Steve Aiken
South Antrim · Ulster Unionist Party · Northern Ireland
“I thank the Minister for his statement. Minister, as well as the move to reduce the cost to the Assembly of vacant non-domestic properties and to increase liability so that we will not have so many vacant properties, you will be aware of the Dilapidation Bill and of the conversations that have been taking place in Wales and Scotland about…”
“Instead, that most dysfunctional Department, under the most inept Sinn Féin Minister in the Northern Ireland Assembly and a series of grossly over-superannuated permanent secretaries, gave the money back.”
“We know that her Department spends more on legal cases, fighting judicial reviews and being chastised by judges for legal ineptitude and on vesting land and ripping out hedges and fencing and then trying to unvest it and paying even more money to put back the fences and hedges that it took out.”
“We can hardly blame the current permanent secretary, as she has just taken up her post, but, surely, her predecessors must bear some accountability or responsibility, especially considering the senior civil servants' salary scale of between £146,000 and £163,000, with, of course, their taxpayer-funded pension contribution of 34·2% — £218,…”
“It must be said that £181·3 million is a lot of taxpayers' hard-earned money. It is money that is raised from local commuters, vehicle owners, farmers, local businesses, logistics companies and, above all, our constituents — those vital people whom we are elected to represent.”
“The Minister will be aware that, under the public appointments guide published by the Executive Office, it is clear that she is supposed to take independent advice before appointing board members. What independent advice did she receive, particularly about the board members selected?”
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“It is a method that is utilised in other jurisdictions but, again, relies on having up-to-date mapping data and on when the most recent update using the precautionary approach to susceptibility to floods was done. I suspect that the answer would be similar, however. If data from 2004, which, as I said, has not been updated since then, was used, it is little surprise that the planning guidance did not provide for adequacy. <BR /> <BR />While officials in the Northern Ireland Civil Service (NICS) will be using and analysing data from who knows when, the insurance industry definitely will not be. It is making near-real-time actuarial predictions on flood damage and claims, which will be much to the detriment of my constituents, who bought their homes in good faith, based on planning policy that is way out of date.”
“should be avoided. <BR /> <BR />The flooding guidance that it refers to is Planning Policy Statement 15 (PPS 15), which is the revised statement on planning and flood risk and is dated September 2014. As far as I can see, unless I am corrected, it uses data from Met Office projections for 2004. I can find no modelling or mapping data that is recent, by which I mean from within the past five years. I do hope that my analysis is wrong, but to base local development plans on data that is almost a quarter of a century old at a time of rapidly changing climate conditions seems to be suboptimal at least. <BR /> <BR />I could go on about annual exceedance probability (AEP), which is the annual probability of a flood exceeding the peak floodwater level.”
“Given the real challenges as a result of flooding in the greater Belfast area, Northern Ireland Water produced its Living with Water plan, which could form the basis of a model for other catchment areas, although it has been shelved indefinitely by the Minister. The AERA Minister cannot be left out, as he has responsibility for monitoring emergency water pollution and dealing with it. <BR /> <BR />Local area planning is the responsibility of Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council and is based on the information provided by the statutory agencies. The council seeks to balance the needs of development against the constraints of the environment. Local planners, however, can act only within the guidance that they are given. The most recent strategic planning policy statement (SPPS), which is edition 2 from 2025, clearly states:”
“I recently took the opportunity to examine the data and modelling being used by the many Departments that should have responsibility for flood management. I have recently tabled questions for written answer on whether the extent of the recent flooding has been mapped against existing flood maps and flood map projections. Members may not be aware that the provision of detailed mapping is the responsibility of the Minister of Finance, who is responsible for Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland (OSNI). He has to work with the Minister for Infrastructure to keep the mapping updated, as it is also the responsibility of DFI Rivers. Objectives include reducing the number of properties at risk of inundation. The Minister for Infrastructure is also responsible for Northern Ireland Water.”
“With much of our drainage being impeded, blocked or consisting of pipes that are unable to deal with the quantities of water — for instance, on the Ballycorr Road in Ballyclare — water overspills into common storm drains, forcing sewage into the streets or, worse, back up out of toilets and drains in people's homes. That has turned the aforementioned Ballycorr Road's potholes, pot craters and pot canyons into a reasonable scale model of the Grand Canyon with added sludge. <BR /> <BR />Some civil servants love "metsplaining" to me — I declare an interest, because, in a previous job, I helped fund the climate change research centre at the Hadley Centre for Climate Science and Services for several years — that such water inundations are unpredictable. They are unpredictable only if you do not bother looking at the latest predictions.”
