Stalled Brexit talks over Northern Ireland reached a breakthrough on Monday after the UK agreed to give EU officials access to its IT systems for trade across the Irish Sea.
Foreign secretary James Cleverly and his EU counterpart Maros Šefčovič hailed it as a “new basis” for future Brexit discussions, calling the deal a “critical prerequisite to building trust and providing assurance” between the UK and the EU.
“An agreement was reached today on the way forward regarding the specific question of the EU’s access to UK IT systems,” said a joint statement.
The EU has warned that without real-time access to the UK’s trade flow data needed for goods travelling into Northern Ireland it will be unable to permanently reduce the scope of its border checks.
Brussels also wants the data to help improve the efficiency of British goods moving over the land border from Northern Ireland into the Republic of Ireland.
The data sharing system, which was led by a Fujitsu consortium, has been “up and running for about four to five months”, according to one customs expert. “It was effectively a case of proving that it was accurate and usable, and for the EU to pick it up,” they said.
The recent deal indicates the EU is now satisfied with the way the Fujitsu systems work. However there are still further negotations needed over certain points – for example how detailed the data must be.
Cleverly and Šefčovič will meet again with Northern Ireland secretary of state Chris Heaton-Harris next Monday, 16 January, for further progress talks – suggesting a return to regular talks with the EU.
“They are now talking as friends,” an EU official told the Financial Times. “We are entering a new cycle and there seems to be a genuine will on both sides to get things done.”
The momentum gathered by the discussions raises hope that a protocol deal will be reached before 10 April, the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement.
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