Brexit: Simon Coveney plays down NI Protocol breakthrough prospects

Simon Coveney is visiting Northern Ireland for the first time since the executive collapsed

Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney has played down the prospect of a breakthrough on the Northern Ireland Protocol in UK-EU talks next week.

He was speaking as he arrived in Belfast for talks with the Stormont parties.

Mr Coveney was asked about the next UK-EU joint committee meeting due to happen on Monday.

He said it was more likely to be a "staging post" for the two sides to issue a statement on progress so far.

Mr Coveney has previously said he believes negotiations over the Northern Ireland Protocol must conclude by the end of this month.

The Irish foreign minister also told the media in Belfast on Thursday that the Irish and British governments are not "bystanders" in trying to resolve the latest political crisis at Stormont.

It is the first time the minister has visited since the power-sharing executive collapsed earlier this month.

Stormont resolution 'up to NI parties'

He is to have talks with four of the five main parties to discuss the political crisis, as well as negotiations over the protocol.

Mr Coveney said Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson is travelling and would be unable to meet him in person on Thursday, but they would remain in contact.

Following a meeting with the European Commission vice-president Maroš Šefčovič on Thursday, Sir Jeffrey warned that "unionism is rapidly losing faith that a negotiated solution is possible".

"It is time for the government to take action which restores fairness and reinstates Northern Ireland's access to the UK internal market," he said in a statement.

"This is the only way to build a better future for everyone in Northern Ireland."

Mr Coveney said officials in London, Dublin and Brussels were all actively involved in trying to find solutions to the Northern Ireland Protocol.

However, he added that it was up to the Stormont parties alone to return to government together and that he would continue to support them to reach a resolution.

Mr Coveney is also expected to meet civic society leaders in Armagh during his visit.

The minister was involved in negotiations that helped lead to the signing of the New Decade New Approach agreement in January 2020, restoring Stormont's institutions after a three-year impasse.

The UK government has insisted it wants to reach a solution urgently, in light of the latest crisis at Stormont.

Its lead negotiator, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, met her EU counterpart last Friday for a further round of talks.

Liz Truss said she wants to work with the EU towards solutions that deliver for people in Northern Ireland

Earlier, Mr Coveney said those involved in the negotiations are "putting in a lot of time" to make progress before the upcoming assembly elections on 5 May.

"Liz Truss and Maroš Šefčovič were the two key negotiators on each side but are very much supported by the Irish government and many others who want to try a way forward here," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

He described the decision of the DUP to withdraw Paul Givan as first minister as part of its ongoing opposition to the Irish Sea border as "very unfortunate".

The party has argued that unless the arrangements are changed, political institutions in Northern Ireland cannot continue as normal.

"We're trying to find a way of ensuring that the Northern Ireland Protocol, which is part of an international agreement that the UK government designed, helped to write and then ratified, can be implemented in a way that's acceptable for all sides, including unionists," Mr Coveney said.

"The Irish government is going to work closely with the British government and the EU to try to find a solution that everybody can live with."

Sinn Féin Vice-President Michelle O'Neill said she believed the UK government had moved back from its threat to override part of the protocol by triggering Article 16.

She said the issue had been raised during her meetings with Mr Coveney and the EU's chief negotiator, Maros Sefcovic on Thursday.

"It appears off the boil for now - but the Tory government has shown before there are many twists and turns still to go but we'll continue doing all we can to work with the EU and find a solution to make the protocol work."

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Speaking after his meeting with Mr Coveney and Mr Šefčovič, Ulster Unionist Party leader Doug Beattie said they were "as far away now as we were last year" in reaching a deal on the protocol.

"We're far away from any form of solution," he said.

"But what I do think they want on February 21 is to finish the joint committee and come out with a positive statement of intent that we're going in a particular direction".

SDLP leader Colum Eastwood said he believed there would not be much progress before May's assembly election, warning that the DUP's decision to collapse the executive had not sparked a change in negotiations.

"This will end in tears for the DUP, what they've set out as red lines were always going to be in achievable," he added.

Without a first and deputy first minister in place it is not yet clear who will attend a meeting of the joint committee on behalf of the Northern Ireland institutions, but it is likely that a senior civil servant could take part instead.