Lord Frost, the Brexit minister, has said that it will suspend part of the Northern Ireland The agreement by triggering Article 16 of the agreement with the EU is still a “very realistic option”, but he has stated that he hopes to reach an agreement before Christmas.
He also made a promise when he visited the north Ireland Britain has not tried to transfer border inspection and control from the Irish Sea to the Irish border.
Frost met with Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson in Belfast on Tuesday night and will meet with Sinn Fein leader Michel O’Neill on Wednesday morning.
“We very much hope to end these talks. This is what we most want to do. If we can’t, if they can’t reach an agreement, then the famous Article 16 is obviously a very realistic choice,” he told the BBC Good Morning Ars special.
Frost also criticized the EU’s threats to retaliate with sanctions including tariffs or the termination of the entire UK trade agreement as unhelpful.
“I don’t understand why this helps… European Union It becomes sanctions, retaliation and makes trade more difficult,” he said.
He has repeatedly stated that Article 16 is a “completely legal option” and dismissed the argument that cancellation of the agreement will deal a heavy blow to businesses that see the special arrangements in Northern Ireland as a unique opportunity to obtain the “best of both worlds”. The single market in the United Kingdom and the European Union.
Business leaders also met with Frost on Tuesday and reported that this was the “most positive” meeting they had with him since the outbreak of the agreement dispute.
One of a dozen people who had dinner with him in Belfast said: “We feel that we are being talked for the first time, not talking. You can even say that this is desirable. We all think that this is the first cancellation. 16 is a precursor, but he doubles his hope for an agreement.”
In recent weeks, there has been growing concern that the ultimate goal of the UK is to cancel all cargo inspections between Great Britain and Northern Ireland to meet the requirements of the DUP, which is striving to abolish the agreement.
“We don’t think it’s necessary. I think it’s one of the common points in the entire negotiation. No one wants to see infrastructure or inspections at the border between Northern Ireland and Ireland, and it’s absolutely not necessary. It is recommended that it is not needed,” he told the BBC Good Morning Ulster.
Frost stated that the UK does not intend to completely abolish the agreement.
“There will always be some kind of treaty arrangement between the UK and the EU that covers Northern Ireland. But it must be an arrangement that everyone can support.”
When asked why people in Northern Ireland should trust him to represent their interests when his position seemed to be on the side of the community, he said: “I think this government will always consider the best interests of everyone in Northern Ireland.”