“In my constituency, residents of Riverside, Dunadry, Ballyclare, Ballynure and along the length of the Six Mile river have seen their properties damaged, roads cut off and blockages along the river and its tributaries adding to surface flooding on the roads. The effects have been wider, however. With the saturation of the water table, the land cannot absorb any more water, so it continues to run off into the tributaries across most of South Antrim. When the water meets the main river at its highest level, the standing water forces it to back up, meaning that even some homes on higher ground that have never been subject to flooding find that the surface run-off has nowhere to go.”
“One thing that spending three decades in the Royal Navy taught me was that the water always wins, unless it is carefully managed.”
“So-called 100-year weather events now occur with much greater frequency than once a century. It seems and analyses begin to show that storms bring much more concentrated amounts of rainfall. We seem to have 100-year events happening monthly or even bimonthly at the moment. That often overwhelms river banks that have been denuded of vegetation, storm drains that have not been maintained for years and water and sewerage infrastructure that has not been invested in. It runs straight off tarmac, over gardens and along badly drained car parks, trying to find natural watercourses that have been blocked by developments. It is no longer attenuated by dams placed over a century and a half ago and reduced in size because of reservoirs legislation that was, until recently, neglected in departmental reshuffles and runs off super-saturated land.”
“It is the riparian heart of Antrim and Newtownabbey. It is the home to species of brown trout, including the rare Dollaghan. It is a salmon spawning ground and is a home to otters, kingfishers, herons, swans, ducks and many aquatic species. It has also been subject to several severe pollution incidents, with fish kills caused by run-offs from waste water treatment plants, slurry inundations and the release of chemicals. <BR /> <BR />The Six Mile is a fragile ecosystem, one that is now under severe and increasing pressure from two significant factors: the first is the climate emergency, and the second is the sclerotic and deadening hand of bureaucracy and regulation. Storm Chandra has been just one of the ever-increasing severe weather events that are deluging Northern Ireland.”
“I also thank the officials from DAERA, DFI Rivers, Northern Ireland Water (NIW) and our local council who have been speaking with me not just about the recent flooding but about their real concerns raised over the past many years. In addition to council officials and the other public servants who have come to our office, I have been contacted by some officials anonymously. That is because they have come to the conclusion that, regrettably, they are not being listened to. <BR /> <BR />Minister, the sad issue is that the flooding along the Six Mile, its tributaries, its streams and its associated fluvial zones was entirely predictable, and the warning signs have been around for well over a decade or more. As, I am sure, the Minister has been briefed by officials, the Six Mile covers the majority of the South Antrim constituency.”
“Thank you very much, indeed, Mr Speaker, and thank you for chairing the Adjournment debate on flooding along the Six Mile river. <BR /> <BR />I start by thanking the many constituents who have been in touch with me on the issue. In particular, I thank the Antrim and District Angling Association; the unfortunate residents whom we have helped whose homes have been inundated with floodwaters or, even more regrettably, with sewage and other grey water effluent; our great local councillors; our mayor, Leah Kirkpatrick; Councillors Vera McWilliam and Stewart Wilson; Robin Swann MP and his and our office teams; our numerous council workers; the PSNI; the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service; and the numerous members of the public who stepped up to deal with the recent floods.”
“Minister, when were you made aware that it was an illegal structure and by whom?”
“Members should not be so surprised by Sinn Féin's affection for the far right. After all, it was 86 years ago that the Nazis provided a submerged lift to Seán Russell, a fascist supporter of the IRA much venerated across the isles. The freedom-loving people of Ukraine, and those of us in Europe and in the Assembly who do not want to be dictated to by fascists such as Putin and his fellow travellers, deserve much better, particularly from elected representatives in the European Parliament. Slava Ukraini.”
“Sinn Féin's MEPs, Kathleen Funchion and Lynn Boylan, were joined by such paragons of democracy and freedom as Alternative for Germany, the Freedom Party of Austria and the Rassemblement National in opposing it.”
