Throughout their troubled course, Brexit talks advanced only through the pressure of a legal or political deadline, a moment promising to change the rules of the game. Now this may be such a moment for the deadlocked implementation of the Northern Ireland protocol, which requires checks on goods crossing the Irish Sea to obviate the need for a North-South border. On Wednesday the EU-UK Joint Committee meets again to discuss implementation and the EU’s representative, Commissioner Maros Sefcovic, warns it will be a litmus test. Frustration is growing in the member states, fuelled by perceptions that London has still not accepted that the protocol is a binding treaty legal obligation, and not up for renegotiation. Poots, while maintaining his demand for the removal of the protocol, indicated his willingness to support such “temporary” measures.

Source: The Irish Times June 06, 2021 13:41 UTC