EU, UK positions on Northern Ireland remain stuck

Agnes Szucs

BRUSSELS (AA) – The European Union urged on Friday the UK to engage in sincere conversation with the bloc over post-Brexit-trade in Northern Ireland after the third round of EU-UK high-level talks on the issue ended without any advancement.

“Until today, we have seen no move at all from the UK side. I found this disappointing. Once again, I urge the UK government to engage with us in a sincere way,” Maros Sefcovic, the vice-president of the European Commission, told reporters following his negotiations with British Brexit Minister David Frost in Brussels.

The partners discussed the new measures that the European Commission suggested last month in response to the difficulties Northern Ireland had been facing after Brexit.

Among others, the bloc suggested ways to simplify customs procedures and to give special authorization for UK-produced chilled meat products and medicines.

Sefcovic described the proposal as a “big move” from the EU side to ease tensions between the bloc and the UK by providing a “whole new model for how goods can be moved from Great Britain to Northern Ireland.”

In previous statements, Frost acknowledged the EU’s gesture, but stressed that the UK’s position was still very far from the EU’s offer. For London, the proposal can only be accepted if there is a significant change in the role of the European Court of Justice in overseeing the Northern Ireland Protocol and settling disputes between the bloc and the UK.

Sefcovic also warned that it would lead to “serious consequences for Northern Ireland, as it would lead to instability and unpredictability” if the British government activated Article 16 of the Protocol, evoking unilateral safeguard measures.

Technical-level talks will continue next week and Sefcovic will meet Frost in London on Nov. 12.

“Our aim should be to establish stability and predictability for Northern Ireland,” he said, calling on to “focus all efforts on reaching a solution as soon as possible.”

The EU and UK concluded the special protocol on Ireland and Northern Ireland with the aim of avoiding a hard border in respect of the Good Friday Agreement and at the same time protecting the interests of the EU market.

Northern Ireland remained a part of the EU’s customs regime, while the UK agreed to apply customs checks for goods coming from Northern Ireland.

- British-French fishing row

Referring to the Brexit-related fisheries row between France and the UK, Sefcovic said “all French vessels entitled to a license should get one” and fishing vessels should be allowed to UK territorial waters under the EU-UK trade agreement.

Over the past two weeks, tensions rose high between the UK and France over the UK’s reluctance to grant fishing licenses to French fisheries under the Brexit agreement.

The French government, claiming that the UK refused over 40% of the applicants, threatened with sanctions disrupting the trade between the countries.

The UK left the EU last year after 47 years of membership on Jan. 31, 2020.