Brussels set to REJECT Northern Ireland grace period extension in bitter Brexit row

Northern Ireland warned of EU ‘danger’ by Question Time guest

After the UK left the EU at the start of the year, Northern Ireland was given a three month grace period where new customs processes from Great Britain do not apply. British and European officials have been holding crunch talks in a bid to increase the post-Brexit grace period, but cannot agree on the length of the extension.

Whitehall and EU officials have confirmed the European Commission will not agree to a two year extension of the Northern Ireland grace period

Instead the Commission will likely only agree to a three to six-month extension to the relaxed rules for Great Britain.

EU officials have also accused the UK of using the coronavirus vaccine row to force a renegotiation of the Northern Ireland Protocol.

The EU issued export controls on coronavirus vaccines going into Northern Ireland through Article 16 of the protocol, effectively creating a hard border, before backing down due to outrage from Irish and British officials.

UK officials argue the controversial row highlights the need to fix urgent issues with Northern Irish trade.

READ MORE: EU ‘mistake’ over Northern Ireland opens door for Boris to change Brexit deal

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Jeffrey Donaldson, the DUP’s Westminster leader, told The Telegraph he was “not surprised” by the EU’s “meagre response”.

He said: “I really don’t think the Irish government understands the extent of the difficulty consumers and businesses are experiencing in Northern Ireland.

“Simply extending the grace period doesn’t resolve any of the difficulties and doesn’t fix the underlying problem, which is that people in Northern Ireland are facing barriers to trade with the United Kingdom.

“If this is the best the EU can do, by kicking the can down the road a little further and offering no substantive change… then the Prime Minister has a duty to act, and he has the power to act.”

A Whitehall source told the Telegraph the EU are privately indicating it would only accept an extension of between three and six months.

It comes ahead of Michael Gove and Maros Sefcovic meeting on Thursday.

The source added: “They are amenable to a three-month extension… whether we can do more we will probably have to wait for this week’s discussions.”

Two EU sources also confirmed that discussions were taking place over an extension of up to six months.

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Mr Gove had previously insisted the grace period must be extended to January 2023.

Speaking last week, he told MPs the EU needs to be “practical and pragmatic” to avoid the UK triggering Article 16.

He said: “Article 16 isn’t there to ensure the EU’s vaccine procurement program can be salvaged.

“There needs to be a realisation on all sides that this isn’t some arcane bit of diplomatic procedure. This has real consequences on the ground.”

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