Brexit: NI will get medicine at same time as GB, EU proposes

Medicines will continue to be available in Northern Ireland at the same time as in the rest of the UK under plans to simplify the Northern Ireland Protocol, the European Union (EU) has said.

The protocol means Northern Ireland is still inside the EU's pharmaceutical regulatory system.

However, it gets most of its medicines from Great Britain, which is not.

The EU says its new proposals mean medicines entering NI from GB will not need additional labelling or testing.

The European Commission vice-president Maroš Šefčovič said a commitment to ensure the supply of medicines into Northern Ireland was being turned into "a lasting solution".

He added that the protocol "has the flexibility to work on the ground".

UK Brexit Minister Lord Frost said there had been progress on dealing with medicines and Friday's proposals by the EU follow discussions between the two sides.

"They could constitute a constructive way forward, and we are willing to look at them positively but as we have not been able to scrutinise the texts in the necessary detail, we are not yet able to make that judgement with full confidence," he said.

Lord Frost added that other issues associated with the Northern Ireland Protocol are not "yet close to delivering outcomes which can genuinely solve the problems presented by the protocol".

He said a solution "needs to be found urgently early next year".