The EU capital strikes back at the Northern Ireland proposal of the Brexit minister

The EU capital strikes back at the Northern Ireland proposal of the Brexit minister

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European capitals have responded to the remarks of Lord David Frost, the Brexit minister, suggesting that the EU needs to make more compromises on the issue of Northern Ireland, which shows that tensions have increased before the EU-UK high-level meeting this week.

Frost, written in Financial Times On Sunday, he called on the EU to show “common sense” and relax checks on the trade border between Northern Ireland and the United Kingdom, while criticizing what he called the EU’s “legal purism”.

“The EU needs a new script for dealing with neighboring countries,” Frost wrote, adding that he hopes to “see progress at the meeting with EU Brexit Commissioner Maros Sevkovic in London on Wednesday. “.

However, the EU has not responded well to these comments. The EU believes that it has been stepping up efforts to resolve the difficulties encountered by businesses and people in Northern Ireland due to the customs and veterinary borders between the region and the UK after Brexit.

Irish Foreign Minister Simon Covini said on Twitter that Frost “continues to blame the EU’s rigid agreement issues on the difficulties of the agreement. This is not the case at all.”

Noting that the European Union is “always proposing new solutions,” Kovinni said: “Is this media information about the UK or is it really solving the problem together?”

French Minister for Europe, Clément Beaune, also disputed Frost’s comments, saying that Northern Ireland’s post-Brexit trade arrangement system-a system designed to avoid the island’s own hard border-” Undoubtedly”.

The Northern Ireland agreement stipulated in the Brexit treaty between the United Kingdom and the European Union “is not the problem. This is a solution to a problem we have not yet created,” Bohn said.

The cross-channel dispute highlights the difficult negotiations facing the agreement. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson formulated the system with the European Union in negotiations in 2019, but the practical difficulties caused by these arrangements have become a political pain point in the region.

The UK blames the EU’s legal rigidity. The EU believes that inspections are important to protect its internal market from fraud and smuggling.

In turn, Brussels focused on Britain’s refusal to sign a Swiss-style veterinary agreement with the European Union, which would eliminate the need for many inspections. EU officials also complained about the UK’s slow progress in fulfilling its obligations, including providing real-time access to customs data.

The day-to-day issues of the agreement range from legal barriers to the delivery of generic drugs to administrative barriers to traveling with guide dogs, and more general issues surrounding the paperwork required to transport food and live animals.

In recent days, the European Union has insisted that it is doing everything it can, including demonstrating “creativity” around the agreement in order to find solutions to local problems.

Sefcovic emphasized efforts to simplify the travel of guide dogs between Great Britain and Northern Ireland and reduce the cumbersome marking of live animals.

EU officials also pointed out that Brussels is working hard to find a pharmaceutical solution. The problem stems from EU regulations regarding the regulatory authorization required for pharmaceutical companies to sell such products in the single market (including Northern Ireland).

But Brussels is increasingly frustrated by Britain’s slowness in addressing EU concerns.

“Patience has disappeared,” an EU official said on Friday. “We have been working hard behind the scenes to find creative solutions, but we need the UK to stand on our ground-we need trust. Trust is a prerequisite for us to be able to come up with new solutions.”

EU diplomats and the European Commission will discuss preparations for this week’s meeting with Frost at the EU UK Working Group meeting this afternoon.

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