Compromise on EU court within reach in Brexit talks

Under deal European judges would oversee cases involving single market rules in Northern Ireland

A COMPROMISE over the European Court of Justice could be within reach in the Northern Ireland Protocol talks, which now appear set to stretch into the new year, sources said yesterday.

UK officials believe there is a chance of a fix over the role of EU judges, one of the biggest hurdles to agreeing a new Brexit deal for the province.

“There is potential to divide the issue between what governs the rules of the single market and what oversees disputes with the UK,” one source said.

Under the compromise, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) would continue to oversee questions of EU law in Northern Ireland in almost all cases involving single market rules. The exception would be if Brussels took the UK to the court for failing to implement EU law in Northern Ireland.

Lord Frost, the UK’S chief negotiator, says it is “highly unusual” for a non-eu country to agree to be judged in the ECJ like a member state. He wants such cases to be heard by an independent arbitration panel based on the system in the UK-EU trade agreement.

Northern Ireland continues to follow about 300 EU rules under the protocol, which gives it access to the bloc’s single market and prevents a hard Irish border. Brussels has warned the country would lose its privileged access to the single market without ECJ oversight, and said it must be the sole and final arbiter over EU law.

Sources said that the EU could never back down on that stance but hinted a fudge could be found involving a referral to the court as a very last resort.

“There will always be a ‘tread softly’ approach on anything ECJ because triggering it would be so acrimonious,” an EU source said. Lord Frost and Maros Sefcovic, the European Commission vice-president, who meet in Brussels today, are set to announce a deal guaranteeing the continued supply of new and existing medicines in NI or progress towards it.

Brussels is also prepared to make commitments to cut customs checks by 50 per cent legally binding to convince the UK that it is serious in its offer, the RTE broadcaster said.

Protocol talks are now likely to run into December, senior government insiders said, despite UK threats to trigger Article 16 by the end of the month if there was not enough progress. Lord Frost has dialled down threats over using Article 16 to suspend parts of the protocol after warnings that the EU could suspend or cancel the Brexit trade deal in retaliation.

EU sources have pointed out that, unlike previous Brexit negotiations, the talks are not under any legal deadlines and that they are prepared to keep talking.

“If it happens that we’re nearly there, it could go on a little bit into next year,” one Brussels source said.