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Northern Irish businesses have called on UK and EU leaders to stop the Brexit blame game and come up with urgent solutions to end growing tensions over controls on food and goods crossing the sea of Ireland in the region.
Their plea comes as a US political committee involving five former US ambassadors says Joe Biden should appoint a special presidential envoy to Northern Ireland over concerns that the Good Friday deal will be voluntarily boycotted to protest the protocol.
Businesses including retailers, manufacturers and farmers have called for an end to the dispute between London and Brussels on the eve of a joint meeting of the UK and EU committee between Brexit Minister Lord Frost and Vice President of the European Commission Maro efovi in London who will also be attended online by representatives from the 27 EU Member States.
We cannot afford another missed opportunity in the Joint Committee, as we saw earlier this year, the Northern Ireland Business Brexit Task Force (NIBBWG) said in reference to the March talks. , which collapsed when Frost unilaterally suspended most of the checks mandated by Northern Ireland. protocol.
We need to see that not only are we heard and understood, but that the UK and the EU are ready to work together to address the impact of the protocol, said the group, which represents 16 trade bodies, including the Federation of Small Businesses. , Logistics UK, Manufacturing NI and the Ulster Farmers Union.
Their joint statement came as U.S. Congressman James Walsh, co-chair of the ad hoc committee to protect the Good Friday Agreement (GFA), urged Joe Biden to send a presidential envoy to the region to help push forward the peace efforts. We are increasingly concerned that the GFA will become collateral damage as a result of Brexit and the ongoing disputes over the Northern Ireland Protocol, he said.
Aodhn Connolly, head of the Northern Ireland Retail Consortium and one of the main representatives of the NIBBWG, said there was growing frustration in Northern Ireland over the war of words between remote power bases in London and Brussels .
There is a blame game on both sides that we don’t want to be a part of. What we want is the solution. The policy is hampering what should be, to all intents and purposes, a technical process, he said.
Time is passing. We are very grateful for all the ongoing discussions and engagement with the communities here, but we want to see the fruits of it, the proof that we are listened to and that they are ready to provide solutions, said Connolly.
The protocol has been hugely controversial in Northern Ireland, contributing to Easter violence and cracks in the Democratic Unionist Party, which is officially campaigning for its removal.
Officials in Brussels said on Monday they were preparing to compromise on the protocol, including changes for a time-limited veterinary deal, but warned patience was running out with the UK.
efovi has warned the UK not to unilaterally extend the protocol’s grace period beyond its expiration at the end of this month. In Tuesday’s edition of the Telegraph, the Brexit Commissioner said: If the UK takes further unilateral action, the EU will not hesitate to respond quickly, firmly and decisively to ensure that the UK respects its obligations under international law.
The two sides are trying to reach agreement on around 30 issues relating to animal, property and drug controls, and have reached broad consensus on eight areas, including livestock labeling, free animal passports, company for guide dogs and second car traffic between Great Britain and NI.
An EU official said Brussels was also working to resolve an unforeseen problem with the availability of medicines.
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