Mr. John Callinan:

There are probably two parts to this. One is at the EU level and the anticipation of a potential future trading agreement. The EU has made it clear that one of its concerns will be to ensure that any arrangement respects the principle of a level playing field. In the guidelines adopted at the end of April the EU says that it must ensure a level playing field, notably in terms of competition and state aid, a point raised earlier, and in this regard encompass safeguards against unfair competitive advantages through, inter alia, tax, social, environmental and regulatory measures and practices. The EU is saying that it will not have some type of soft arrangement where the scenario you have mentioned would be a risk.

Equally, on this island we must look at how we enforce the standards and regulatory controls. That is one of the areas I mentioned where there might be much scope to do things on an all-island basis. Much will depend on the overall arrangement between the EU and the UK and much will depend on the devolved powers the Northern Ireland Executive will have. However, it is one of the areas which I would have thought, to refer back to imaginative and flexible solutions, would be an obvious example of where it is in everybody's interest to have an all-island approach to tighten food standards and controls.