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Tony Connelly Profile picture
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8 Feb, 4 tweets, 1 min read
NEW: Diplomats say there is a “willingness” among EU member states and the European Commission to look at what flexibilities are possible “within the framework of the [NI] protocol”, but there will not be a renegotiation of the Protocol
2/ However, there is no guarantee the EU will agree to further grace periods, says diplomat

This follows a meeting of the Working Party, which brings together the Commission and Brexit coordinators from member states
3/ The view is that the Protocol hasn’t even been fully implemented by UK, also the prerequisite of preparation by business is lacking, so it seems “premature to already discuss lengthening the grace periods”.
4/ Diplomat says: “Brexit is the root cause of the problem, not the Protocol. Providing flexibility is foreseen in the protocol yes, renegotiating it because of faux pas by [Commission President] VDL is not”

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Tony Connelly Profile picture
10 Feb
BREAKING: European Commission Maros Sefcovic has told @michaelgove that sweeping changes to the Protocol will not be possible, and that any flexibilities require the UK for its part to implement the terms of last December's NI Protocol
2/ In a letter responding to last week's letter from Gove @MarosSefcovic sets out a list of areas where he says the UK is not in compliance with the NI Protocol.s
3/ He says Border Control Posts at NI Ports are "not yet fully operational", official controls at the Posts are "not performed in compliance with the Withdrawal Agreement" and that there are "very few identity checks"
Read 15 tweets
Tony Connelly Profile picture
8 Feb
Here's an update on the Northern Ireland Protocol...again:

There's a growing backlash among member states against the @michaelgove letter of last week assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/upl…
2/ National capitals are waking up to the Protocol flare up, having believed it had all been sorted out in a meeting between Gove and @MarosSefcovic last December. One diplomat said the letter was "outrageous", another said member states were "incandescent"
3/ Yes, they knew the European Commission had screwed up over the Article 16 affair on Jan 29. However, acc to the diplomat, "the British are capitalising on the Commission's mistake - people thought that that was probably inevitable...
Read 16 tweets
Tony Connelly Profile picture
3 Feb
EU sources have expressed concern over the tone of Michael Gove’s letter to his European Commission counterpart on changes the UK is demanding to the Northern Ireland Protocol.
2/ The UK cabinet minister has demanded sweeping and swift changes to the Northern Ireland Protocol as the fallout continues from last week’s move by the Commission to trigger Article 16 of the Protocol over the issue of exports of Covid 19 vaccines.
3/ EU sources have said the letter resembled an ultimatum to the EU, as tensions mount in Northern Ireland over the impact of the Protocol, which has meant customs and food safety formalities on goods moving from Great Britain to Northern Ireland.
Read 13 tweets
Tony Connelly Profile picture
3 Feb
Having read through @michaelgove's letter to @MarosSefcovic, a few things stand out:
2/ The letter is top heavy on the Article 16 debacle. The reaction in NI had been "overwhelming"... Gove writes: "I had expected a strong response, but the reaction was even more negative than I had anticipated."
3/ "Across all political parties, civic society and business organisations in NI there was a sense of shock and anger."
Read 28 tweets
Tony Connelly Profile picture
3 Feb
Amid the hail of accusations that the EU wanted to put a hard border on the island of Ireland last Friday, it's worth pointing out what the ill-fated resort to Article 16 was about:
2/ Under the Commission's trade mechanism, any Covid vaccines leaving the EU for third countries would need export authorisations, ie to ensure vaccines were not being exported which were actually part of an avanced purchase agreement between member states + pharma companies
3/ Any movements of exports from one member state to another would NOT have required such an export authorisation
Read 9 tweets
Tony Connelly Profile picture
2 Feb
European Commission says it "condemns very strongly any threat of violence against port officials in Northern Ireland who are simply exercising their duties and implementing the Withdrawal Agreement."
"The first and utmost priority is the safety of people." We are in touch with the UK authorities - video conference planned for tomorrow involving Maros Sefcovic and Michael Gove, and First Minister of NI
The situation arose before the events of last Friday [ie Article 16] - Commission says
Read 5 tweets

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