EU and UK hold ‘productive’ talks on Northern Ireland crisis

Talks between the EU and UK to ease tensions in Northern Ireland have been described as “productive” and “constructive” with momentum now established to achieve a solution to the crisis, the Brexit minister, David Frost, has said.

But the EU used the first face-to-face meeting since lockdown between Lord Frost and the European commission vice-president, Maroš Šefčovič, to warn that the outcome needed to be jointly agreed.

There was “no space for unilateral action”, he said, adding the threat of legal action over the UK’s decision last month to delay some of the border checks in Northern Ireland would remain on the table for “as long as necessary”.

Frost and Šefčovič held four hours of talks in Brussels on Thursday night in what the EU described as a “solution-driven atmosphere”, indicating a thaw in relations over Northern Ireland.

The two sides have agreed to intensify talks at all levels in the coming weeks, with meetings with business and civic leaders in Northern Ireland in the next fortnight.

The Brussels summit was designed to inject fresh political impetus into technical talks that have been ongoing over the past three weeks.

Frost said those talks “had begun to clarify the outstanding issues, and some positive momentum had been established”.

But he warned “difficult issues remained and it was important to continue to discuss them”.

The recent unrest in Northern Ireland has added to the pressure, with reports on Friday that a second man had been shot in the legs in an area in Derry where violence broke out over Easter.

The divisions in Northern Ireland have long been along political lines about how it should be governed, and by whom, and also along religious faultlines.

Unionists, also called loyalists, are loyal to the union between Northern Ireland and Great Britain. Historically they have mostly been Protestants, and often refer to the area of Northern Ireland as Ulster – one of Ireland’s traditional provinces whose territory it partially covers.

Republicans, also called nationalists, believe in a united and independent Ireland. Historically they have mostly been Catholic. They sometimes refer to Northern Ireland as the "six counties", a reference to the fact that the territory covers six of the nine counties of Ulster.

The two communities tend to vote along separate lines, with parties such as the Democratic Unionist party and the Ulster Unionist party attracting the support of loyalists, while nationalists usually voting for the SDLP (Social Democratic and Labour Party) or for Sinn Féin. The Alliance party and the Green party attract some cross-community support.

Prior to the relative peace and stability brought about by the Good Friday agreement in 1998, there were decades of conflict centred around Northern Ireland known colloquially as "the Troubles", fuelled by paramilitary wings on both sides of the divide.

Organisations including the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) fought for the nationalist cause, and on the opposite side groups such as the Ulster Defence Association (UDA) and Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) between them perpetuated conflict that included terrorist attacks and murders in the Republic of Ireland and on mainland Britain as well as in Northern Ireland itself. About 3,500 people were killed during this period, including those killed by British security forces.

The roots of the conflict, however, ultimately go back as far back as the 12th century to invasions of Ireland by forces from the mainland. Echoes of that long history are seen in the symbols used and events celebrated by either side. Loyalists celebrate with their Orange Order marches the 1690 victory of Protestant Prince William of Orange over Catholic King James II at the Battle of the Boyne, while republicans celebrate events such as the 1916 Easter Rising, which paved the way for the formation of the modern independent Republic of Ireland.

Brexit has recently exacerbated divisions, making the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland a land border between the EU and the UK, and a source of tension between the two trading blocs over their future relationship. The DUP and other unionists campaigned for and supported Brexit, while Sinn Féin and other republicans campaigned against. Northern Ireland voted overall to remain in the EU, by 55.8% to 44.2%.

After Thursday night’s meeting both sides have indicated the desire for a solution based on the protocol, which the Democratic Unionist party (DUP) wants scrapped.

The EU also highlighted what appears to be a lack of detail in the roadmap the UK delivered to Brussels two weeks ago on implementation of the protocol.

Šefčovič has asked the UK to come back with “clear end points, deadlines, milestones and the means to measure progress” and reminded the UK that “solutions can only be found through joint actions and through joint bodies”.

The meeting came as Ireland’s foreign minister, Simon Coveney, held a series of meetings with cabinet and shadow cabinet members in London including talks with Frost, the foreign secretary, Dominic Raab, and the Northern Ireland secretary, Brandon Lewis.

Louise Haigh, the shadow Northern Ireland secretary, is in Belfast on Friday to meet civic and political leaders. Labour has accused the UK government of losing the trust of the unionist community.

The DUP launched a scathing attack on Šefčovič, describing his claims that the solutions lie in the “full implementation” of the protocol and “full compliance” with it as something that “belongs in the realm of fantasy, not political reality and negotiation”.