Business groups call for London and Brussels to settle protocol differences

Posted by Jim on August 23, 2022

23 August, 2022 03:00

Unionist are opposed to the Northern Ireland Protocol. Picture by Liam McBurney/PA Wire

A GROUP representing a broad range of business sectors across the north has urged the British government and EU to agree a compromise on the protocol.

The Northern Ireland Business Brexit Working Group, which includes sectoral bodies from manufacturing, retailing, hospitality and logistics, said the rate of inflation’s 40-year high should spur London and Brussels to “redouble their efforts to resolve their differences”.

“For too long this issue has been dominated by inflexibility and intransigence but Northern Ireland is now facing into the most difficult of winters,” a statement from the umbrella group said.

“It is our view that the scale of the current economic challenge is such that it demands a swift resolution to the impasse.”

The group also warned the British government about the potential “myriad of reputational, legal and commercial risks” that would arise with the dual regulatory regime envisaged in the Northern Ireland Protocol Bill.