Joint Statement To Set Out NI Protocol Steps After Cleverly/Sefcovic Call

Early this afternoon, UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Chris Heaton-Harris and European Commission VP Maros Sefcovic will hold a videoconference to discuss the Northern Ireland protocol. The two sides are expected to deliver a joint statement after the call. Note that there will not a be a full resolution announced, but it could include agreed steps towards resolving the long-running issue.

• RTE: "... it is understood Mr Cleverly and Mr Šefčovič will announce what could be an agreed framework, or agreement on a set of principles, on resolving the key stumbling blocks on the protocol.Diplomats have stressed that there is still an enormous amount of technical work to be done before an overall agreement is reached."
• While there has previously been progress on the issue of sharing trade data, there is no assurance that progress has been possible in the most contentious of areas: surrounding the role of the ECJ in dispute resolution. This could remains a major stumbling bloc in the weeks and months ahead.