And Leo Varadkar, Ireland s Foreign Minister and a close ally of Mr Martin's predecessor, Simon Coveney, has also said it was now time for Lord Frost and UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson to work closely with Brussels to thrash out solutions to all the outstanding problems with respect to the Northern Ireland Protocol. Under the terms of the protocol, which was agreed by the UK and EU as part of the 2020 Withdrawal Agreement, the European Court of Justice would be the final arbitrator in any future trade dispute between the two parties regarding the operation of the protocol.
The UK wants to now remove that provision and replace it with an independent arbitration process - something Maros Sefcovic, the EU s Brexit point man, ruled out during his speech in Brussels on Wednesday. Nevertheless, Mr Sefcovic unveiled a number of key concessions, including an 80 percent cut in checks and regulations related to goods entering Northern Ireland. In an implied rebuke of Lord Frost, Mr Martin said: Taoiseach is the Irish equivalent of Prime Minister. The Irish Government has stated that they didn't fully understand the implications of the protocol or withdrawal agreement.
I think the European Commission has demonstrated that they are also very open and willing to bring a resolution to this. Boris Johnson said that during his last meeting with Mr Martin, the Prime Minister indicated he wanted another opportunity to seek a resolution. The leader of Fianna Fail said: The stakes are high in respect of making sure that we can maintain the institutions of the Good Friday Agreement and political stability in Northern Ireland. Should Barnier ask Poland whether you want to stay in the EU? Bitcoin price rises ahead of Apple BLOG Royal Family LIVE: William's space probe claim sparks fury ROYAL Vicky Price shoots down Sturgeon's dreams of independence LATEST He said: Even in discussions with the British Prime Minister that I had him it was about chilled meats, for example. Mostly people would speak about the sausages moving through to Northern Ireland, well now you know what, the sausages will get through to Northern Ireland. Speaking about how he and the European Commission are in solution mode, Mr Martin also paid tribute to Mr Martin for how he and the European Commission handled post-Brexit issues, saying: It has been a sincere, hard-working and very sensitive and committed approach.
Maros Sefcovic has really consulted people all around. His engagement with the Irish Government to get a sense of things, he went north and talked to people on the ground in Northern Ireland and business and industry, and then visited all the parties. Mr Sefcovic, who clashed with Lord Frost on Twitter earlier this week over this issue, in part released a statement yesterday in which he likewise welcomed Lord Frost's announcements. Mr Coveney said: These bespoke solutions make it easier for Northern Irish businesses to move goods into Northern Ireland at the same time continuing to benefit from all the advantages of full access to the EU single market.