“EU, UK Collaborate On Irish Backstop Agreement

Brussels, Jan 16 (EFE).- The European Union (EU) and the United Kingdom assured this Monday that they intend to continue “with a constructive and collaborative spirit” the work to reach an agreement on the protocol included in the Brexit pact and which prevents the appearance of a physical border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.

London And Brussels in Joint Statement

London and Brussels expressed themselves in this regard in a joint statement after the videoconference meeting held today by the Vice President of the European Commission (EC) for Interinstitutional Relations, Maros Sefcovic; British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly; and the UK Minister for Northern Ireland, Chris Heaton-Harris.

“They agreed that this work of exploring possible solutions (on the Irish protocol) should continue in a constructive and collaborative spirit, taking into account each other’s legitimate interests,” Sefcovic and Cleverly stated in the joint statement.

The virtual meeting discussed “the range of challenges over the past two years and the need to find solutions together to holistically address the real-life concerns of all communities in Northern Ireland and protect both Ireland’s place of the North in the internal market of the United Kingdom and the integrity of the single market of the EU”.

Negotiations between London and Brussels to find a solution on the Northern Ireland protocol have improved since Rishi Sunak took over as UK prime minister.

The protocol establishes that Northern Ireland remains linked to the single community market for goods, so that the goods that cross between the island of Great Britain and that British territory have to pass customs controls to ensure that the border between the two Irelands remains open.

However, it has generated political tensions, in particular, due to the rejection of the unionist community, and complaints about the bureaucratic burden that it entails.

Last Monday London and Brussels announced an agreement on the access of the community block to British technological and data systems that offers “a new basis” for negotiations to define their post-Brexit relationship.

This article is originally published on quepasamedia.com