“The Ukrainian people will not be defeated by Russia. <BR /> <BR />Our Prime Minister, realising that hype and spin no longer cut it, is tackling the Treasury to increase our defence spending by up to £18 billion, but he must do more, accelerating our spending on defence and security to reach the total of 5% of GDP that many of our friends and allies in Europe already spend. Indeed, the European Union has agreed a €90 billion loan package to Ukraine; it did so in the European Parliament last week. That was a strong indication of the importance that Europe places on the survival of Ukraine and on waking up and defending itself. Well, it was not all of Europe. While there were 473 votes for the Ukraine support loan, there were a few notable exceptions.”
“The Munich security conference at the weekend further highlighted the critical situation of the world that we live in, especially in Europe. Russia is continuing its wanton destruction of Ukraine, focusing its ballistic missiles and drones not on Ukraine's armed forces but on its power infrastructure. It is doing that to destroy the resolve of the Ukrainian people, as the Russian army cannot advance more than a few kilometers in the presence of Ukraine's strong defences. The Russian navy is confined to a few ports on the Black Sea, terrified to put to sea because of the Ukrainian control of those places, and the Russian air force is limited to launching missiles from well inside its airspace and can barely defend against Ukraine's counter-attacks, particularly those happening now on Russia's oil sector.”
“Sergeant Evans had her spine fractured with a sledgehammer. Please tell me what peace activists go around using a sledgehammer to attack somebody and fracture their spine? What message does that send to the good members of law enforcement organisations across our nation, be they in the police or wherever they happen to be? It is that the justice system does not support them. What does the ruling say to those who put themselves on the line every day to protect us? What does it say about the justice system? <BR /> <BR />I will say no more, because the Government are now, I imagine, progressing towards an appeal. I hope that they stand firm and deal with the issue, because the ruling is something that cannot be allowed to stand. You really have to ask what the motives are of people who support the like of Palestine Action and what it does.”
“— it is not particularly funny to have to listen to that across the Chamber — we have to ask these questions: who is behind Palestine Action, who funds it and who directs it? <BR />Questions have already been asked about defence industry companies. We have talked about attacks on Elbit Systems, which is an Israeli-owned company. It is also doing an awful lot of work to support Ukraine, however. We have two clear examples — one of aircraft that have absolutely nothing to do with what is going on in Israel or the Middle East being attacked and one of a defence company that is supporting Ukraine being attacked — so we have to ask these fundamental questions: exactly why is Palestine Action doing that, who is directing it and who are its fellow travellers? <BR /> <BR />The most egregious thing, however, was the attack on Sergeant Kate Evans.”
“It is interesting that people here describe Palestine Action as some form of peaceful organisation. Before I talk about the serious attack on a policewoman, I remind Members that Palestine Action attacked two Royal Air Force aircraft at RAF Brize Norton. Royal Air Force aircraft at Brize Norton are probe-and-drogue refuelling aircraft, which, as everybody knows, Israel does not have. Everybody will also know that, at the moment, those probe-and-drogue refuelling aircraft are specifically supporting NATO air operations in the Baltic, over the Black Sea and in eastern Europe. In order to realise what has been going on”
“The Ballycorr Road in Ballyclare suffers from potholes that have now become pot-trenches and are about to become pot-canyons. When those are mapped out on the system, the Ballycorr Road now just looks red. What do I say to my constituents, who continuously complain about the lack of interest that DFI is showing in the road and the damage that is being done to their cars day in and day out?”
“The transformation board has moved from being an interim transformation board to being a new quango with the NIO and NICS working together. What is your assessment of how well it is working, particularly bearing in mind that you used to be the responsible officer for it? Who knows who its responsible officer is now?”
“Thank you very much for giving way. A member of my staff who is now a senior politician in local government on Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council came under absolutely horrendous attack. One of my biggest concerns is that it puts women off getting involved in politics full stop. Would the Member like to reflect on how difficult it will be to attract really good politicians, which most women are, to the Assembly?”
“— and, as legislators, we need to be able to do that.”
