British Brexit Minister David Frost said it was a “reasonable extension” and a “positive first step”, but stressed that a lasting solution to the issue of trade with Northern Ireland was still needed.
“Northern Ireland is an integral part of the United Kingdom and its consumers must be able to enjoy the products they have bought from Britain for years,” Frost said.
For his part, Maroš Šefčovič, Vice-President of the European Commission (EC), has warned that the EU is not giving London room for maneuver and that “this solution is only temporary”.
Britain has annoyed Brussels by threatening to unilaterally extend the period during which goods transported to Northern Ireland from the rest of the United Kingdom will not be subject to customs control.
The EU responded by threatening retaliation, including the introduction of customs tariffs.
However, tensions in bilateral relations have eased in recent days following London’s formal request for an extension of the “protection period”.
The Northern Ireland Protocol, which complements the Brexit Agreement, provides for the introduction of a customs border between Northern Ireland and the rest of Great Britain in order to avoid the reintroduction of border controls at Northern Ireland and Ireland and to protect the Good Friday 1998 Peace Treaty in Northern Ireland. inter-communal violence.
The British media have called the London-Brussels conflict a “sausage war” over the protocol, as it has had a particular impact on the transport of frozen meat to Northern Ireland from the rest of the United Kingdom.
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