Tenist Leo Varadkar said plans for a no-deal Brexit will resume as it appears the UK will launch Article 16 of the Northern Ireland Protocol.
Government and European Union officials are continuing their efforts to dissuade British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his government from invoking an emergency clause that can be triggered if the protocol causes «serious economic, social or environmental difficulties that could continue or divert trade».
Irish Times Reports suggest there is growing expectation among Irish and EU officials that the UK will release Article 16, which they fear could lead to reciprocal treatment between the two sides.
The United Kingdom feels that the reasons for activating Article 16 of the Protocol, which was included in the Brexit deal to avoid the difficult border between the Republic and the North, have been fulfilled, arguing that such a measure would not be illegal or illegal, which the Union opposes European.
Varadkar said the Cabinet subcommittee on Brexit met on Monday «to dust off the dust and resume emergency preparations».
Despite suggestions that the EU is preparing to respond with swift action if the UK initiates Article 16, officials said the focus remains on negotiating a solution.
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«We have come up with a far-reaching package of proposals, the so-called Detailed Arrangements, to facilitate the implementation of the agreement, and we believe this can be the basis for discussion and agreement,» said EU Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis.
However, the UK feels that these proposals do not go far enough, and remain inconsistent with the European Court of Justice’s role as arbitrator of the agreement – a point on which the EU does not seem ready to budge.
Speaking to the Oireachtas committee on the matter, Foreign Secretary Simon Coveney said the British government was asking the EU to «make the impossible possible», adding that there was now a «very serious risk» of triggering Article 16.
European Union negotiator Maros Sefcovic and his British counterpart, Lord David Frost, are due to meet again later this week.