Taoiseach Micheál Martin said the British government should reciprocate the goodwill shown to it by the EU over the past week and engage constructively in the negotiations rather than issue warnings about the Northern Ireland Protocol.
Mr Martin said the time for warnings from either side was over and political leadership was needed to ensure that negotiations between the EU and the UK on the Northern Ireland Protocol were satisfactorily resolved.
Mr Martin said: «There is a way to a sustainable solution here – it is within the withdrawal agreement that the British government has signed and there are mechanisms within that agreement to find a solution.»
«I think the UK government should acknowledge the EU’s approach this week in terms of an extension of the grace period (to allow chilled meat from Britain to Northern Ireland without regulatory alignment) and on the facilitation on the issue of medicines.»
Mr Martin was responding to comments made by British Ambassador, Paul Johnston on RTÉ Radio One on Saturday during a discussion in an opinion piece in the Irish Times by Brexit Secretary David Frost and North Minister Brandon Lewis.
Johnston said Britain’s position on the Northern Ireland Protocol «was not a rattling of swords» but reflected genuine concern about the unitary community’s concerns about the protocol.
Mr Johnson warned that the Protocol «would not continue» unless both communities in Northern Ireland felt it worked for both and respected their interests, which has not happened at present as there was «significant dissatisfaction with the Protocol in the union community». «
Mr Martin said it was quite clear that the leaders of the European Commission and the European Union in general were keen to achieve a solution that would be acceptable to the people of Northern Ireland and had shown goodwill towards the UK to achieve that goal.
“There is no doubt that the European Commission and EU leaders have demonstrated goodwill and generosity towards the British Government in the past week in their efforts to resolve this issue.
«It is really time for the British government to reciprocate the generosity of spirit shown by EU leaders and also the sense of flexibility that Europe has shown to the UK being willing to use it in terms of addressing issues related to the Protocol.»
Mr Martin said he had no doubt that he had spoken to German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Emmanuel Macron and others that there was a genuine desire among EU leaders for a deal to make the Northern Ireland Protocol a success.
“The time to warn each other is over, the time to engage and engage constructively with the aim of finding a solution… Maros Shevkovic has worked with the British side and David Frost in a very constructive way and extending the grace period in the past week has been proof of that.
Mr Martin said the Irish government had worked hard in Europe to «sensitize» both the European Commission and the European Union to the challenges facing Northern Ireland and the entire island of Ireland in terms of developing the protocol to ensure it worked.
“European leaders have made it clear to me, and the agreement itself makes it clear that they want to minimize and minimize disruption to the maximum extent possible but there is an agreement there, and there is a mechanism to solve the problem within a broad agreement
Speaking at an event in Cork this afternoon, Mr Martin said: «It really takes political will now to move this forward and I have no doubts that if the UK government and the European Commission are really involved, this can be resolved.»
Earlier, the British ambassador to Ireland insisted that Britain’s position on the Northern Ireland Protocol was «not a rattling of swords.»
He warned that the protocol «will not last» unless the two communities in the north feel that it works in their favor and respects their interests.
“We see a lot of discontent with the Protocol in the federal community in Northern Ireland and significant problems for business in Northern Ireland, which is not in anyone’s interest, so we want to find sustainable solutions within the framework of the Protocol that rebuild communities in common,” said Mr Johnston.
He said the arrangement was a difficult compromise for both sides. He said «constructive and ambitious» discussions between Britain and the EU should be pursued with a view to finding a more «rational and sustainable» approach.
Johnston said the way the protocol works should have as little impact as possible on the daily lives of people in Northern Ireland, but that people cannot access certain medicines, some foods and services, or bring their pets from one part of the UK to another.
That’s why we think we need to look very carefully at how this is implemented. And it would not be the first time in the history of the European Union that the implementation of an agreement has been updated.”
People in Northern Ireland have had to contend with major changes in the past few months in the time of Covid and when the newest Northern Executive was just a year old.
“I think it is quite reasonable that people in Northern Ireland in some cases are somewhat at a loss at the pace of change and I think it is important that we, both the European Union and the United Kingdom, do everything we can to bring about the greatest stability and certainty and maintain the greatest possible Possible familiarity with them, and this guides our approach to the protocol.
«Unless you have a situation where both communities feel that the protocol works in their favor and respects them and respects their interests, that is not going to continue.»
Asked by broadcaster Philip Boucher Hayes whether the contents of Lord Frost and Lewis’s op-ed in the Irish Times could be interpreted as rattling of swords, Johnston said that would be a mistake.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that «if necessary» he would be ready to apply Article 16, he said.
“I think our position is not about swordsmanship, I think it is just honesty that we need to find a better balance in the way the protocol is run,” said Mr. Johnston.
He said that the protocol was not an end in itself. The purpose was to reconcile the Brexit deal the British people voted for with the need to avoid the hard border on the island of Ireland and preserve the integrity of the EU’s single market.
“It would be a very strange case if I said that this thing that has been introduced needs to be operated exactly the way we expected in principle even if it turns out to not work well in practice just because that is what was negotiated in a room in Brussels or in a room In London six, eight, nine or 18 months ago.
«The test of the sustainability of this arrangement must be how it is viewed as working on the ground, both practically and politically.»
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