LONDON (CU)_The United Kingdom’s top minister on Brexit affairs, Michael Gove, met with European Commission Vice President Maros Sefcovic on Thursday evening (Feb 11) and had a “frank but constructive discussion” over the problems on implementing post-Brexit trade rules in Northern Ireland, the pair said.
During the meeting, both sides reiterated their “full commitment” towards achieving the proper implementation of the Northern Ireland Protocol, by protecting the gains of the peace process, maintaining stability, avoiding a hard border on the island of Ireland and minimising the impact on the everyday life of communities in both Ireland and Northern Ireland.
They also pledged to meet again in order to address all outstanding issues, with the shared objective of finding “workable solutions”, the pair said in a joint statement.
Previously, Gove called for an urgent “reset” on the arrangements under the Protocol, requesting for a two-year “grace period” on the rules, which would see checks taking place between Northern Ireland and Great Britain. However, ahead of the meeting on Thursday, Sefcovic wrote to Gove saying that the existing protocol was “the only way” to a void a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
The so-called Northern Ireland Protocol was designed to ensure an open border was maintained on the island of Ireland following Brexit. However, this meant that Northern Ireland would remain a single market for goods, and therefore, checks had to be introduced on certain goods travelling between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
Nevertheless, since the new rules came into force on January 1, there had been tensions at the ports in Northern Ireland, with disruptions to deliveries and some border staff who were carrying out checks on goods being subject to “sinister” threats at the ports. This led to a temporary suspension at some ports at the beginning of February.
Meanwhile, Northern Ireland’s unionists, including First Minister Arlene Foster, want the protocol to be scrapped because they say it damages trade and threatens Northern Ireland’s place in the UK union.
While several MPs have called for Prime Minister Boris Johnson to “step up” to sort out the issues, nevertheless, the EU has stood by this part of the post-Brexit trade agreement, which was finalised on Christmas Eve.
