Truss eyes Protocol deal after ‘constructive’ EU talks

LIZ TRUSS and her EU counterpart have pledged to hold “intense negotiations” to fix the Northern Ireland Protocol in the first joint statement on Brexit talks in a year.

In an effort to end frosty relations with Brussels, the Foreign Secretary dropped her predecessor’s confrontational negotiating style, as she hosted Maros Sefcovic, the European Commission vice-president, at Chevening House, her official residence in Kent.

The pair agreed to accelerate efforts to find solutions to the long-running dispute over Northern Ireland’s postbrexit trade rules and reset the wider UK-EU relationship.

“I think there is a deal to be done. We have had constructive talks over the last day. Of course there is more work to do, and that is why we are intensifying the discussions,” said Ms Truss.

In a rare joint statement, she and Mr Sefcovic announced that UK and EU officials would make a fresh attempt next week to iron out the issues before they meet again on Jan 24.

The Government argues that the protocol, which keeps the province locked to EU Single Market rules to prevent a hard border, is having a chilling effect on trade. In October, the EU offered to remove checks to ease the burden.

Ms Truss told Mr Sefcovic that she believes reaching a deal to further limit the number of customs controls in the Irish Sea could pave the way for better co-operation on the geopolitical challenges posed by Russia and China.

Mr Sefcovic agreed that the relationship reset should be determined by the UK and EU’S shared belief in freedom and democracy. “We share a desire for a positive relationship underpinned by a shared belief in freedom and democracy,” they said in the joint statement, the first since February last year.

Ms Truss’s approach is in contrast to that of her predecessor, Lord Frost, who had a strained relationship with Mr Sefcovic before he stepped down as Brexit minister.

Brussels repeatedly accused him of diminishing mutual trust between the two sides.

In a departure from that antagonistic style, the Foreign Secretary played down the Government’s previous threats to trigger Article 16 to unilaterally suspend trade checks in the Irish Sea.

EU figures praised the UK’S more positive approach to the talks.

Simon Coveney, Ireland’s foreign minister, said: “I think it is a good thing that the Brexit issues and the protocol issues are back in the Foreign Office in London rather than in a separate unit led by Lord Frost.”

Despite the positive mood, major differences remain between the two sides over the future implementation of the protocol.