Ahead of the upcoming European Council meeting, to be held on 14-15 December, FoodDrinkEurope and the UK Food and Drink Federation would like to welcome the progress, the momentum it creates, and the positive tone that has been achieved in the negotiations that pave the way for Brexit talks to now proceed to stage two. We would encourage members of the European Council to follow the recommendation from the European Commission that there has been “sufficient progress” to now proceed to the next phase of negotiations.

The food and drink industry on both sides of the Channel now calls on policy makers for swift progress on both future trade relations and the transition period to generate more certainty, as negotiations enter the next phase. This means keeping the 'status quo' for as long as necessary, allowing existing trade and customs arrangements to continue largely unchanged until a new trade agreement enters into force.

As the organisations representing the leading manufacturing sector in the EU, FoodDrinkEurope and the UK Food and Drink Federation will be looking forward to contributing further to the negotiations, as well as examining the areas which will need clarification in this next phase.

Note to the editors:
FoodDrinkEurope is the organisation of Europe’s food and drink industry, the largest manufacturing sector and leading employer in the EU and a key contributor to its economy (289 000 companies, 99% SMEs, 4.2 million employees).
www.fooddrinkeurope.eu 

The Food and Drink Federation (FDF) is the voice of the food and drink manufacturing industry – the UK's largest manufacturing sector. For more information about FDF and the industry we represent visit: www.fdf.org.uk 

Press contacts:
FoodDrinkEurope
Florence Ranson, Director of Communications
f.ranson@fooddrinkeurope.eu – Tel: +32 2508 1028

FDF
Ted Woodward, Media and Campaigns Manager
ted.woodward@fdf.org.uk – Tel: +44 20 7420 7140