Britons still face EU red tape when travelling with their furry friends

Britons still face EU red tape when travelling with their furry friends amid ongoing pet passports row

  • Eurocrats have rejected Britain’s latest bid to recognise the UK’s pet passports
  • Brussels will not countenance allowing UK pets into EU without vet certificate
  • These certificates can cost up to £180 and are valid for only four months

Eurocrats have rejected Britain’s latest bid to recognise the UK’s pet passports, meaning holidaymakers still face Brexit red tape when travelling to the bloc.

Leaked minutes from negotiations last month show that Brussels will not countenance allowing British pets to travel to the EU without a veterinary certificate.

They can cost up to £180 and are valid for only four months, so regular travellers have to cough up more than once.

Eurocrats have rejected Britain’s latest bid to recognise the UK’s pet passports, meaning holidaymakers still face Brexit red tape when travelling to the bloc

According to a memo seen by the Daily Mail from a meeting last month, EU officials rejected a demand from British negotiators that the EU recognise its pet passports. 

Brussels said such recognition is ‘available only to non-EU countries who are dynamically aligned with EU’s animal health regime or working towards such dynamic alignment’.

British officials said the UK’s animal health regulations already fulfil the bloc’s standards because they have not changed since Brexit. An exception has already been granted for guide dogs.