Brexit: Lord Frost and Šefčovič to discuss NI Protocol in Brussels

Brexit Minister Lord Frost will travel to Brussels on Friday to meet his European Union (EU) counterpart Maros Šefčovič.

The UK and EU are expected to begin intense talks on the Northern Ireland Protocol in the next few weeks.

Earlier this week, both sides laid out proposals for how the deal could be changed.

The protocol keeps Northern Ireland in the EU's single market for goods and allows free-flowing trade with the EU.

The UK says the arrangement imposes too many barriers, as goods arriving from Britain face checks and controls. Unionists say it undermines their position in the UK.

The EU acknowledges the protocol is causing difficulties for some businesses and have suggested ways in which its effects can be reduced.

A UK government spokesperson said: "It is clear there is still a substantial gap between our two positions. Accordingly, there is much work to do.

"Both we and the EU now have proposals on the table.

"We need to discuss them intensively in the days to come to see if the gaps can be bridged and a solution found which delivers the significant change needed."

He told the BBC's The View programme that the EU was ready to discuss issues and concerns with the protocol.

Mr Šefčovič added that the EU would "respect deals we have signed which became international law".

But he said he had "no mandate to renegotiate protocol".

It seeks to calm a long-running dispute over a key part of the Brexit deal.

Mr Šefčovič said he wants to see a revised protocol agreement signed off "before the end of the year".

He said he hoped to "start the new year with a new agreement and with a positive new EU/UK agenda".

But former Brexit Secretary David Davis cast doubt on hopes that deal could be done before Christmas.

However, he said he believed Mr Šefčovič was "trying very hard" to achieve this.

He warned that if the EU refused to make concessions on the oversight role of the European Court of Justice, Article 16 would be triggered as a result.

Article 16 of the protocol sets out the process for taking unilateral "safeguard" measures if either the EU or UK concludes that the operation of the deal is leading to serious problems.

"Under those circumstances the Europeans might be tempted to start trade sanctions, which will then spiral when the UK government responds," Mr Davis said.

"It's not a route you want to go down if you can avoid it."

Mr Davis said the European Court of Justice could not be allowed to "make judgements about what are essentially United Kingdom issues".

"That is an important constitutional issue and it's been a looming issue since 2017."

But Mr Šefčovič added that he was "very optimistic" about engagement he had on Thursday with the leaders of four of Northern Ireland's political parties.

He said in the next stage in negotiations, the EU's main goal was how to cater for "peace and stability" in Northern Ireland and "how to avoid a hard border and create new opportunities for people living in Northern Ireland".