Britain won't give up on NI protocol until exhausting all negotiating possibilities
November 11, 2021, 4:31 am

Britain won't give up on NI protocol until exhausting all negotiating possibilities

Brexit-England get out of European Union/Pixabay

The Xinhua reported, British Brexit Minister David Frost said on Wednesday that three weeks' talks with the European Union (EU) have not led to the closure of substantial gaps on the Northern Ireland Protocol but Britain will not give up until exhausting all negotiating possibilities.

During the intense discussions for the last three weeks, the aim has been to assess whether it is possible to close the substantial gaps in UK-EU positions and secure potential negotiated resolution, Frost said in the House of Lords, the upper chamber of the British parliament.

He said it has not been possible so far at least in part because the EU proposals do not go far enough to make the protocol sustainable for the future.

He said he wants to protect the integrity of the talks and remain positive.

European parliament-Strasbourg-Flags/Pixabay

Frost said.: "I will not give up on this process unless and until it is abundantly clear that nothing more can be done...If we do in due course reach that point, the Article 16 safeguards will be our only option."

The Article 16 of the Northern Ireland Protocol provides both Britain and the EU with a unilateral power to take action should the application of the protocol give rise to "serious economic, societal or environmental difficulties that are liable to persist, or to diversion of trade."

Britain and the EU view changing the protocol as a long-term solution to post-Brexit trade disruption in Northern Ireland. Britain outlined its proposals in a government paper in July, which observers interpreted as a renegotiation of the protocol.

In response, the EU published its own package to facilitate the movement of goods from Great Britain to Northern Ireland, including cutting customs formalities, simplified certification, and an 80 percent reduction of checks on retail goods for Northern Ireland's consumers.

It said it would guarantee an uninterrupted supply of medicine to the people of Northern Ireland, by changing EU rules.

However, the two sides remain poles apart on the more challenging issue of the oversight role of the European Court of Justice in Northern Ireland.

Source: xinhua

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Upon arriving to participate in the summit of the European Political Community, which includes around forty heads of state in Budapest, he said, "I look forward to sitting with the elected U.S. president and seeing how we will collectively ensure we meet challenges, including the threats from Russia and North Korea." He also noted that the strengthening of ties between Russia and North Korea poses a threat to the United States as well, according to reports from Agence France-Presse.

Before Trump's victory, Rutte expressed confidence that a united Washington would remain part of the defensive alliance, even if Trump became the 47th president of the United States. In an interview with German public broadcaster ZDF last Monday night, he stated that both Republicans and Democrats understand that NATO serves not only the security of Europe but also that of America. He added that both candidates are aware that the security of the United States is closely tied to NATO.

On Wednesday, NATO congratulated Trump on his victory but did not address the Ukrainian issue.

It is noteworthy that the relationship between the elected U.S. president and the defense alliance was not the best during his first term in the White House. Trump criticized NATO member states multiple times and even hinted at withdrawing from the alliance unless they increased their financial contributions.

Additionally, the issue of the Russian-Ukrainian war is one of the matters that complicate relations between the two sides, especially since Trump has repeatedly stated that he can end this ongoing conflict, which began in 2022, quickly. He implied that he had a peace plan between Kyiv and Moscow, while his vice president, JD Vance, revealed aspects of that plan, which stipulated Ukraine's commitment not to join NATO, thereby sending reassuring signals to the Russians.

Furthermore, many NATO member states in Europe fear that Trump might halt military aid to Ukraine after he previously criticized the U.S. for pouring funds into supporting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.