Britain plans to extend a ‘grace period’ for border checks on goods moving between the UK and Northern Ireland, Brexit minister David Frost said on Monday.
The move is intended to give room for the UK and the European Union (EU) to renegotiate the Northern Ireland Protocol, which Frost mentioned earlier that if the dispute continues it could affect relations between the two sides as a whole.
London and Brussels have been at odds over the protocol since the UK’s exit from the EU took effect on 1 January 2020. British territory remains within the EU customs union, which means inspections must be carried out on certain goods moving between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK.
British authorities, including Prime Minister Boris Johnson who renegotiated the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement, now consider the arrangement absurd as it effectively creates a border in the Irish Sea. They have called for an overall improvement of the agreement.
Even so, in a statement the European Commission in response to the UK postponement, said they would not agree to renegotiate.
This is because the protocol is a permanent part of the Production Agreement and the settlement agreed between the UK and the EU for the problems caused by Brexit for the island of Ireland. Both parties are legally bound to fulfill their obligations under the agreement.
