Foreign Secretary Liz Truss has said finding a solution to the Northern Ireland Protocol dispute is an “absolute priority”, ahead of her latest meeting with the European Commission vice-president.
Ms Truss will meet Maros Sefcovic in London on Friday morning for a fresh round of discussions to resolve the deadlock over the controversial post-Brexit trading arrangements.
It comes after Northern Ireland was plunged into a fresh political upheaval last week when the DUP withdrew Paul Givan as first minister in protest at the deal.
Mr Givan said the protocol, which has created trade barriers between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK, had undermined a cornerstone of powersharing in the region – governance with the consent of both nationalists and unionists.
Fixing the Northern Ireland Protocol is an absolute priority for me
Liz Truss, Foreign Secretary
Boris Johnson signed the protocol with the EU as a measure to stop a hard border being erected, and jeopardising the peace process, on the island of Ireland.
But his Government is trying to renegotiate the deal, arguing that it is hampering the movement of goods between Britain and Northern Ireland and damaging community relations.
Ahead of Friday’s talks, the Foreign Secretary said: “Fixing the Northern Ireland Protocol is an absolute priority for me.
“We have a shared responsibility with the EU to work towards solutions as quickly as possible that deliver for the people of Northern Ireland.
“I look forward to meeting vice-president Sefcovic in person again today.”
