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London / Brussels (dpa) - After days of dispute, Great Britain and the European Union have jointly sought a solution to the difficulties in Northern Ireland after Brexit.
Both sides met in the evening for a crisis discussion via video.
The background was the conflict over corona vaccines, but also problems with the Brexit rules for Northern Ireland.
The British government requested an extension of the transition clauses by at least two years.
"We are both very aware that there are a number of pressing problems with the Northern Ireland Protocol that need to be addressed, and we have to do that this week," wrote British Minister of State Michael Gove in a letter to EU Commission Vice-President Maros Sefcovic .
Both are responsible for the implementation of the Brexit agreements.
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The Northern Ireland Protocol in the British EU Withdrawal Treaty provides that the British province will in fact continue to be part of the EU internal market.
This is to prevent controls on the border between Northern Ireland and the EU state Ireland.
In order to do this, the transport of goods from the rest of the United Kingdom to Northern Ireland must be partially controlled.
In order to avoid problems with the food supply, for example, there is currently a transition phase of several months with less comprehensive controls.
"The rules that currently apply to supermarkets and their suppliers must be extended until at least January 1, 2023," Gove wrote in his letter.
For other goods that are subject to special regulations - such as chilled meat products, pharmaceuticals and parcels - the transition phase would have to be extended or permanent regulations found.
Northern Irish supporters of the union with Great Britain had criticized the hurdles and protested against it.
Due to threats of violence, controls have been suspended in the past few days.
"What is needed now are political, not technical, solutions," wrote Gove.
The stability of the peace in Northern Ireland and the people there must be protected in any case.
If the EU does not bow to the demands, one will "consider using all available means", so the letter.
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New EU export requirements for corona vaccines, which the EU had introduced in the dispute over delivery cuts by the Swedish-British manufacturer Astrazeneca, had recently provided additional ignition material between the two sides.
There were also controls between Ireland and Northern Ireland at times.
The EU Commission was considering activating an emergency mechanism for this - Article 16 of the Northern Ireland Protocol.
After protests from Ireland and Great Britain, the commission withdrew.
Before speaking with Gove, Sefcovic reiterated his express support for the Northern Ireland Protocol.
This is a central point of the Brexit exit treaty and the only way to keep the peace on the Irish island.
That was "the absolute priority for the EU," wrote the Commission vice on Twitter.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson expressed outrage again on Wednesday.
The EU Commission had given the impression that, contrary to the spirit of the Good Friday Agreement, it wanted to introduce border controls on the Irish island.
Johnson, for his part, threatened to trigger the emergency mechanism in the Northern Ireland Protocol.
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© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210203-99-291358 / 2
Letter from Minister of State Michael Gove