“It makes me sick every time I see this sort of thing, but what makes me even angrier is the fact that there is a solution but we are not doing it. <BR /> <BR />As legislators, we need to set the tone. We need to legislate to stop it, and, if we make it difficult enough for them, it will stop. That was the lesson that came out clearly from meeting some of the largest companies, because, believe it or not, the one very large company that sat behind the bamboo curtain — obviously, I will not mention the name of the company — made it clear that, if it becomes a problem in this particular country, it will be stopped and will not be allowed to occur. That is what we should be talking about —”
“It is our problem as parliamentarians, because we are not making the issues strong enough. We are not saying to the tech companies, "You cannot do this". We already know that, across Europe and, indeed, in the United Kingdom, various things have been done, and we have gone to the tech companies and said, "Unless you fix that, we are unplugging you". Then, lo and behold, something is done. <BR /> <BR />Why all the hand-wringing that we do as parliamentarians across the piece about this? We are here to enact legislation and to do things to make things change. I am the father of four daughters, and I have seen examples done to other young women. We have one in the Chamber; it is absolutely disgusting.”
“I for one know that there is an answer to this, because I can rest assured that, while there is a technological solution for creating all those images, there is equally a technological solution that the AI companies, law enforcement agencies and parliamentarians should be pushing to change it. Just as you can use AI to do one thing, you can use AI to do the exact opposite. We are told about programs that were in use that were basically hunting programs — finding the images and hunting them down. Why have we not heard about them? Why are they not being pushed? Why are the companies not saying, "Right, we see that this is a problem. We are going to deal with it in exactly the same way as the problem happened in the first place"? What is stopping people doing that?”
“They were back-creating the story on social media platforms. An absolutely extraordinary level of computing power would go into doing that. Of course, that used to be a thing that only Governments could do, but now anybody can do it, because the speed and the move — Moore's law on computing power — particularly through the AI system at the moment, means that we are now reaching a point where it is virtually impossible to deal with that.”
“It was not just that images of women — let us be honest; they are nearly always of women — were being taken and put in pornographic poses; it was the fact that the digital identities of those people were being hacked. That is important because so many areas of our lives now involve a digital identity.”
“Unless we are given a specific example for which we can go through the IP system, we are not going to deal with it". The most disappointing reaction of all the groups was that of the parliamentarians, who basically said, "Well, if all the major groups, software companies, IT companies and everybody else to do with AI say that they cannot do anything about it, what can we do? If all the international justice organisations, such as Interpol and everybody else, say that there's nothing that they can do about it, we can't do anything about it". There was a collective shrug from the parliamentarians. It was like saying that the issue is so endemic that we will not be able to stop it. <BR /> <BR />Some of the evidence that we were given was horrific, but there was something even more insidious about it.”
“I declare an interest: as a member of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, I attended the AI conference that was hosted by the Inter-Parliamentary Union in Kuala Lumpur last year. That was about the use of AI and how it was undermining democracy, but the real issue was how it was undermining people's lives and the effect of that. <BR /> <BR />One of the most disappointing things about the conference was the reactions. First, industry representatives basically said, "It's not our problem, because we have First Amendment rights. This is all about freedom of speech". I found that absolutely despicable and disgusting. Secondly, the representatives of the law enforcement agencies basically said, "There's so much going on here that we can't deal with this. Let's put it in the "far too difficult" column.”
“Minister, the Finance Committee was at LPS a couple of weeks ago. One discussion that we had was about how the revaluation process would be flatted and how there would be ups and downs. We have heard much from the hospitality industry about how its valuations have gone up. Minister, from your briefing by LPS, will you explain the areas in which valuations have gone down?”
“That is what I was doing. You can ask people who were there.”
“I make a declaration of interest, as my office was named in the report of the Commissioner for Standards, a member of my family was present in the swimming pool on the evening in question, and I was in the vicinity that evening. I also thank the Minister and Danny Donnelly MLA for their work on that particularly difficult evening. <BR /> <BR />Does the Minister find it surprising that the commissioner based her conclusions about his lack of empathy and compassion on the information that she cited, when, despite citing our offices, she never contacted our offices, our staff or, indeed, any of those to whom you have subsequently reached out? She never bothered to seek our views, which were expressly the opposite to those that she wrongly expounded.”
“We should prioritise our FTC, which, according to the Finance Minister, we do not have to pay back — I do not quite know how that works — in order to sort out our water system. We have an opportunity here. Let us not be negative about it. Let us grasp the opportunities and go for it.”
