The Chancellor of the United Kingdom, Liz Truss, held a meeting on Thursday with the Vice President of the European Commission (EC), Maros Sefcoviv, to resume bilateral talks on the post-Brexit protocol for Northern Ireland.
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Sefcovic, reaffirmed the EC’s intention to seek stability and predictability in Northern Ireland. “Delighted to meet my counterpart Liz Truss to discuss the application of the Protocol,” the official said in a post on his social networks after meeting with Truss.
“In December, we complied with the medications. Now we have the opportunity to do so on other issues, building on the EU’s far-reaching proposals. My goal: stability, predictability in Northern Ireland”, added the community vice-president.
Glad to meet my counterpart @trussliz to discuss the implementation of the Protocol on IE/NI.
In Dec, we delivered on medicines. Now we have an opportunity to do so on other issues, building on the EU’s far-reaching proposals. My objective: stability, predictability in NI. pic.twitter.com/HoCTjziiHo
— Maroš Šefčovič (@MarosSefcovic)
January 13, 2022
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Before the first face-to-face meeting between the two officials, the British foreign minister, who assumed the leadership of Brexit matters at the end of 2021, announced that she would propose practical and reasonable solutions to the EU, from which she expects a pragmatic approach.
For the official, the EU has a clear responsibility to help resolve the large number of problems caused by the protocol and protect the so-called Good Friday peace agreements of 1998.
Despite the UK’s departure from the EU in December 2020, the Withdrawal Treaty provided for Northern Ireland to remain within the European single market and customs union in order to avoid the establishment of a physical border with Ireland.
With the protocol, all goods from Great Britain have to undergo a sanitary control before entering the British province, in order to comply with European regulations.
The measure causes a delay in the flow of goods and is rejected by the Northern Irish unionists who threaten to bring down the coalition government established after the 1998 peace agreements, unless its terms are negotiated, something that the EU rejects .
Delighted to welcome @MarosSefcovic for two days of talks on Northern Ireland and the wider UK-EU relationship.
My priority is defending the Union and protecting the peace. I will be putting forward constructive proposals to help communities and businesses in NI. pic.twitter.com/qt41iaXBOd
— Liz Truss (@trussliz)
January 13, 2022
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In the article, the diplomat said that she was ready to activate article 16 of the post-Brexit agreement that allows one of the parties to suspend the protocol, if the bloc does not accept its terms.
For its part, the EU stated that it was “absolutely committed to finding solutions that work for people in Northern Ireland; to ensure stability and predictability, and to avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland”, according to the spokesman for the Community Executive.
In this sense, he specified that his organization has demonstrated the capacity to offer solutions that work and that, moreover, kept their promises.
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