The former taoiseach Leo Varadkar has conceded that the Northern Ireland protocol is “a little too strict”, raising hopes of further EU compromises as talks reopen between London and Brussels.
Varadkar, who is now deputy prime minister, said he believed there was room “for more flexibility” in the controversial Brexit arrangements that have cast a shadow over Anglo-Irish relations for the past 18 months.
“One thing that I would concede is that perhaps the protocol as it was originally designed was a little too strict.
“The protocol is not being fully implemented and yet it is still working. I think that demonstrates that there is some room for further flexibility, for changes that hopefully will make it acceptable to all sides,” he told reporters in Dublin.
“I think there is a window of opportunity now over the next couple of weeks to see if we can come to an agreement on the protocol,” he said.
His comments come as other senior Irish sources concede privately that the last two years had shown the true level of risk of fraudulent or sub-standard goods being smuggled across the border into the single market.
The protocol, which was agreed in October 2019 after a meeting between Boris Johnson and Varadkar in Wirral, Merseyside, was designed to avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland.
It envisaged checks – many of which have never been implemented – at ports and airports, to ensure Northern Ireland didn’t become a gateway for rogue trade into the EU.
One government source conceded that the last two years without much of the protocol in place has shown the pre-existing anti-smuggling regimes work and “not many dodgy goods have crossed the border”.
Varadkar said he believed there was now an opportunity for a deal that would satisfy the unionists, who have been vehemently opposed to the protocol.
“That would be very beneficial for Ireland, for Northern Ireland, because it allows us to get the [Northern Ireland] executive up and running and could be helpful for Britain as well in economic terms,” he said.
The Irish and British foreign ministers, Simon Coveney and James Cleverly, will open talks tonight in the first bilateral meeting between the UK and Ireland since Liz Truss became prime minister.
Officials from both sides were due to meet virtually on Thursday afternoon with a roadmap for talks expected to be agreed in the coming days.
Indications from both sides suggest officials will go into what is known as a “tunnel”, keeping talks confidential with no public commentary.
The Northern Ireland minister Steve Baker said earlier this week: “On red lines the point is not to discuss them in public, not to have none.”
Varadkar said: “What we have agreed is that while the process is under way that we would limit, or refrain, from any public comment on it.”
