The UK government has reportedly told the European Commission it will extend grace periods in a letter responding to legal action recently launched by Brussels over non-compliance with the Northern Ireland Protocol. Despite politics as usual pausing while the nation mourns the Queen’s death, No 10 has responded to the EU’s request for a response to infringement legal proceedings by the end of September 15. This means that some food products will continue to be sent from Great Britain to Northern Ireland without the physical checks required by the EU to comply with its single market rules. Brussels is expected to hold off on any immediate retaliation or new legal measures as the two sides try to avoid escalating the dispute over the protocol. European Commission spokesman Daniel Ferry said on Thursday: “I can confirm that we have received a response from the UK. We will now analyze the response before deciding on next steps.” Ms Truss’s Northern Ireland Protocol bill – the highly controversial plan to unilaterally bypass the controls agreed in the Brexit deal – remains the biggest sticking point between the two sides. In June, the Commission took legal action against the UK government in response to the bill announced by Mrs Truss. And in July, Brussels launched four new “infringement proceedings” – accusing the UK of breaking parts of the Brexit deal. However, the decision to extend the grace periods is unlikely to trigger further moves, while the prospect of new talks aimed at reaching a compromise on the protocol remains possible. Earlier this week, Commission Vice-President Maros Sefcovic urged Ms Truss to restart negotiations and withdraw her highly controversial bill in an interview with the Financial Times. Mr Sefcovic said he wanted to reduce physical customs checks in the Irish Sea to just one “two lorries a day”, arguing there was almost no difference between the UK’s demand for “no checks” and the EU’s offer of “minimal checks, carried out”. in an invisible way”. But British officials have made it clear they see little new in the EU chief’s Brexit offer and Ms Truss insisted last week that any compromise must “deliver all the things we set out in the Northern Ireland Protocol Bill”. The UK government has said new elections for the Northern Ireland assembly will have to be called on October 28 if the Stormont deadlock persists, with the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) refusing to rejoin power-sharing arrangements until it is lifted the protocol. Despite the Stormont deadline, Mujtaba Rahman – Brexit analyst at the Eurasia Group – said it was not in either side’s interests to make a fuss about extending grace periods in the coming weeks, when both are dealing with the Ukraine war and energy crisis. “The Commission will essentially let the status quo on grace periods prevail … in the short term the can is kicked,” Mr Rahman told The Independent. “But the fundamental problem remains – there is no convergence on the substance of the GB-NI border dispute.” He added: “There is little or no chance of a deal being reached unless Liz Truss is prepared to lose her party. The big question is, can the two sides avoid escalation? If the [protocol] the bill becomes law… at which point the EU will feel compelled to respond, possibly by communicating its intention to suspend [Brexit] trade agreement.” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will be in London for the Queen’s funeral on Monday. Ms Truss will meet a “small percentage” of world leaders who will attend the funeral at Chevening House and No 10 country estate this weekend. Ms Truss hopes to have a one-on-one meeting with Joe Biden when the US president visits the Queen’s funeral and there are reports the Prime Minister could also meet Irish Prime Minister Michel Martin amid ongoing tensions over protocol. . The prime minister’s official spokesperson could not confirm which leaders she will meet. He said the meetings were not formal bilateral meetings, presenting them as talks to express condolences over the Queen’s death – but said political issues were also likely to arise.
