An agreement on the NI protocol may not be reached by April 10

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There are signs that the EU and UK may not be able to strike a final deal on the Northern Ireland Protocol in time for the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement, but will instead reach a ‘planned’ deal which will suggest that work must be done. .

The anniversary of 10 April is seen as an unofficial deadline for reaching agreement on protocol in hopes of restoring executive power and assembly in Northern Ireland.

RTÉ News understands from a number of sources that despite slow but steady progress in technical talks between EU and UK officials, there may not be enough time for a final agreement that resolves all outstanding issues.

One source familiar with the discussions said: “We are looking at a place for Halal [both sides] It will indicate the advancement of my name and some agreement.”

The source said a “political” deal that could be similar to the deal reached between Britain’s former Brexit negotiator Michael Gove and his European counterpart Maroš Žefović may be announced in December 2020, several weeks before the protocol comes into effect.

That political deal included a number of grace periods during which full implementation of the protocol would not be required.

Another source was asked if such a scenario could be replicated in time for the Good Friday memorial, he said: “It could end up like this. and then [both sides] I say we need to go ahead and do all these other things that will take weeks or even months.”

A third source told RTÉ News that if a full agreement is not reached by April 10, “we [would] You have to do something, and the talks are taking shape.” It takes an “appropriate” agreement, not a “suboptimal” agreement, the source said.

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Despite the caution, sources say the very intense technical talks are continuing in a good atmosphere.

“The obligation is on both sides to find solutions that work for the people of Northern Ireland,” said one of the sources. “That’s what drives us to do it. We’re going to want to show that, and we’re working hard to do that. Regardless of the politics, we want to sort this out.”

British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly hosted Mr Šifovic for lunch at Lancaster House in London to review progress. The two men met in Brussels on 15 December.

He described today’s meeting as “friendly and constructive”.

The meeting, which was also attended by Northern Ireland Minister Chris Heaton-Harris, saw the two sides reach agreement on the issue of EU access to British IT systems.

A joint statement released after the meeting said they “assessed work to find joint solutions to the concerns raised by businesses and communities in Northern Ireland. The meeting was cordial and constructive”.

She said: “They underlined the joint commitment between the EU and the UK to protect the Good Friday (Belfast) Agreement in all its parts, while safeguarding the integrity of both the European single market and the UK’s internal market.

“They agreed that while a range of critical issues needed to be resolved to find a way forward, agreement was reached today on how to move forward on the specific issue of EU access to UK IT systems. They noted that this work was a prerequisite Essential for building confidence and providing guarantees, and providing a new basis for discussions between the EU and the UK.

“The EU and UK Technical Teams will work quickly to scale up the potential for solutions in various areas based on this renewed understanding, and the Foreign Minister, Northern Ireland Minister and Vice-President Sefchovic will assess progress on January 16.”

The EU announced last month that it would extend the grace period covering the sale of GB veterinary medicine in Northern Ireland until 2025, and it is understood that both sides are committed to reaching a permanent agreement on the matter.

It is understood that intense technical discussions are also ongoing around the UK’s dedicated data access system, which would allow EU officials to see electronic forensic details of goods entering Northern Ireland from Britain.

Officials say agreement on the system is imminent and that it will be a key building block of any deal. Diplomats in Brussels say a clear picture of goods entering Northern Ireland will allow the EU to significantly reduce the number of checks at ports.

The data access system will work in conjunction with the so-called Trusted Merchant Scheme, under which companies are deemed to only send goods for final consumption in Northern Ireland – not to the South – subject to fewer checks and requiring less paperwork.

However, there are still significant gaps about what information traders should record and whether a number of checks should still be done to analyze risk.

Sources indicate that explorations are still going on at a very technical level on issues related to customs and agricultural food control, without any major political interventions taking place so far.

“The talks are more constructive, and the atmosphere is much better,” one of the diplomats told RTÉ News shortly after the December 15 meeting between Mr Cleverly and Mr Zefčović.

“Progress is being made. But the talks are not political. Instead of being top-down, they seem to be bottom-up, where they are trying to find solutions on a deep technical level, rather than putting a framework on the political level and then filling in the gaps.”

It is understood that the EU is ready to find more flexible solutions, beyond those contained in proposals published in October 2021, but only if member states are satisfied that the UK will abide by the agreement.

Diplomats in Brussels have repeatedly said that despite the newfound optimism, it remains unclear whether British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is willing to back down from the UK’s stated insistence that the Northern Ireland Protocol must be drastically changed.

While all parties are said to be determined to get an executive back in Northern Ireland by the Good Friday anniversary, there is widespread uncertainty as to the DUP’s willingness to be involved if any deal reached by the EU and UK falls short of it. . Demands that the protocol should be replaced or significantly changed.

Foreign Affairs and Tanist Minister Michael Martin discussed the Northern Ireland protocol during a telephone call with DUP leader Geoffrey Donaldson.

Donaldson called the call “helpful”.

He said in a statement that the protocol was now recognized in London, Dublin and Brussels as a “problem for trade unionists”.

He said: “It was wrong for the framers of the Protocol to proceed with an agreement which damaged Northern Ireland’s constitutional and economic standing within the United Kingdom.”

More and more voices are now acknowledging the consensus view among unionist MLAs.

“We have an opportunity to obtain an outcome from these negotiations which replaces the Protocol with an arrangement that restores Northern Ireland’s place in the UK’s internal market and our constitutional position is respected.

“I am committed to a Stormont revival, but such a restoration can only be permanent if it is built on solid foundations supported by Unionists and Nationalists.”

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