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The UK and Ireland have insisted they will work closely to try and resolve the impasse over the Northern Ireland Protocol.
Foreign Secretary James Cleverly met his Irish counterpart Simon Coveney in London on Thursday, with the pair expressing warm words and a desire for close cooperation on issues including the protocol.
The first bilateral meeting between the UK and Ireland since Liz Truss became UK Prime Minister will be followed on Friday by the British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference.
It will be co-chaired by Coveney and Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris.
While agreement on changes linked to the protocol remain to be negotiated, the UK, Ireland and the EU have made a noticeable effort in recent days to express a desire for action.
The protocol was agreed by the UK and EU as part of the Withdrawal Agreement and sought to avoid a hard border with Ireland post-Brexit.
But the arrangements have created trade barriers on goods being shipped from Great Britain to Northern Ireland.
The protocol is vehemently opposed by many unionists in Northern Ireland and the DUP is currently blocking the formation of a power sharing executive in Belfast in protest.
Stormont collapsed earlier this year amid a row over the protocol and has not returned despite elections in May
Coveney, writing on Twitter, said: ‘My pleasure to host UK Foreign Secretary @JamesCleverly at the Irish Embassy London for a working dinner.
‘James & I discussed Brexit, the protocol, the war in Ukraine as well as our shared work at the UN Security Council. We agreed to work closely together on all.’
Cleverly wrote: ‘As our closest neighbour, I am committed to working with Ireland on important issues including energy security and fixing the problems with the Northern Ireland Protocol.’
Negotiations between UK and EU officials restarted on Thursday afternoon.
Ireland's premier Micheal Martin warned ‘difficulties’ exist in reaching an agreement on the protocol but he said there is a ‘genuine desire’ from all sides to do so.
He said space is now needed to allow the UK and the EU to reach a resolution.
Ireland's deputy premier Leo Varadkar also conceded the protocol is a ‘little too strict’.
He said the protocol is working despite not being fully implemented, demonstrating there is room for ‘further flexibility for some changes’.
Legislation to enable the UK government to effectively tear up parts of the protocol is to return to Westminster on October 11.
The Northern Ireland Protocol Bill has already cleared the House of Commons and will be debated at second reading by the House of Lords, which is expected to consider it at length, next week.
By Richard Wheeler, PA Parliamentary Editor
source: PA
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