After a frank but constructive discussion, and taking into account the views expressed on 3 February by the First Minister and deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland, the two co-chairs agreed to:
2/ reiterate their full commitment to the Good Friday (Belfast) Agreement, and to the proper implementation of the Protocol – protecting the gains of the peace process, maintaining stability, avoiding a hard border on the island of Ireland and impacting as little as possible...
3/ ...on the everyday life of communities in both Ireland and Northern Ireland
•spare no effort to implement solutions mutually agreed on 17 December, as they form a foundation for our cooperation
4/ intensify the work of the Specialised Committee on the Protocol in order to address all outstanding issues, with the shared objective to find workable solutions on the ground
•
5/ underpin this work by further joint engagement by the UK and the EU with business groups and civic society in Northern Ireland
•
6/ convene the Joint Committee no later than 24 February to provide the necessary political steer and approval to this work in the spirit of collaboration, responsibility and pragmatism
• • •
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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"
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”.
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...
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.
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."
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