Thread by @Telegraph

🔴 NEW: EU sets out new proposals on Northern Ireland Protocol

Follow all the latest updates on our Brexit liveblog here👇
telegraph.co.uk/politics/2021/…

🇪🇺Maros Sefcovic, the European Commission negotiator, is to outline a new deal from Brussels in a bid to restore trust between the UK and the EU.

🇬🇧It comes after the Brexit minister Lord Frost said the Protocol in its current form was unacceptable to the UK

🔴LIVE: European Commissioner outlines proposals to resolve Northern Ireland Protocol

Watch now👇

🇪🇺Brussels negotiators will travel to London today promising to bend and break their own rules with new proposals to cool tensions over the implementation of Northern Ireland Protocol

telegraph.co.uk/politics/2021/…

Sefcovic thanks people for tuning in at "this rather late hour" and praises what he sees as an "important moment" in UK-EU relations.

"If I were to label these solutions, I would dub them 'the package of enhanced opportunities'" he says.

"This is in fact our core purpose"

1⃣The number one priority remains the protection of the "hard-earned gains of the Good Friday Agreement", Sefcovic says.

"Today's package has the capacity to make real, tangible difference on the ground."

🔴EU will turn its rules 'upside down' on medicines, Sefcovic says.

British medicine wholesalers will be able to continue to supply NI from their current location in Britain. They will not need to relocate any facilities or infrastructure, he confirms
telegraph.co.uk/politics/2021/…

Sefcovic notes that "a significant range of goods" will benefit from simplified certification and a border checks reduction of "approximately 80%"
telegraph.co.uk/politics/2021/…

"For all this to work, however, the UK Government needs to do its part - for example, by ensuring that permanent border control posts are up and running as agreed a long time ago.

"We also need clear labels and the ability to monitor every link of the supply chain" Sefcovic says

🇪🇺On customs, the EU proposes to expand the number of small and medium enterprises whose goods would be free from customs duties because they stay in NI.

Sefcovic: "We also propose to cut in half the number of customs and processes that are required for these goods"

The EU will ensure the exchange of information by establishing "structured dialogues" between stakeholders and the European Commission, Sefcovic says.

Northern Irish stakeholders will be invited to meetings of specialised committees
telegraph.co.uk/politics/2021/…

❌Asked if the involvement of the European Court of Justice is as much of a red line for him as it was for Lord Frost yesterday, Sefcovic does not directly answer.

"Our aim today is to stay on a positive note"

Sefcovic: "What we are presenting today is such an appealing picture - we should focus all of our energy on how to make this as good as possible...

"I want to focus on the positive agenda, the positive solutions and I hope Lord Frost will join me"
telegraph.co.uk/politics/2021/…

Asked whether the UK Government will negotiate earnestly and once again about the European Court of Justice, Sefcovic points to "so much effort" having been invested in the negotiation of the Withdrawal Agreement
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"In the end we found the solution which we both agreed is the best one for the future. We share the goals of stability, of prosperity [and] peace on the island of Ireland"
telegraph.co.uk/politics/2021/…