MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

UK/EU talks to overcome post Brexit frictions in Northern Ireland; Dublin pleads for calm

The 499-kilometer border separating north from south Ireland has become one of the most contentious issues since, not least over trade

Britain and the EU vowed on Thursday to resolve post-Brexit trade frictions over the Northern Ireland border in the wake of the UK's departure from the bloc. Northern Ireland was barely mentioned in the parliamentary debates prior to the 2016 Brexit referendum.

Yet the nature of the 499-kilometer border separating north from the south has become one of the most contentious issues since, not least over trade and the vulnerability of the peace accord struck in 1998 — the Good Friday Agreement — that largely ended sectarian conflict in Northern Ireland that had ensued since the late 1960s.

Since the UK fully left the EU after the post-Brexit transition period ended on January first, significant shortages of fresh produce and other goods has occurred across Northern Ireland, exacerbating post-Brexit tensions.

Senior British Cabinet Minister Michael Gove and European Commission Vice President Maros Sefcovic held “a frank but constructive discussion” with the Good Friday Agreement and issues over the supply of goods at the center of those talks, the pair said.

Their statement added that they would “spare no effort” to implement solutions agreed in December under the so-called Northern Ireland Protocol.

Relations between the UK and the EU have become increasingly fractious, with Ireland keeping a close eye on proceedings.

Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin has called on both sides to “dial down the rhetoric.” “We just need to calm it, because ultimately we want the United Kingdom aligning well with the European Union. We want harmonious, sensible relationships,” he told RTE radio.