Irish PM: “I Think We Need To Reset The [EU-UK] Relationship"

In an interview with the FT, Irish Taoiseach (PM) Michael Martin says that the EU and the UK should 'reset' their relationship in order to 'fine tune' the Northern Ireland protocol and avoid any unilateral action that could damage both economic links and political stability.

• Martin and his gov't have had to tread a fine line between maintaining good relations with the UK - with Martin stating to the FT that "I've made it very clear to our European Union partners that the British-Irish relationship is a unique one, historically rooted," - but also showing to Brussels that it is committed to protecting the integrity of the Single Market.
• In a crucial part of the interview, Martin says that UK officials working in the Joint Committee on the Implementation of the Withdrawal Agreement, and the subcommittee on the NI protocol, have been 'more constructive' in recent weeks.
• Some have put this down to the quiet sidelining of Cabinet Office minister Lord Frost, who led the Brexit negotiations opposite the European Commission's Michel Barnier, and has been seen as a somewhat divisive or antagonistic figure by EU and Irish officials.
• Yesterday, the EU's deadline imposed on the UK for finding a mutually-agreed solution on the NI protocol issue (the UK's unilateral extension of grace periods for some food exports from GB to NI) expired, with no clear workaround reached. This is likely to result in an escalation in the EU's process of legal action against the UK for breach of the Withdrawal Agreement and its protocols, potentially scuppering the prospects of a 'reset' in the relationship that Martin is seeking.