Written Ministerial Statement (WMS) by (Minister of State in the Cabinet Office):
The Government set out in its 21 July Command Paper, ‘Northern
Ireland Protocol: the way forward’, proposals to find a new
balance in the operation of the Protocol.
The Government proposed to the EU on 23 July a ‘standstill’
arrangement to maintain the operation of the Protocol on the
current basis, and to pause current legal actions, to provide
space for discussions on those proposals. The EU announced on 27
July that it was not, at that stage, moving to the next stage of
the legal proceedings it started in March. There have since been
initial technical talks between the UK and the EU. These will
continue in order to determine whether a constructive process can
be established for discussing and addressing the issues
identified with the Protocol.
Following on from this, to provide space for potential further
discussions, and to give certainty and stability to businesses
while any such discussions proceed, the Government will continue
to operate the Protocol on the current basis. This includes the
grace periods and easements currently in force. Operational and
other guidance will be updated to reflect this approach. We will
ensure that reasonable notice is provided in the event that these
arrangements were to change, to enable businesses and citizens to
prepare.
A UK Government spokesperson said:
“Over the coming weeks, we will continue to talk to the EU to see
if it is possible to make genuine and substantive progress on the
proposals in our Command Paper on the operation of the Northern
Ireland Protocol.
“In order to provide time and political space for these
discussions, and to give business as much trading certainty as
possible, we have announced today that we will maintain the
existing arrangements for moving goods between Great Britain and
Northern Ireland, including the current grace periods and
easements."
