Aligning with the EU – help us represent your needs to government

11 March 2026

Your opinion matters. Farming montage

Photograph: garynaylorphotography / 'Fototek' Geoff and Tordis Pagotto / Rawf8 / Alamy Stock Photo / umdash9 / Primary Picture

The UK Government is negotiating a food and drink agreement with the EU, which will see Great Britain align with many EU standards, with far-reaching implications for which plant protection products you use, to checks at the border and organic standards. Whether you are learning about this for the first time, or have already given feedback, it is crucial that you take the NFU's survey so we can feed into government at this key moment during the negotiations. 

The government has said it is working towards a mid-2027 start date for the new agreement, and is urging agri-food businesses to start preparing now. Preparing will be difficult as it’s not clear what exactly you need to prepare for.

Negotiations are underway and probably wont conclude until later this year and the government will have to pass legislation. Nevertheless, spending some time thinking about what alignment could mean will help us to get the best deal for you. 

The EU rules that Great Britain will be aligning with will apply to all domestic production meaning that, even if exporting is not part of your business, you may also need to adapt your business once the agreement comes into force.

Have your say

No matter your level of knowledge on this, we need to gather your feedback. One of the key issues we will be raising with government is how prepared farm businesses are for this EU reset, so it’s important that we hear from a broad spectrum of our members.

Take our survey before 8 April to help feed directly into our conversations with the government. It will take you around 10-15 minutes to complete, and we’ve provided explainers along the way to help answer any questions you may have.

Take our survey

Some of the main changes we anticipate include:  

  • Removal of routine border checks for imports and exports of food and agricultural products between GB and the EU. 
  • Alignment with the EU animal health frameworks. This will require regular animal health visits by a vet for all animal keepers as well as changes to the way that exotic diseases are managed. Read our explainer (opens in a new tab).
  • Alignment with EU rules for plant protection products. This will require compliance with EU residue limits in food and adherence to EU rules governing the marketing and use of PPPs. We anticipate this will result in changes to GB MRLs as well as the Active Substances available to growers in GB and their conditions of use. Read our explainer (opens in a new tab).
  • Alignment with EU biocidal product regulation. This will require adherence to EU rules governing the use of biocidal products. Agricultural uses of Creosote (posts, poles, and fencing) are no longer permitted in the EU.
  • Alignment with EU organic regulations. This will require organic producers to comply with new EU organic rules which came into effect in 2022. We anticipate this could pose significant challenges for organic poultry producers. Read our explainer (opens in new tab).

For more information, you can read our explainer breaking down what an SPS agreement is and what dynamic alignment means for you. You can also check out our timeline to stay up to date with the NFU’s lobbying work in this area.

9 March 2026

Government launches Call for Information

The government has set out which areas of food, feed and farm practices it expects Great Britain to align with EU regulation on as part of its future SPS (Sanitary and Phytosanitary) agreement.

The document outlines a list of regulations that it expects to be in scope of the agreement with the EU. 

These include legislation and regulation affecting plant health, animal health, plant protection products and organic standards. 

You can read more about how each of these areas could be affected on our dedicated webpages:

The government is working towards a deadline of mid-2027 for the agreement to come into force. 

View the Call for Information at: GOV.UK | UK-EU SPS Agreement.

What does this mean for my business? 

Since the UK withdrew from the European Union, routine border checks have been applied to a range of agri-food products moving between the UK and EU, creating friction at the border and increased costs and risks for exporters. Those depending on importing planting material in particular have faced increased bureaucracy, costs and unacceptable delays. 

The government has confirmed that it expects costs such as those for Export Health Certificates (£200 per consignment), Phytosanitary Certificates (£25), Organic Certificates of Inspection (£35), as well as sampling costs, and inspection and identity check fees to be removed as a result of the agreement. 

However, there are significant challenges. From a potential cliff-edge scenario where GB follows EU rules and decisions on PPPs (plant protection products) from mid-2027, to possibly losing the ability to vaccinate cattle against bTB, the impact of aligning will be far reaching.

It is therefore crucial that you feed into our survey so we can make sure we are raising your concerns with government.

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