EU publishes proposals to simplify NI Protocol
The EU has published its proposals for simplifying some aspects of the Northern Ireland Protocol
The proposals were announced in broad terms at the end of June and subsequently shared with the UK government.
The UK government says the plans do not go far enough.
The Northern Ireland Protocol was agreed by the UK and EU to avoid a hard border in Ireland.
It does this by keeping Northern Ireland in the EU’s single market for goods.
That has caused some difficulties in moving goods from Great Britain to Northern Ireland.
Brexit: EU publishes proposals to simplify NI Protocol – BBC – July 2021
Analysis: ‘No agreement on a solution’
The EU and UK agree that the protocol is not working perfectly.
But they have very different ideas about how to fix it.
The EU has a two-pronged approach: firstly to crunch through the issues using the existing mechanism of the protocol in an attempt to find technical improvements.
Secondly, to offer the UK a Swiss-style agrifood agreement, which would eliminate most Great Britain-Northern Ireland checks.
The UK has rejected both these approaches and has instead suggested a fundamental renegotiation.
Brexit: EU publishes proposals to simplify NI Protocol – BBC – July 2021