(London) British and EU negotiators failed to agree on Friday on the implementation of the Northern Irish protocol provided for in the Brexit deal, London said, announcing a new round of talks next week.
London demands an in-depth renegotiation of the Northern Irish protocol concluded within the framework of Brexit, which keeps the British province de facto in the single European market. Brussels refuses, proposing only adjustments, and the discussions held in recent weeks still remain at an impasse.
David Frost, the Secretary of State responsible for Brexit, said he and European Commission Vice-President Maros Sefcovic had met in London and discussed “all of the issues at the origin of the difficulties ”.
“We still want a negotiated solution,” he said in a statement, warning however that “the gap between our positions is still significant” and that the suspension of the “protocol” remained an option.
“Technical discussions will continue next week,” he added, “and we will meet again next Friday”.
The Northern Irish protocol, effective since the beginning of the year, maintains the British province in the customs union and the European single market, to prevent the return of a physical border to the island of Ireland which would risk weakening the 1998 peace agreement.
The new measures disrupted supplies in Northern Ireland and angered unionists attached to staying within the United Kingdom, reviving community tensions.
London demands in particular the abolition of the right of scrutiny of the Court of Justice of the EU on its application, to replace it by “an international arbitration”, which the EU refuses.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said during a call Wednesday with his Irish counterpart, Micheal Martin, that a “rebalanced and lasting result” had to be quickly found.
The day before, EU ministers had urged London to bury the hatchet and implement what it signed, facing the prospect of negotiations that could extend until Christmas.