MNI INTERVIEW: Chances Rising Of EU-UK Northern Ireland Deal

Hopes are rising that EU and UK politicians will be able to secure agreement on trade flows between Great Britain and Northern Ireland by the end of September, Sean Kelly, leader of the Fine Gael delegation in the European Parliament and a member of the EP's UK Contact Group, told MNI.

Kelly said work been going on in the background between officials and at the technical level during August and that Commissioner Maros Sefkovic and UK counterpart David Frost can pick up the baton from next week.

"It's back to full speed as and from next week and that will give us a month to sort things which I hope they will," he says.

Moving to a system of spot checks or occasional checks, backed up by a tracking system should not be out of the question, he says:

"The volume wouldn't be that great anyway, given the small nature of Northern Ireland - and even the Republic of Ireland - so it should be easy enough to track something that originated in UK, (which) was supposed to stay in Northern Ireland, and ended up in France or Germany. It should be pretty easy to monitor that," Kelly said.

DEAL BY END SEPTEMBER?

Further raising hopes of such a deal by the end of September is the way in which Northern Ireland's businesses are already adapting to the new post-Brexit reality.

"Quite a lot of businesses have already adapted their supply chains and improved their operations. Eight months into Brexit, they have developed new systems. So, if they can get over the (protocol) difficulties by end of September things could work themselves through," he says.

Sanitary and phytosanitary checks ought to be a special focus in the talks, he said, adding that even a temporary agreement in this area would be a significant step forward, eliminating 80% of checks. Three years would provide enough time "for everything to settle down again," he said, even though the UK might resist a permanent sanitary and phytosanitary deal.

The atmospherics around agreeing improvements to the Northern Ireland Protocol have improved dramatically in recent months, with big thanks due to the "huge contribution" made by the U.S. administration, particularly at the G7 summit in Cornwall, to quashing the "megaphone diplomacy" which had threatened to wreck the talks.

While the White House may now find itself occupied elsewhere as Afghanistan absorbs attention, Kelly reckons that the U.S. "will be available whenever needed - and that will be occasional."

Kelly says the outlook for an EU-UK agreement now is "promising." While there are sure to be "occasional outbursts" from one side or another, these will be "a sparring exercise rather than all-out war."

PRIVILEGED POSITION

Northern Ireland enjoys a uniquely privileged position thanks to the Protocol and its businesses are waking up to the opportunities presented by being a member of two separate single markets, he argued.

"This is a great opportunity for us, so let's make the most of it," Kelly said, urging the Northern Ireland Assembly to put together a cross-party committee to look into the way the advantage could be leveraged to the benefit of the local economy.

The UK Contact Group will promote such ideas when it visits Northern Ireland and the UK between Sept. 20 -24. The visit should also contribute to the softly-softly approach easing the tensions which have bedevilled the implementation of the protocol.

"If you look at the peace process, it was built by people away from publicity, building relationships gradually and breaking down barriers, and that has to happen here now, building the new relationship between the EU and UK, and particularly Northern Ireland. Over time you get structures in place that will benefit them and create confidence in the whole process," Kelly said.