Leo Varadkar has expressed “regret” that the Northern Ireland Protocol was enforced against the will of unionists.
Although the post-Brexit rules were functional, the Irish prime minister acknowledged that they had harmed ties with the United Kingdom.
In addition, he said that lighter checks may play a significant role in resolving the impasse, stating that a deal is a’very real’ possibility in the coming months.
In an interview with the BBC at the World Economic Forum in Davos, the remarkably emollient tone was taken after the latest deadline at Stormont had passed.
The acrimonious conflict over the Protocol has resulted in the collapse of powersharing, with the DUP boycotting the institutions of Northern Ireland.
Since the elections in May, this has hindered the formation of a functional Northern Ireland Executive and Assembly.
Prior to April’s 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement, there is intense pressure to reach a settlement.
Rishi Sunak (left) has been advocating for a settlement to the Northern Ireland protocol, but any deal must be reached with Jeffrey Donaldson of the DUP (right)
Leo Varadkar has expressed’regret’ that the Northern Ireland Protocol was implemented against the will of unionists.
After the most recent deadline for powersharing was missed overnight, the British government is now required by law to convene new elections at Stormont.
However, Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris has made it clear that he would not immediately take such measures.
Instead, he will likely use the next two weeks to observe whether the ongoing UK-EU negotiations yield additional progress.
Mr. Varadkar, who recently resumed his position as prime minister of Ireland, told the BBC that he was aware that the Protocol had been “imposed on Northern Ireland without the support of both communities.”
“In the same way that Brexit was imposed on Northern Ireland without the support of both communities, so too was the protocol imposed on Northern Ireland without the support of two communities,” he said.
Mr. Varadkar attributed this in part to the ineffectiveness of Northern Ireland’s government at the time.
The Taoiseach stated that the Protocol was effective economically and in preventing a hard border, but accepted the concern that the arrangements had “weakened the union between Northern Ireland and the United Kingdom.”
He also noted that both parties had waived inspections on a variety of commodities, suggesting that this could be the key to settling the conflict.
Mr. Varadkar stated that Rishi Sunak will “go about conducting business and getting things done.”
“The possibility of an agreement… within the next few months is very real, and it can be reached with reasonableness and flexibility on both sides,” he added.
Yesterday, Irish Deputy Prime Minister Micheal Martin (left) and Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris (center) had meetings in Dublin.
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