The deadlock in the dispute over the Northern Ireland Protocol seems to have been broken, partially at least.
The Guardian newspaper has been told by a senior EU official that an agreement on food and animal health checks was “close to being done”.
Less stringent checks
It would form part of a deal that would create red and green lanes at Northern Irish ports to differentiate between goods staying in the region and those moving south to the Republic of Ireland and the EU’s single market.
Goods from Great Britain due to stay in Northern Ireland would go through a green lane with less stringent checks, although the precise nature of customs paperwork, and food and animal health checks is so far unclear.
The deal would require food products to be labelled and UK authorities would have to undertake market surveillance to monitor and enforce food safety and animal welfare standards.
Brexit divorce deal
The protocol, agreed upon as part of the Brexit divorce deal, kept Northern Ireland subject to EU standards on goods post-Brexit and avoided the need for a hard border with the Irish Republic.
However, it also created a new trade border in the Irish Sea between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK.
EU staff in Belfast have been asking for transparency on goods flows into Northern Ireland’s ports since early 2021, allowing them to see what goods are entering the country, and how the system is identifying and screening goods bound for the Republic of Ireland.
Difficult issues
Last month the EU and UK struck a deal on real-time data-sharing on goods moving across the Great Britain-Northern Ireland border that is regarded as critical for any reduction in checks on Northern Ireland-only goods.
The latest development on the protocol raises hopes of a broader agreement, but the senior source cautioned that “nothing has happened” on other difficult issues, including the role of the European Court of Justice.
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