UK, EU deal on Northern Ireland can be done by end of the year, says Irish FM

Irish foreign minister Simon Coveney said this week that a deal could be made between the United Kingdom and the European Union over the Northern Ireland Protocol. Coveney said that the agreement between both sides could be made by the end of the year.

In an interview with Ireland’s Newstalk Radio Tuesday, Coveney said that the UK and the EU can still reach a deal on the Northern Ireland trade deal by the end of the year. This follows the technical discussions that resumed between both sides back in October on the post-Brexit trade deal, also known as the Northern Ireland Protocol, that mandated checks on goods entering the region from the UK because of the open border with EU member Ireland.

“I think we can do that. I think we can do that before the end of the year,” said Coveney, who played a key role in the negotiations. “There are encouraging signals now from the British government that they are serious for the first time in many, many months about trying to work this out through dialogue and discussion.”

Coveney also said that should the UK show “real intent” to solve the issue through gestures such as the sharing of real-time data, the bloc would respond with generosity. Coveney added that both sides are working to take advantage of the “window of opportunity” due to the delay in the Northern Ireland elections until March.

“We need to use this window now to try and resolve these issues once and for all,” said Coveney, who expressed concern that the election may pose a challenge for the region’s pro-British Unionist party to support the compromise.

Despite Coveney’s optimistic remarks, British foreign minister James Cleverly said that he had yet to see a way for the resolution of problems with the issue. Speaking with a committee of lawmakers, Cleverly said while the atmosphere of the talks had improved, it would not be easy to address all the issues that must be resolved.

However, Cleverly said that they are still looking for a way to address and resolve the issues over the protocol with the bloc.