Debate contribution: Regulation (EU) 2023/2419: Applicability Motion

Debate contribution by Ms Michelle O'Neill on 29 April 2024.

MLA

Ms Michelle O'Neill

Party at the time

Sinn Féin

Date

29 April 2024

Type

Debate contribution (made as a minister)

Business

Executive Committee Business

Heading

Regulation (EU) 2023/2419: Applicability Motion

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 4485825

Read the official Assembly record

Text

I beg to move

Before I start, I offer my condolences to the family, friends and colleagues of Stephen Grimason at this very difficult time. There is no doubt that Stephen made a huge contribution to journalism and was front and centre of some of the biggest moments in our political history, including the signing of the Good Friday Agreement. He was a much respected director of communications for our Executive, and he will, no doubt, be missed by all those who knew and loved him. I wanted to put that on record on behalf of the Assembly. The deputy First Minister and I jointly tabled the applicability motion that regulation 2023/2419 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 October 2023 on the labelling of organic pet food be added to the Windsor framework, within the Joint Committee, in accordance with article 13(4) of that framework. On 28 March, the Speaker informed the Executive Office that notification of a new EU act had been received from the British Government's Windsor framework task force. The new act — regulation 2023/2419 of the European Parliament and of the Council — relates to the labelling of organic pet food products and is subject to the applicability motion process set out in the Windsor Framework (Democratic Scrutiny) Regulations 2024. The notification was accompanied by an explanatory memorandum drafted by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA). The Speaker has shared the notification and the explanatory memorandum with the Assembly. The regulation was adopted by the EU on 9 October 2023. It entered into force on 30 October 2023, and the new provisions will be applicable from 1 May 2024. The regulation extends the labelling and production requirements that are in place for organic food for human consumption and livestock feed to organic pet food. The EU is seeking to apply the measure using the process set out in article 13(4) of the Windsor framework. It will apply here only if agreed at the EU-UK Joint Committee. The explanatory memorandum explains that the regulation would extend the same labelling requirements to organic pet food as currently exist for other organic food. That means that pet food will need to be produced with at least 95% organic agricultural ingredients if it is to be labelled as organic. It is highlighted that producers here currently have to comply with more stringent regulations in order to ensure that their pet food can be marketed as organic and identifies the challenges due to the lack of availability of appropriate organic ingredients. The British Government advise that, if introduced here, the regulation would bring our production requirements for organic pet food into alignment with production requirements in Britain. That is because, prior to the regulation, pet food produced here needed to be made with 100% organic ingredients, whereas the requirement for producers in Britain mandated only 95% organic ingredients. The explanatory memorandum emphasises the Government's position that we should continue to have unfettered access to the UK internal market and notes that, if adopted, the regulation will enable producers here to use a single standard when producing and marketing organic pet food, removing the need for them to apply more stringent standards than their competitors in Britain. That view is reinforced in the explanatory memorandum, where DEFRA notes that it does not expect:

"any material impact on trade ... save for a limited positive benefit from the creation of a common standard for organic pet food production".

In the explanatory memorandum, DEFRA also explains that, if the regulation were to apply here, its position is that it should not apply to pet food moving here under the NI retail movement scheme, as existing arrangements with the EU allow for the recognition of comparable rules in that regard. It notes that the position would be subject to engagement with the European Commission. The explanatory memorandum outlines business impacts, identifying that local producers may benefit from the more flexible approach to classifying organic pet food products set out in the regulation, which brings the EU regulatory framework in line with the rules applied in Britain and would have the effect of creating a common production standard. DEFRA has explained that the potential impact of not adopting the regulation is that local businesses could be placed at a disadvantage relative to competitors in the South of Ireland, who would automatically be able to take advantage of the greater flexibility provided by this EU law when marketing their products across the EU. DEFRA also draws our attention to the fact that no concerns were raised about the regulation during its engagement with relevant organic certification bodies, pet food trade associations and manufacturers here. It also highlights the fact that the majority of producers of organic pet food in Britain already comply with the requirements of the regulation in order to produce goods that can be sold in the British and EU markets. In summary, the regulation relates to a comparatively small and defined area of trade and business. Its impact in any direction should, therefore, not be overstated. However, in the event that the regulation is not adopted, we expect the impact on trade to be negative from the perspective both of internal trade and of trade between us and the EU. There is a risk that local businesses trading with the EU could be placed at a disadvantage relative to businesses in the South, which would automatically be able to take advantage of the greater flexibility provided by this EU law when marketing their products across the EU. We jointly tabled the motion to allow the Assembly to debate and vote on the addition of the regulation to the Windsor framework.

953 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

Not qualifying

Jev’s structured answers

Assessed 21 October 2026 at 10:02 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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