“As we come back here over the next couple of years, I ask that it remain the number-one commitment. <BR /> <BR />I started by saying that our biggest problems are structural as well as budgetary. We need to work out how we boost our prosperity. One of the easiest ways in which to do that would probably not cost very much money, and it is to reform the planning system so that it works, meaning that we do not have to wait years to get things built. We should be able to do that. We also need to look at how we use financial transactions capital (FTC). The biggest blockage to our prosperity at the moment is the fact that we cannot build for our economy because we do not have waste water infrastructure that is up to spec.”
“<BR /> <BR />We hear a lot about what is going wrong with government. We talk a lot about the Department of Health's budget accounting for approximately half of the budgetary push, yet things do not seem to be changing. Things are changing, however. We are putting reforms in place. We know that our waiting lists are far too long, but we have seen significant reductions in long-term waiting lists: the waiting list for colonoscopies is down by 63%; the waiting list for common procedures is down by 70%; and the waiting lists for procedures such as hernia operations and hip and knee replacements are down by 90%. I still, however, appreciate the fact that waiting lists are far too long. We need to be able to fix them. The Executive have rightly made health their number-one priority.”
“If we were to achieve efficiencies of 3·5% across the entire Executive Budget, that would lead to savings of close to three quarters of a billion pounds over the next budgetary period, and those savings could then go towards public services. You cannot tell me that we cannot achieve efficiencies of less than 5% in a public service environment. In a sense, Northern Ireland is a large corporation, and the bit of it for which we are responsible costs somewhere in the region of £20 billion a year to run. Can you imagine if those responsible for running a similar-sized corporation could not achieve such efficiencies? The board and its chair would be sacked. In our case, the co-chairs would be sacked. We therefore need to do much better when it comes to looking at achieving efficiencies and managing money.”
“There is a significant executive problem with how we deliver services for Northern Ireland. <BR /> <BR />We have a Budget of £60-odd billion over the next three years, with an additional year for capital. That is a hugely significant amount of public resource. It is clear that the ways do not necessarily meet the means, but we need to look at what we can do over that three-year period to achieve sufficient efficiencies in the delivery of public services. Last year, the Department of Health — Mike Nesbitt worked closely with John O'Dowd on this — managed to achieve efficiencies of about 3·5%, which was close to £300 million.”
“Executive progress has, by anybody's definition, been marked. It is clear that there are challenges with government delivery. Over the decade that I have been in politics, the habit of government has been diluted by the years during which the Executive were brought down by Sinn Féin and the DUP. The need to deliver, over the desire to show that we just exist, has been largely forgotten. We have a status quo government machine that is very resistant to change and accountability. One has only to look at the stovepiping to realise how difficult it is to make government work. External reports on COVID and the renewable heat incentive (RHI) show clearly that the machinery of government, particularly the Civil Service at the highest levels, does not deliver for the people of Northern Ireland.”
“<BR /> <BR />That £703 million Alliance tax could go a long way towards fixing our crumbling water infrastructure, paying for 7,500 PSNI officers, fixing our education system and even helping to fix Lough Neagh. However, the Alliance tax will go straight to the EU, not our Northern Ireland Executive. The Alliance tax is just one of many Windsor framework charges that we will be subject to. When the Alliance tax is extorted from us, let that name remind you just who champions the EU at every opportunity.”
“If we assume that those households receive three parcels a week — I know that many homes, including mine, receive more — from the likes of Amazon, Evri or whatever, the revenue from normal parcel traffic — that figure times three, times 52, times five — would equal €599·7 million per annum. If we added to that our business traffic, with 81,135 registered businesses in Northern Ireland — the maths for that is that figure times 10, times 52, times five — the revenue would equal €210·9 million. That would mean a total Alliance tax of €810·6 million or £703·7 million per annum going to Brussels. That is £703·7 million of revenue that will be sucked out of Northern Ireland families, businesses, farmers and our economy.”
“In simple terms, that will mean that any parcel coming in from outside the EU to an EU-designated customs area such as Northern Ireland will be subject to that charge. Additionally, in order to pay for the new EU Customs Authority, an extra charge of €2 per item will be added to the Alliance tax in the near future, bringing it up to €5 per item. The Alliance tax raise will be collected by HMRC and then passed to the EU. <BR /> <BR />Detailed data on parcel transactions is not available. However, having done some calculations on the Alliance tax, I would like to share with you some of my initial outline figures. There are 768,900 households in Northern Ireland.”
