By Ben Kerrigan-
The EU has expressed a genuine urgency to resolve a dispute with the UK on the operation of the Northern Ireland protocol, following talks between Lord Frost and Maros Sefcovic in Brussels on Friday.
Efforts to succesfully address a long time challenge posed by the competing interests surrounding the Northern Irish boarder have never been resolved, despite numerous talks set up to agreement.
The bloc said some progress was achieved in the discussions, it said the UK should accept its “big move” to reduce checks across the Irish Sea.
“We now need to press on and get this crucial issue across the line. This is a real test of political goodwill,” Brussels said in a statement.
UK’s Brexit minister Lord Frost ,” indicated the possibility London triggering Article 16 to achieve its purposes.
Both parties have been at log aheads over the level of customs checks and the oversight role played by the European Court of Justice in the province.
However, Cabinet Minister, Michael Gove, told the British-Irish Council summit in Cardiff, that “a constructive approach” is being taken by both sides in the negotiations and that he believes the mechanism to suspend elements of post-Brexit trading arrangements won’t need to be enacted.
Mr. Gove said: “(Brexit minister) Lord Frost has signalled that while, of course, it’s always possible that Article 16 may require to be invoked, we’re confident that we’ll be able to make progress without it,” Mr Gove said on Friday.
“There’s a shared recognition that we do need to alter the operation of the protocol on the ground,” Mr Gove said.
He added: “I hope that we won’t need to trigger Article 16, for reasons that will be well understood, but we reserve the right to do so if we believe that changes which are required on the ground in Northern Ireland have not been made.
The UK has previously warned it could unilaterally spend parts of the Northern Ireland Brexit deal unless major changes are made.
The Northern Ireland Protocol prevents a hard border with Ireland by keeping Northern Ireland in the EU’s single market, but that meant checks on products crossing the Irish Sea from Great Britain.
It states that Northern Ireland will remain part of the UK’s customs territory however, and it will have to stick to some EU rules to allow goods to move freely into the Republic and rest of the EU.
Article 16 allows either the EU or the UK to suspend parts of the Brexit withdrawal agreement if it is causing economic difficulties.
Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin expressed confidence that all sides share “a common desire to get these issues revolved through negotiation”.
He urged both the UK and the EU to “turn the corner” and act in the “best interests of people in Northern Ireland on the ground”.
“It’s clear in the discussions this morning from all participants, an acknowledgement of the challenges of COVID to supply chains, the challenges of Brexit and what that means.
“The last thing we need is further disruption and, rather, the focus should be on resolving this.”