(Alliance News) - Britain's top diplomat said Tuesday that talks with the EU had made improvements in a row over Northern Ireland that has triggered a political crisis.
Britain on leaving the EU agreed to a protocol that lets Northern Ireland remain in the EU common market – avoiding the reimposition of a hard border in Ireland that could have scuttled the peace that has largely prevailed since the 1998 Good Friday accord.
But disagreements on the implementation over trade prompted pro-UK parties to walk out of the Northern Ireland assembly last year and there has been no breakthrough on restoring a power-sharing government ahead of a Thursday deadline.
On a visit to the US, which champions the Good Friday agreement, British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly indicated progress but declined to predict if institutions would be up and running again by the accord's 25th anniversary in April.
"The conversation is happening in good faith, very discreetly and that discretion I think has helped us make real improvements," Cleverly said at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
"We want to get this result as soon as possible," he said.
Cleverly a day earlier held new virtual talks with the EU on the protocol. A week earlier, the two sides said they had reached an agreement regarding information technology systems.
The Conservative diplomat voiced solidarity for Northern Ireland businesses which say they are having trouble buying from the British mainland.
"This is about making sure that a part of my country is able to be a meaningful part of my country. Northern Ireland is part of the UK," he said.
source: AFP
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