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| - British Prime Minister Boris Johnson doubled down Wednesday on his criticism of the European Union's role in post-Brexit problems in Northern Ireland, as London and Brussels hold talks over the sensitive situation. Johnson told UK lawmakers he will do everything necessary to ensure the province can trade easily with the rest of the UK, after rising tensions led to the suspension of border checks on goods earlier this week. His comments came hours before senior minister Michael Gove speaks with EU Commission vice-president Maros Sefcovic to discuss problems with the special post-Brexit arrangements now governing trade to and from Northern Ireland. Fears of sectarian tensions in the historically divided UK region were fuelled over the weekend after the European Commission said Friday it would restrict Covid-19 vaccine exports there amid a row over their rollout. Although the bloc quickly backtracked after fierce criticism, the threatened move has intensified opposition to the new regulations in place since Britain left the EU's single market and customs union at the start of the year. The arrangements, known as the Northern Ireland Protocol, avoid the need for a potentially troublesome hard border on the island of Ireland and protect the 1997 Good Friday Agreement that ended three decades of sectarian conflict. "It was most regrettable that the EU should seem to cast doubt on the Good Friday Agreement, the principles of the peace process, by seeming to call for a border across the island of Ireland," Johnson said in parliament. "We will work to ensure that there are no such borders... and indeed no barriers down the Irish Sea, and that the principle of unfettered access across all parts of our United Kingdom is upheld." Johnson added that could include invoking Article 16 of the protocol -- the fallback provision the EU briefly triggered on Friday, which allows London or Brussels to unilaterally suspend aspects of the deal in special circumstances. The Northern Ireland Protocol came into effect on January 1, when a Brexit transition period ended and Britain's 2016 vote to split from the EU came into full effect. It is designed to prevent a hard border emerging between the north and EU member Ireland -- a frequent flashpoint in the decades of violence -- by transplanting customs checks to Northern Irish ports receiving goods from mainland Britain. Up to 1998, some 3,500 people were killed as unionists who back ties to Britain engaged in conflict with republicans seeking to merge the province with Ireland. However, unionist leaders -- and more hardcore loyalists sometimes linked to paramilitary groups -- oppose the protocol and it has had an uneasy rollout over the past month. Certifications now required on some food imports such as meat, milk, fish and eggs have caused supply issues, even though supermarkets have been given a three-month grace period before rigorous enforcement begins. Checks by local and EU officials were suspended at Belfast and Larne ports late Monday, following threats to port workers. Ahead of his meeting with Sefcovic later Wednesday, Gove sent a letter to his EU counterpart setting out the "rapid action" the UK wants to resolve issues with the protocol. It urged six steps, covering everything from chilled meat rules to pet travel regulations, and including a demand to extend the supermarket grace period until 2023. "If it is not possible to agree a way forward in the way we propose, then the UK will consider using all instruments at its disposal," Gove stated. "In all cases, what is now required is political, not technical, solutions," he added. jj/jit/pvh
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