UK Foreign Minister Says Fixing Northern Ireland Post-Brexit Protocol ‘Absolute Priority’
London, Feb 11: UK Foreign Minister Liz Truss said that fixing the Northern Ireland post-Brexit protocol is “an absolute priority” for her ahead of the new round of talks with European Commission Vice-President Maros Sefcovic scheduled for Friday. “Fixing the Northern Ireland protocol is an absolute priority for me. We have a shared responsibility with the EU to work towards solutions as quickly as possible that deliver for the people of Northern Ireland,” Truss, who is the United Kingdom’s lead negotiator with the European Union, said in a statement on Thursday.
As part of the Brexit agreement that came into force on January 1, 2021, there is no “hard” border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. Under the protocol, however, all goods and animal-based products entering from the rest of the British territories must be checked upon arrival to see if they comply with EU sanitary regulations. The UK government has argued that the protocol is not working because it causes delays and interruptions in moving goods between Great Britain and Northern Ireland as well as irritates unionists who believe their place within the United Kingdom could be affected.
The situation threatens the so-called Good Friday Agreement of 1998 that put an end to 30 years of armed conflict in Northern Ireland between nationalists who sought unification with Ireland and unionist who are loyal to the British crown. Last week, Northern Ireland’s unionist First Minister Paul Givan resigned in protest of the post-Brexit trade rules, forcing Deputy First Minister Michelle O’Neill from the Irish nationalist Sinn Fein to step down from the power-sharing government. Friday’s talks between Truss and Sefcovic will take place at the UK Foreign Secretary’s official residence in London.
