Talks between the UK and the EU over the ban of some British meat products being sold to Northern Ireland, gives a chance for calm, according to a European commissioner.
Exports of chilled meats from GB to NI are due to be banned at the end of June under the terms of the NI Protocol. The UK has asked for the deadline to be extended until the end of September.
The Northern Ireland Protocol is the part of the Brexit deal which keeps NI in the EU single market for goods.
The UK has formally requested an extension of the chilled meats grace period and now the European Commission has asked for an urgent meeting with ministers to discuss the request.
Ireland’s European commissioner, Mairead McGuinness, has said the UK’s request provides a chance for “calm”.
Earlier this year the UK unilaterally extended other protocol “grace periods” which contributed to a worsening relationship with the EU.
The EU has said those actions by the UK breached the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement and international law because it was not consulted.
Ms McGuinness told the British Irish Chamber of Commerce that the EU will try to resolve the sensitive issues in NI and hopes the protocol can be depoliticised over time.
The EU does not generally permit the import of chilled meat products like mince and sausages from non-member states.
Since January, producers in Great Britain have not been able to sell those products in the EU.
However, in December 2020 the EU agreed to a six-month grace period to allow supermarkets in Northern Ireland to re-orientate supply chains away from Great Britain.
In recent weeks the issue has seen growing tension between the EU and UK with the UK refusing to rule out a unilateral extension of the grace period.
The EU has warned it could respond with legal action which could ultimately lead to the introduction of tariffs on British goods.
Meanwhile, Northern Ireland Agriculture Minister Edwin Poots said that a UK/EU veterinary agreement as a way out of problems with the protocol was not going to happen.
Mr Poots, who was answering questions at Stormont for the first time since announcing he was standing down as DUP leader, said he had told European Commission Vice-President Maros Sefcovic that the level of checks on goods coming from Great Britain to Northern Ireland was “preposterous”.
He said the system would become “unworkable” once current grace periods expired and the full range of controls kicked in.
EU officials and representatives of the Irish Government have suggested that a Swiss-style veterinary agreement could dispense with 80 per cent of the checks across the Irish Sea border.
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