The EU will force Britain to abide by the Northern Ireland Protocol

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Mr Martin said ‘reasonable solutions’ could be found but only if there was the ‘right political will’ in London.

He added: “A positive and constructive future partnership is in everyone’s interest, but it will only be achieved if there is a relationship of trust and a willingness to fulfill commitments.”

“The EU has shown commitment, patience and creativity in its work to implement the Withdrawal Agreement and Protocol,” said Mr. Martin, referring to EU concessions on medicines, guide dogs, livestock and car insurance.

“We would like to say something very simple to our Irish friends,” Macron added, who said France was now Ireland’s “closest neighbor in the European Union.”

“Since the beginning of this British referendum, the European Union has been united and has stood in solidarity. We will remain united.”

The UK and the EU have been at loggerheads over the implementation of the Northern Ireland Protocol, which established a customs border between Northern Ireland and mainland Britain, since it came into force at the beginning of the year.

The protocol is part of the EU Withdrawal Agreement and means the country continues to follow around 300 EU single market rules to prevent a hard border on the island of Ireland.

But the UK says checks on goods destined for Britain to Northern Ireland are having a chilling effect on trade.

The government has threatened to unilaterally extend grace periods in the protocol to ensure, among other things, the continued sale of British sausages in supermarkets in Northern Ireland.

At the time, Brussels warned that any unilateral extension of the protocol’s grace periods would breach international law and risk triggering a sausage trade war with the European Union.

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