NI Protocol: UK/EU talks set to continue next week

Brexit Minister Lord Frost and European Commission Vice-President Maroš Šefčovič met on Friday

Talks on the Northern Ireland Protocol will continue next week after an inconclusive meeting between the chief negotiators.

The Brexit Minister Lord Frost said the gap between UK and EU positions is "still significant".

The European Commission Vice President Maroš Šefčovič said that a "decisive push is needed to ensure predictability".

The two men will meet again in Brussels next Friday.

Lord Frost reiterated that the UK remains ready to use the Article 16 mechanism of the Protocol if other solutions cannot be found.

• What is Article 16 and why does it matter?

• 'Change of tone' in NI Protocol talks - Martin

• Progress in EU-UK talks but gaps remain - Frost

The UK and EU agreed the protocol, a special Brexit deal for Northern Ireland, in 2019.

It leaves Northern Ireland in the EU's single market for goods, meaning that trade can flow freely with the Republic of Ireland, removing the threat of a "hard border".

However, goods arriving into Northern Ireland from the rest of the UK are now subject to checks and controls - amounting to what is being referred to as an "Irish Sea border".

The NI Protocol creates a trade border between Northern Ireland and Great Britain

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

Those safeguards would amount to suspending parts of the deal.

The UK says the threshold for using Article 16 has been met, but the EU says that using it would not be justified.

Earlier this week a UK minister said Article 16 would not be used before Christmas and Mr Sefcovic suggested the talks would stretch into next year.