UK opens more space for N. Ireland pact revision

The United Kingdom has again unilaterally delayed implementing the Northern Ireland Protocol, an agreement it reached with the European Union while leaving the bloc.

David Frost, the UK minister who oversaw Brexit, told the British Parliament that the extension of a grace period due to end on Oct 1 would "provide space for further potential discussions" with the EU.

The implementation of the deal, which is part of the Brexit withdrawal agreement, had already been deferred several times since it was supposed to start on Jan 1.

While some deferrals of the protocol, which oversees trade on the island of Ireland, drew the ire of the EU, the European Commission said after Monday's announcement that it will continue to pause legal action against the UK for its failure to implement the deal.

"Our focus remains on identifying long-term, flexible, and practical solutions to address issues related to the practical implementation of the protocol that citizens and businesses in Northern Ireland are experiencing," the EU said. "However, we will not agree to a renegotiation of the protocol."

The Financial Times newspaper said a senior European Union official added: "The idea is that the UK will continue to apply the same conditions … to allow for the discussions to conclude."

The bloc has consistently said it will not renegotiate the protocol, but will look for solutions within the existing deal.

Leo Varadkar, deputy prime minister of EU member the Republic of Ireland, explained on Radio 4's Today program: "We don't really see the case for renegotiating (the protocol) so soon. We think most of the solutions can be found within the existing agreement."

But Frost insists the protocol is "not sustainable" and said in a recent speech to the British-Irish Association that the UK does not want "solutions which involve 'flexibilities' within the current rules".

The protocol details how Northern Ireland can receive goods from the British mainland, while a hard border on the island of Ireland－the only land border between the UK and the EU－can be avoided.

Aodhan Connolly, director of the Northern Ireland Retail Consortium, told the BBC businesses that hope the latest grace period extension, which is of an undetermined length, will lead to real solutions.