EU’S ‘serious headway’ call over protocol
“Serious headway” needs to be made in negotiations over the Northern Ireland Protocol in the next week, the European Union has said.
However, European Commission vice-president Maros Sefcovic said there had been a “change in tone” from the UK during the latest round of negotiations.
It comes after the UK government appeared to soften its stance on using the protocol’s get-out clause, describing Article 16 as a “legitimate part of the protocol’s provisions” while stressing there was a “preference to find a consensual way forward” .
After the latest round of talks in London yesterday, Mr Sefcovic said: “We can and must arrive at the agreed solution that Northern Ireland truly deserves.
“That is also why I raised forcefully that we need to make serious headway in the course of next week.
“This is particularly important as regards the issue of medicines.
“An uninterrupted longterm supply of medicines from Great Britain to Northern Ireland is the protocol-related issue on everyone’s mind in Northern Ireland.”
He also said there had been a “change in tone” from Brexit minister Lord Frost in the fourth round of talks held with the UK government.
Mr Sefcovic said: “I acknowledge and welcome the change in tone of discussion with David Frost today, and I hope this will lead to tangible results for the people in Northern Ireland.”
He said the UK needed to “reciprocate the big move the EU has made” on the Northern Ireland Protocol.
He said he was “convinced the the issue of medicines could be a blueprint for how to approach and solve together
the remaining outstanding issues” between the UK and the trading bloc.
A UK government spokesman said: “Lord Frost noted that there remained significant gaps to be bridged
between the UK and EU positions.
“He noted that it remained the UK’S preference to find a consensual way forward, but that Article 16 safeguards were a legitimate part of the protocol’s
provisions. Lord Frost also underlined the need to address the full range of issues the UK had identified in the course of discussions.”