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The Brexit effect: ‘Sudden drop’ in Italian food and drink exports to the UK

As Brexit negotiations got underway in Brussels on Monday, Italy was already feeling the effect of the UK's vote to leave the European Union, with wine exports particularly hard hit.

Published: 19 June 2017 15:55 CEST
The Brexit effect: 'Sudden drop' in Italian food and drink exports to the UK
The Vinitaly Italian wine exhibition in Verona in autumn 2016. Photo: Vincenzo Pinto/AFP

Food exports to the UK saw a 6.8 percent drop compared to the same period last year, while wine exports fell by seven percent, the Italian farmers' association Coldiretti said.

“The Brexit effect is being felt on symbolic Made in Italy products in Great Britain, where there was an overall sudden drop of eight percent in exports of Italian products,” the organization said.

It added that as well as a fall in the value of the pound, another factor could be “a more nationalist stance among the British, leading to the replacement of imported products”.

The fall in exports to the UK hit all sectors, with vehicle exports down 3.3. percent, furniture exports 7.2 percent, and textiles 12.7 percent, according to figures from national statistics agency Istat for the first quarter of 2017.

But wine producers were particularly hard hit, with Coldiretti saying wine was “the first victim of the chaos caused by Brexit”.

Traditionally good value Italian wine is now more expensive for British consumers than it has ever been, with unfavourable exchange rates and increased tax on alcohol combining to drive up the price of foreign tipple.

The figures confirm the fears expressed by Italy's winemakers in the run-up to and aftermath of the Brexit vote in June 2016.

Before the vote, Coldiretti warned that Britain leaving the EU could “seriously upset trade relations” with Italy, which exports a huge amount of food and drink to the UK each year. Last year, the UK overtook the US as the biggest consumers of Italian wine, helping drive a 38 percent surge in sales of prosecco and other fizzy wines in the first quarter alone, outstripping champagne for the first time.

It is also the fourth biggest importer of Italian food products. After wine and prosecco, the most important items are pasta, fruits and vegetables, and cheese.

And after the UK voted to leave the bloc, Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson reportedly explicitly threatened Italy's economic development minister with a drop in prosecco sales if the UK was not allowed to stay in the single market.

READ ALSO: Why Italy wants Unesco heritage status for its Prosecco hillsWhy Italy wants Unesco heritage status for its Prosecco hills
Photo: Vincenzo Pinto/AFP

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BREXIT

Will Brits in Italy face travel problems under new EES passport system?

The EU's new Entry & Exit System (EES) of enhanced passport controls is due to come into force later this year, but will this create more headaches for non-EU nationals who need to prove their Italian residency rights?

Published: 30 April 2024 16:36 CEST
Will Brits in Italy face travel problems under new EES passport system?

Currently scheduled to start in autumn 2024 (unless it’s delayed again, which is possible) the EU’s new Entry & Exit System is an enhanced passport check at external EU borders.

You can find a full explanation of the new system and what it means for travellers HERE.

Those crossing an external EU or Schengen border for the first time will be required to complete EES ‘pre-registration’ formalities, including facial scan and fingerprinting.

Several groups are exempt from EES, and one of them is non-EU nationals who have a residency permit or long-stay visa for an EU country.

A European Commission spokesman told The Local: “Non-EU citizens residing in the EU are not in the scope of the EES and will not be subject to pre-enrollment of data in the EES via self-service systems. The use of automation remains under the responsibility of the Member States and its availability in border crossing points is not mandatory.

“When crossing the borders, holders of EU residence permits should be able to present to the border authorities their valid travel documents and residence permits.”

READ ALSO: What will EES passport system mean for foreigners living in Europe?

But there have understandably been questions about how this exemption will work in practice.

Most airports, ports or terminals have two passport queues – EU and non-EU. It remains unclear whether the non-EU queue will now have a separate section for those who are exempt from EES.

It appears that exempt groups will not be able to use the automated passport scanners – since those cannot scan additional documents like residency permits – but should instead use manned passport booths.

What does this mean for travel between Italy and the UK?

It seems that nothing will therefore change for those who already have to show their Italian residency documents along with their passport when travelling to and from the UK (or another non-EU country) in order to avoid having their passport incorrectly stamped.

UK citizens who were legally resident in Italy before the end of the Brexit transition period are in a somewhat unusual position, as Italy is one of a handful of “declaratory” countries in the EU where getting a post-Brexit residency card (Italy’s is known as the ‘carta di soggiorno‘) was optional, rather than compulsory.

The British government has long recommended that British nationals who were resident in Italy before Brexit should obtain the card as it’s the easiest way to prove residency rights and avoid delays at the border.

In practice, many of Italy’s British residents have since found that the post-Brexit residency card is also necessary in order to complete various bureaucratic procedures within Italy.

READ ALSO: EES: Could the launch of Europe’s new border system be delayed again?

But will the EES system mean that the card now becomes a de facto requirement when travelling between Italy and the UK?

The British government has not issued any updated guidance on the matter in light of the introduction of EES, and the British Embassy in Rome did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Local.

Although EES does not change any rules relating to residency or travel, it seems likely that it will be more hassle to travel without a ‘carta di soggiorno’ than it is now.

As always, our advice is that getting the card, if you haven’t already, will probably save you a considerable amount of time and trouble, both within Italy and when travelling.

You can find our full Q&A on EES HERE.

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