The Crown Stamp on pint glasses can return to pubs in Northern Ireland despite restrictions in the Brexit treaty, Brussels said on Tuesday.
The Government announced previously that pubs would be able to display the stamp from Friday in time for the 70th anniversary celebrations. But doing the same in Northern Ireland would have risked falling foul of EU law.
The Northern Ireland Protocol means the country, unlike the rest of the UK, follows hundreds of Single Market rules, including on weights and measurements.
However, the European Commission said on Tuesday that EU rules did not prevent the Royal symbol being emblazoned on a pint in Northern Ireland.
But it warned that the crown would not be allowed to be placed on glasses in a way that dominates the CE mark that shows conformity with EU rules.
“EU law does not prevent markings from being placed on products, so long as it does not overlap or be confused with the CE mark,” a commission spokesman said.
The Crown Stamp will consequently not be allowed to represent an accurate measurement in Northern Ireland, and can only be used as decoration.
The Crown Stamp, which dates back to 1699, was dropped in favour of the EU’s CE mark in 2006 after almost three centuries of reassuring drinkers they were not being ripped off by unscrupulous landlords.
In Britain, the Crown Stamp will be displayed alongside the new UK Conformity Assessed (UKCA) mark, which is replacing the CE mark.
The UKCA mark will not be allowed in Northern Ireland under the Protocol, which introduced border checks on British goods entering the province to stop a hard border with the Republic of Ireland.
The CE mark, which can still be used in Britain until January 1, 2023, must still be used in Northern Ireland.
However, not every pub in Northern Ireland is likely to choose the Crown Stamp as deep divisions remain between those wanting to remain part of the UK and those seeking Irish reunification.
‘The crown gracing our pints is a welcome tribute to Her Majesty’
“The Crown Stamp may be only symbolic but it is an important symbol,” said Andrew Bridgen, the Brexiteer Tory MP for North West Leicestershire.
“The crown returning to grace our pint glasses, across the whole realm, is a welcome tribute to Her Majesty on her Platinum Jubilee and we should all raise a glass to that.”
Separate regulations to allow British traders to display exclusively imperial measurements will also not be allowed in Northern Ireland because of the Protocol.
Instead, it will continue to follow EU rules from 2000 which allow pounds and ounces provided they are displayed alongside equally prominent metric measurements.
British negotiators want the EU to renegotiate the Protocol to allow a choice for goods remaining in Northern Ireland to meet UK or EU standards in a dual regulatory system.
Brussels opposes this on the grounds that it could pose a risk to the Single Market if UK goods cross the invisible Irish border into the EU.
The UK has threatened to bring forward legislation to override the Protocol if negotiations fail. However, Brussels warns that would risk a trade war and rejects the UK’s claims the treaty is undermining the Good Friday Agreement.
