Simon Coveney warned that negotiations with the UK over the Northern Ireland Protocol could end at the end of the year if no progress is being made. The Irish Foreign Minister said there is only a finite window within which the EU is willing to find solutions to the problems caused by the post-Brexit agreement in place for Northern Ireland.
London and Brussels are currently locked in an intense round of negotiations in the coming weeks after European Commission Vice President Maros Sefcovic unveiled a range of proposals aimed at cutting the red tape the protocol has imposed on moving goods from Great Britain to Northern Ireland. However, the plan did not include the removal of the oversight function of the European Court of Justice ECJ in the operation of the protocol - a key UK demand. Mr Coveney added: I think EU has shown a real appetite for compromise and they have consciously avoided creating tension. I can't say the same in terms of the British government's approach.
I think that window is on offer now to the British Government if they want to use it to find a way of implementing the protocol in a way that responds to the vast majority of the issues and problems raised. It's up to the UK Government, I think, to take that window and we'll have to wait and see how that progresses in the next few weeks. I can't tell you when the EU will decide that this approach is getting us nowhere if there's no agreement. But certainly I think there's a window between now and late December, when the EU, I think, will be open to continuing dialogue and trying to find a way to make this work. READ MORE: SNP relies on 'Union' trade with UK compared to EU, data reveals.
The Irish Foreign Minister admitted that frustrations remain about the fact that the role of the ECJ has become a red line. He added: My personal view on it is that the British government do want to get a deal at some point, but I do think that the way in which they're approaching these negotiations is a strange way to show it. Do the British government want a partnership that can settle these issues in a way that deals with the pragmatic problems and concerns that have been expressed in Northern Ireland, or do they want to continue to drag this issue out with all of the risks that comes with that? I don't think it will be the case forever that the EU will be in compromise and solutions mode. Keir Starmer blasts Nicola Sturgeon over IndyRef 2 pledge LATEST SNP bombards Scots with one million 'junk mail' indyref 2 papers INSIGHT Mark Drakeford formally puts Welsh independence on table REVEAL Mr Coveney also said he didn't believe there was an appetite in the EU to re-write an international agreement. He continued: Who knows where this goes if we move into the new year and we're still not making any progress and the asks coming from the British side continue to be an ask to rewrite an international agreement, as opposed to look for flexibilities within it. On Friday night, European Commission insiders backed Mr Coveney's comments arguing the negotiations needed a time limit. One source from Brussels added: As Maros Sefcovic has said, giving the people of Northern Ireland a solution to the protocol by Christmas would be the perfect gift.