In the past two weeks, officials from London and Brussels have been involved in intense “technical talks” over future border checks on food, plants, and parcels going from Great Britain to Northern Ireland. An official spokesman from Downing Street said the discussions had been constructive, however, there were “still significant differences that need to be resolved.”
Sources in the know said that while progress has been made in Northern Ireland, efforts did not involve removing checks on goods, but instead concentrated on removing the series of “rolling deadlines” from the implementation of border controls. The talks began a fortnight ago after UK relations with the EU reached a low point, with Brussels launching legal action against the UK for taking a unilateral decision to extend the grace period for checks on supermarket goods going from Great Britain to Northern Ireland.
EU sources have told UK officials that 90 per cent border checks could disappear if Britain agreed to align food standards with those of the bloc. Ireland's Europe minister Thomas Byrne called the situation “delicate”, but he said it would be “excellent” if a veterinary deal could be achieved as it would solve problems both in Northern Ireland and those facing food exporters in Great Britain.
