Northern Ireland: UK asks for more time to respond to EU legal action

The UK has asked for more time to respond to EU legal action over its unilateral decision to postpone checks on goods going to Northern Ireland.

The EU launched legal action against Britain last month for unilaterally changing trading arrangements for Northern Ireland.

Brussels said the move breached the Brexit divorce deal agreed last year and gave London a month to respond to the legal action.

However, the British government has requested a one-month extension, Ireland’s RTE television broadcaster reported on Wednesday.

The UK has indicated that it will respond by mid-May.

“The request came in two letters from the UK’s chief Brexit minister David Frost,” RTE correspondent Tony Connelly said in a Twitter post.

The British government is due to host Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney in London on Thursday, while its EU negotiator Lord David Frost travels to Brussels.

Frost will meet with European Commission vice president Maros Sefcovic where the two will try to hammer out an agreement over customs checks for goods going between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

 An EU spokesperson said the talks would “take stock of ongoing technical work” on the Northern Ireland Protocol and “provide a political steer for both teams on outstanding issues”.

The Prime Minister’s spokesperson said earlier this week that Frost and Sefcovic “spoke on Friday over the phone and we’re at regular contact at all levels”.

“Talks have been constructive, but there are still some significant differences that need to be resolved,” they said.

“We’re committed to working through the outstanding issues to restore confidence on the ground in Northern Ireland while respecting all dimensions of the good Friday agreement.”