DUBLIN (Reuters) – The European Union is considering demands by Britain and some Northern Irish politicians to extend grace periods for checks on goods between the two but the Northern Ireland protocol will not be dramatically changed, Ireland’s foreign minister said.
“The idea of grace periods was to allow time for adjustment, not to put permanent alternatives in place. Whether it is possible to extend some of those grace periods is I think under consideration,” Simon Coveney told BBC Radio Ulster on Thursday.
“But I think we need to be realistic, there is not going to be dramatic change here. This is about looking at existing flexibilities, using them more effectively and taking a pragmatic approach within the confines of the protocol.”
(Reporting by Padraic Halpin; Editing by Toby Chopra)