“Members may not be aware of European Commission regulations COM/2023/258 final and 2023/0156 (COD) and their annexes. The regulations set out EU revenue-raising customs proposals on e-commerce that were to apply from 1 March 2028 but have now been brought forward to July 2026. The names of the regulations are a mouthful to recite, so, for the rest of my statement, I will simplify them by calling them the "tax of the rigorous implementers", which can be shortened to the "Alliance tax". <BR /> <BR />The changes rule that the duty relief and regulation exemption from customs duty for consignments valued at under €150 are to be rescinded and that a flat €3 fee will be applied to all non-excise goods that are imported.”
“<BR /> <BR />This crisis is manufactured, and — I will say it again — it is not in US interests. It would not be in the interests of Teddy Roosevelt, Truman, Eisenhower or even Ronald Reagan. It is time for the United States president to reconsider the issues, as he has done on many occasions. Given everything else that is going on in the world, now is not the time to pick a fight with the Danes and the rest of NATO.”
“The USA has only one operational icebreaker, the 50-year-old Polar Star. Canada has 20-plus of them, the Russians have 57 and even Denmark has four. <BR /> <BR />The United States had nine or 10 bases in Greenland; it now has only one. If the United States has security concerns, there is nothing to prevent it from reopening bases in Greenland. Indeed, Denmark and Greenland would actively welcome that because of the importance of building infrastructure, which is what they have done. <BR /> <BR />The United States introducing tariff change to get what it wants does not make any sense. Anyone who served with the Danes in Afghanistan knows that they fought bravely in support of the United States in Afghanistan and elsewhere. Proportionately, Denmark gave more lives and had more people injured than virtually any other nation in NATO.”
“I make a declaration of interest in that I previously worked for His Majesty's Government on the Arctic, and I also worked with the Arctic Council. Here at the Assembly recently, I gave a lecture to the Royal Geographical Society on Arctic security, of which Greenland formed a part. <BR /> <BR />There is no doubt that there is a security challenge in the Arctic, its growth driven by the climate emergency. Previously unsustainable areas and maritime routes have opened up, and the melting of permafrost has made access to strategic minerals, rare earths and oil and gas that much easier. Greenland is central to the opening of the Arctic and has attracted considerable interest from China and other areas. The United States, however, despite the Alaska North Slope, has, until now, taken little interest in the Arctic.”
“That is HMRC-speak for, "You're going to pay it". <BR /> <BR />There is no clarity on whether all parcels under the threshold value of €150 that do not originate in the EU will be subject to red-lane or green-lane approaches. In particular, GB suppliers have no certainty as to which duty exemptions, if any, will apply or where costs will fall — with the supplier, the distributor or, as is likely in reality, the customer. <BR /> <BR />We are only six months away from implementation. Ironically, His Majesty's Government have stated that the Stormont brake may be the suitable safeguard. I cannot see how any Member who has any regard for the consumers, retailers and distributors of Northern Ireland or the people of Northern Ireland could, in all conscience, not support the motion.”
“Members will note that, while we do not have accurate data on parcels below the €150 threshold that are sent to Northern Ireland, the number goes into the millions. That means that €3 or €5 of revenue, multiplied by millions of parcels, will go not to the Northern Ireland Executive but to the European Union. Regrettably, even our own Government are unsure of the implications, with HMRC stating in a recent explanatory note:”
“That, ladies and gentlemen, is EU-speak for, "€3 is the minimum that will be applied to everything" in whatever category and at whatever value the EU agrees to. <BR /> <BR />The so-called temporary levy is distinct from another stealth tax: the proposed so-called handling fee of around €2 for every parcel, which is also planned under the Union Customs Code. When it is fully ratified as part of a customs reform package, that consumer tax will be utilised to fund the EU customs organisation. That is in addition to the €3 customs fee for all parcels that are external to the EU, so an additional cost of €5 for each parcel will be applied to the people of Northern Ireland. <BR /> <BR />Yesterday, we talked about revenue raising.”
“In November last year, however, Maroš Šefcovic, a name that may be familiar to some, announced that the European Council, in order to stifle what it saw as low-value imports coming from China, the United Kingdom and the USA, would now apply a fixed customs duty of €3 on small parcels of that value or less that were entering the EU. The date was advanced to 1 July 2026. <BR />The EU has called it a "temporary measure", although it is a measure that will not be repealed. The duty of €3 per item:”