{"id":22109,"date":"2021-06-24T17:11:51","date_gmt":"2021-06-24T21:11:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/irishexaminerusa.com\/wp\/?p=22109"},"modified":"2021-06-25T12:14:16","modified_gmt":"2021-06-25T16:14:16","slug":"coveney-we-are-trying-to-work-through-the-issues-where-there-are-solutions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/irishexaminerusa.com\/wp\/?p=22109","title":{"rendered":"Coveney: ‘We Are Trying To Work Through The Issues Where There Are Solutions’"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Minister for Foregin Affairs Simon Coveney a meeting of the British-Irish intergovernmental conference in Dublin on Thursday (PA Media)<\/figcaption><\/figure>Ireland is listening to those who have real concerns about the Northern Ireland Protocol, and \u201cmaking the case strongly at an EU level for flexibility and pragmatism\u201d, Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney has said.<\/p>\n

He added he hopes progress will be made in the \u201csausage war\u201d trade dispute between the UK and the European Union in the next week, but there would also have to be \u201can adherence to what was agreed\u201d.<\/p>\n

The UK has applied for an extension to a grace period allowing chilled meats to continue being shipped from Britain to the North after the end of this month, when the current arrangements are due to expire.<\/p>\n

Mr Coveney said: \u201cI hope this week that we will see progress between both sides on the request from the British government side for a modest extension to the grace period for chilled meats.<\/p>\n

\u201cI hope we\u2019ll be able to see progress on sensitive issues like guaranteeing supplies into Northern Ireland, and also on pets and I hope we can, in the coming weeks and months, also explore positive opportunities around common standards around food production, management and safety.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis was a good discussion.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr Coveney was speaking after a meeting of the British-Irish intergovernmental conference in Dublin on Thursday, following speculation of a truce in the \u201csausage war\u201d dispute.<\/p>\n

He met with Northern Ireland secretary of state Brandon Lewis.<\/p>\n

Mr Coveney said it was the first such meeting since 2019, describing it as a \u201creally important\u201d structure that allows the UK and Irish governments to \u201cwork together on issues of mutual interest and concern\u201d, adding they are committing to holding it several times a year going forward.<\/p>\n

Mr Lewis said he was hopeful that the EU was being \u201cflexible\u201d in its approach to the trade dispute with the UK Government over chilled meats.<\/p>\n

He said: \u201cObviously we have not had a formal response yet from the EU, so we need to wait to see that formal response. Some technical conversations are ongoing around that.<\/p>\n

\u201cObviously I\u2019m hopeful that they are being flexible and looking at a pragmatic way forward, that would be a good indication.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll have to see what the detail is when it comes forward and then we can hopefully move forward positively.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr Coveney also said that the Irish Government and the EU were listening to the \u201canxiety\u201d from some in the North around the Protocol and were trying to respond in a \u201cpragmatic and sensible way\u201d.<\/p>\n

He added that the Irish Government had been advocating for more ambition around sanitary and phytosanitary standards, food standards, veterinary standards and a common approach to that from the UK and the EU \u201cwhich could reduce significantly the number of checks required in airports and airports in Northern Ireland on product coming from GB\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d like to give a message to people in Northern Ireland that despite the frustration that we\u2019ve heard we are trying to work through the issues where there are solutions,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut those solutions require partnership between the British government and the EU together.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added: \u201cHopefully, this week and into next week, if we can get agreement on the chilled meats issue, at least for the temporary extension of that grace period that can be a catalyst for improved relationships and the building up of trust and allow negotiating teams to try to solve some of these other issues over the summer months, because they need to be solved.\u201d<\/p>\n

The two governments agreed a process to move forward with legacy issues in the North.<\/p>\n

Mr Coveney described the decision as the \u201cmost substantive decision of the day\u201d.<\/p>\n

He acknowledged concern among some that the Stormont House Agreement structures on dealing with the past are \u201cnot as comprehensive as needed\u201d.<\/p>\n

He said: \u201cThe two governments have agreed to move a process forward together in partnership to reach out to families of victims, to political parties in Northern Ireland and other stakeholders to talk about the way forward on legacy in a way that is open-minded, does not have any predetermined outcome.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said the starting point of those discussions is Stormont House but \u201cwe\u2019re going to look at how we can develop that in the weeks ahead\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis isn\u2019t something that we\u2019re talking about managing for months and months and months, we\u2019re going to move this ahead quickly in partnership, led by the two governments.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr Lewis described the legacy of the North’s past as a \u201chugely complex and sensitive issue\u201d.<\/p>\n

He said: \u201cThe people of Northern Ireland and beyond went through some tragic circumstances and situations and some abhorrent experiences through the period of the Troubles.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve got to work together to do everything we can to help Northern Ireland move forward and find a way to move on in dealing with issues around legacy.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe principles of Stormont House are the principles we want to build on and develop but over the last seven years there are lessons to learn around what we can do and how we can do that.\u201d<\/p>\n

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