‘Not teething problems…’
Michael Gove asks for extension of Brexit grace period.
Britain’s Cabinet Office Minister, Michael Gove, has asked the EU for an extension of the so-called Brexit ‘grace period’ to allow businesses to adapt to the new Irish Sea border processes, reports the BBC.
Northern Irish ports are not currently required to comply fully with the EU’s usual rules on customs and product standards, but the first of the grace periods is set to expire at the end of March.
NI secretary, Brandon Lewis, has said previously that he did not expect any extensions, but speaking in the House of Commons on Tuesday, Mr Gove said there were “serious problems” with the NI Protocol that needed to be resolved.
Boris Jonson has previously described disruption at NI ports as “teething problems” but Mr Gove said he would not describe them in this way. He said: “We do need to make sure grace periods are extended so that supermarkets can continue to provide consumers with goods they need.”
