Fifth of all EU border checks happening in Northern Ireland

A FIFTH of all of EU border checks are now happening in Northern Ireland, the British Government has said.

Senior sources in London urged the EU to ease the restrictions and adopt a more pragmatic approach towards the Northern Ireland Protocol.

The comments come before a visit to Northern Ireland this week by Lord Frost, Boris Johnson’s adviser on Brexit, to meet local businesses and the Northern Ireland executive. Unionists have repeatedly called for the protocol to be replaced by a arrangement that works better for businesses that trade between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

The protocol was negotiated as part of Britain’s exit from the EU to avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland.

The Prime Minister has admitted that there are problems and it has been blamed for causing significant disruption due to added red tape and checks.

According to the Government 20 per cent of all EU checks are between Great

Britain and Northern Ireland, despite the limited risk to the EU single market.

Officials said businesses and consumers were struggling and that the disruption was not sustainable.

One adviser said that Northern Ireland’s prosperity, described as “the bedrock to peace”, was far more dependent on east-west than north-south trade.

Sources in London said yesterday that the Government believed solutions could be found within the framework of the protocol, with common sense and good faith from the EU. One source

complained that “to date, the spirit of pragmatism and compromise is missing from the EU’s approach”.

The source added: “If anything there seems to be a hardening of position, as the political opposition increases.”

A senior government source said: “The protocol was always a delicate balance. We made huge compromises, in the best possible spirit, to avoid a hard border and protect the Good Friday Agreement – listening to the genuine concerns raised by Brexit.

“The protocol does many good things, but the balance that it sought to achieve is under risk and the UK’s internal market is being undermined.”

UK sources blamed the resignation of Arlene Foster as first minister and leader of the Democratic Unionist Party on the issues with the way the protocol was operating.

The attempt by the EU to impose a

hard border on the island of Ireland in the row over vaccine supplies was “hugely destabilising”, a senior government source said.

“We have been trying to make this work since it came into effect by dedramatising and focusing on the practicalities. However, the abortive triggering of Article 16 has been hugely destabilising and the EU still does not realise the damage they have caused,” the source said. “It took the moral force out of the protocol in one move and completely undermined Arlene Foster’s attempt to make it work.”

A Whitehall source said: “After so much work to achieve a finely balanced compromise, [the EU] actions are destabilising things on the ground in Northern Ireland. No Government can stand by as businesses and consumers struggle. If we cannot find pragmatic solutions, nothing can be left off the table.”