EU 'clearing house' seeks to calm Brexit tensions over Northern Ireland
February 17, 2021, 12:06 pm

EU 'clearing house' seeks to calm Brexit tensions over Northern Ireland

Maroš Šefčovič speaking to Ireland’s European affairs committee.

Maroš Šefčovič tells Dáil in Ireland he wants new committee to find solutions to trade problems

The EU is seeking to “de-escalate” Brexit tensions in Northern Ireland with the establishment of a new “clearing house” committee to work out solutions to issues caused by new trade barriers including controls on supermarket and chilled meat supplies.

The European commission vice-president Maroš Šefčovič said the introduction of the Northern Ireland protocol had been “administratively extremely challenging” but the EU was doing as much as possible to “calm down” and stabilise the backlash over checks and controls on goods entering the region from Great Britain.

He told MPs on Ireland’s European affairs committee that the UK rejected a transition period over issues such as the “supply chains of sausages” and that “teething problems” were inevitable.

“We knew this might happen. We have been discussing this with our UK partners for the last year.”

The barriers to supply chains have fuelled local protests, anti-protocol graffiti and an official campaign by the Democratic Unionist party to scrap the protocol completely.

Šefčovič said a new clearing house would be set up to assess any political solutions and act as an early warning system to alert both the UK and the EU to problems arising locally.

But he added the implementation of the protocol “is a shared responsibility” and the onus was on both sides to make it work. “It must be always a two-way street,” he said.

“We also have to recognise the fact that we knew from the beginning that the United Kingdom leaving the European Union, the customs union and the single market is a massive operation, that it’s not possible to prevent all the disruption.

“It was quite obvious from the beginning that there will be teething problems and I believe that we can resolve them if we work very well together,” he told the Dáil committee.

But he indicated there would be little flexibility around the protocol until the UK had implemented it fully, telling the committee that “official controls at the border control posts are currently not performed in compliance with the withdrawal agreement protocol and the European Union rules”.

There were “very few identity checks, very limited number of physical checks” and the EU could not assess the impact of trusted trader schemes and simplified health certificates for products such as chilled food until it had “real time” access to the customs data.

He will meet Northern Ireland business and civic leaders in an online summit on Thursday ahead of a meeting of the joint committee he chairs with the UK Cabinet Office minister, Michael Gove, which is due to take place no later than 24 February.

He gave little detail on the clearing house but said it would assess and evaluate political solutions to the protocol issues. It would be bolstered by the establishment of new Brexit structures including a partnership council, also to be jointly chaired by Gove and 19 “specialised committees”.

Šefčovič told the Dáil committee that he “deeply regrets” last month’s aborted attempt to suspend part of the protocol in an EU vaccine row and said there would be a monthly meeting of commissioners “with the highest stake in this new EU-UK relationship” to ensure such a blunder was not repeated.

source: Lisa O'Carroll

Levant

Dominic Raab calls for ceasefires to enable Covid vaccinations Researchers urge for delay in administering second dose of Pfizer vaccine

BENEFIT, the Kingdom’s innovator and leading company in Fintech and electronic financial transactions service, has announced its sponsorship of the “Innovation and Sustainable Technology Solutions Competition (GU - IST Solutions), hosted by Gulf University at its main campus.
This strategic sponsorship reflects BENEFIT’s active role in advancing technological innovation and fostering sustainable solutions to future challenges. It also seeks to empower Bahraini youth by enhancing their skills, capabilities, and competitiveness in innovation and solution development—contributing meaningfully to the broader goals of sustainable development across all sectors.
As part of BENEFIT’s active involvement in the competition, the company has announced that Hanan Abdulla Hasan, Senior Manager of Public Relations and Communication, will serve on the competition’s supervisory committee. Her upcoming participation reflects BENEFIT’s forward-looking commitment to championing academic and professional excellence.
Commenting on the occasion, Hanan Abdulla Hasan, Senior Manager of Public Relations and Communication at BENEFIT, said, “We are privileged to support this pioneering initiative, which aligns seamlessly with BENEFIT’s enduring commitment to fostering innovation and nurturing the potential of Bahrain’s youth. Our participation is rooted in a deep sense of social responsibility and a firm belief in the pivotal role of innovation in shaping a sustainable future. Through such platforms, we seek to empower the next generation with the knowledge, skills, and foresight required to develop impactful solutions that address future challenges, in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 2030.”
Dr. Aseel Al Ayash Dean of the College of Engineering in Gulf University commented, “We extend our sincere gratitude to BENEFIT for their generous sponsorship and support of the Innovation and Sustainable Technology Solutions Competition. This contribution plays an instrumental role in helping us achieve the strategic goals of this initiative, namely, cultivating a culture of innovation and sustainability, encouraging efforts that address the imperatives of sustainable development, and enhancing the practical and professional capabilities of our students and participants.”
The event will bring together a diverse spectrum of participants, including secondary school students, university undergraduates, engineers, industry professionals, entrepreneurs, academic researchers, and subject matter experts representing a wide range of disciplines.
The competition seeks to inspire participants to develop and present innovative, sustainable technologies aimed at addressing pressing environmental, social, and economic challenges. It encourages the formulation of business models that integrate advanced technological solutions with core principles of sustainability. Moreover, it serves as a platform for emerging leaders, entrepreneurs, and innovators to contribute to the advancement of the Sustainable Development Goals, promote the ethos of responsible technology, and demonstrate its transformative potential across various sectors.
Attendees will have the opportunity to view a series of project presentations submitted by participants, covering diverse areas such as eco-friendly product design, smart and sustainable innovations, renewable energy technologies, water conservation and management, waste minimisation and recycling, green architectural solutions, and sustainable transportation systems. Outstanding projects will be formally recognised and awarded at the conclusion of the event.