animal products, due to the EU’s sanitary and phytosanitary rules for third countries, always had the biggest impact on businesses, with exports of fresh produce from the UK into the EU becoming massively more complicated.
But the rules also covered travellers who were importing a small amount of meat or cheese into the EU purely for personal consumption, or as a gift.
That included, for example, Brits wanting to bring into France some pork pies or Cheddar cheese after a trip back to the UK.
The UK also imposed its own reciprocal rules, meaning that gifts of stinky French cheese, saucisson sec or tinned confit duck could no longer be taken to family members in the UK.
But it seems that from 2028, travellers will be able to return to the pre-Brexit rules when it comes to food.
The deal will also make it easier for British producers to sell their products in France.
UK government sources told the British media that a 200-page text on the post-Brexit food exports had “been settled and there will be no further negotiation”.
A joint statement from representatives of the UK government and the EU is expected later in the month.
In the meantime, restrictions on imports remain in place – Marmite, tea bags and pork pies: What can you bring into France from the UK?