Over the next month there is an opportunity to resolve many outstanding problems on the Northern Ireland protocol. The British government has extended its grace periods for implementing aspects of the protocol, this time in consultation with the Irish Government and with Brussels, which has suspended its legal proceedings. The Northern executive is also engaged – notwithstanding the declaration by DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson that his party is ready to bring it down if the protocol is not radically overhauled. Other parties there are much more ready to compromise.
The formal positions of the British government, looking for an effective renegotiation of the agreement, and the European Commission, which rejects that but offers optimal flexibility, have been repeated in recent contacts. But there is now a fresh willingness to explore constructive compromises. That can help restore some of the political trust lost between London and Brussels, a key requirement for progress which was undermined by recurrent British unilateralism and uncertainty about its government's true intentions. Domestic politics is still at play for the British government, tempted to play up disagreements over sovereignty, as for the DUP, which wants to restore electoral positions lost to hardliners.
Elements of a possible compromise are now more clearly identified. The EU has already moved on particularly neuralgic issues such as movement of medicines and pets on the Irish sea border between Britain and the North. It is ready to explore supply chain issues further but only within the established EU legal framework protecting the single market. The joint committee system established for this purpose can and should be made more accessible and accountable to Northern legislators. London has informally signalled a retreat from its maximalist ambition to overturn the protocol in order to pin compromises down. The opportunity to reach agreement on the protocol will not be extended indefinitely. While there is no formal deadline it will have to be reached in the next month or so.