The start gun has been fired on the referendum that will decide the UK’s future place in Europe. The in/out vote on EU membership is now set for Thursday 23 June.
The Farmers Union of Wales has welcomed clarity on the staging of a referendum on Britain’s future in the EU.
“The FUW has long been a strong supporter of our membership of the EU. We do not sit on the fence here: we believe a Yes vote in the referendum is the best answer for farming and rural economies in Wales and for the wider Welsh economy as a whole,” said FUW Managing Director Alan Davies.
“That does not mean we believe the EU is perfect – far from it, a huge proportion of the FUW’s time is spent dealing with nonsensical EU bureaucracy. Negotiations for change are better done inside the tent than from outside.
“But we have yet to see any evidence that leaving the EU will have any significant impact on the rules and regulations.
“In addition, we have plenty of evidence published by successive UK Governments that support for farming, rural communities and food security will quickly dissolve once we are outside the EU,” added Mr Davies.
NFU Scotland looks forward to a full and frank discussion on what the implications are for Scotland’s crucial food and farming sectors.
“Access to the European single market, which allows tariff-free trade amongst all member states and European trade agreements opened with international partners in recent years are also of great importance to Scotland’s food and drink industry, which had an export value of £5.1 billion in 2014.
“For farmers to vote to leave the European Union, they need to know what the trading arrangements with the rest of Europe would be – would Scotland be able to continue to trade tariff-free with Europe or would our lamb, beef and other key farm exports face a tariff barrier? Would access to important overseas markets remain or would the UK have to start over again in negotiations?”
See also: No 'Plan B' for farming if the UK leaves the EU, admits Environment Secretary
