Marrakesh, 11 Feb. (Morocco-News) –
British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said on Thursday that the Northern Ireland protocol was “a top priority”, hours before talks in London on Friday with European Commission Vice-President Maros. Sefcović.
“We share a responsibility with the EU to find solutions as quickly as possible that meet the needs of the people of Northern Ireland,” said Ms Truss, quoted by the Financial Times.
In this sense, a British official, quoted by the same newspaper, assured that the two parties are putting new ideas on the table: “We are trying to be constructive and, by definition, in negotiations, the two parties are trying to closer”.
“I hope to meet Vice President Sefcovic once more in person today,” Mr. Truss was quoted by the DPA news agency as saying. The last meeting between the two, European and British responsible for post-Brexit relations, took place on January 24.
Ms Truss acknowledged in late January that the Irish protocol “fails on its own terms, having lost the consent of the Unionist community who fear that their identity, as well as the integrity of our country, is under threat”, according to a government statement. British.
“If the solution is to stand the test of time, the protocol must be patched holistically rather than relying on piecemeal solutions to problems as they arise,” he told the time. In this regard, he called for “a shared responsibility to achieve this”.
The UK and the EU seem to have reconciled their trade positions following the arrival of Liz Truss at the Foreign Office, but in reality there is still no sign of substantial progress.
With Brexit, Northern Ireland remained in the EU’s single market to avoid the creation of a ‘hard border’, but that status has since been in jeopardy, amid threats from London to leave unilaterally if its terms do not change and the EU warns the UK to accept these terms.
