Sinn Fein's historic win in Northern Ireland may not change anything for the Brexit negotiations
Sinn Fein, Northern Ireland's pro-unification party, has for the first time in 101 years won the most seats in the province's parliamentary election, but the impact on Brexit negotiations may be muted, experts have told Euronews.
The historic vote in Northern Ireland was succeeded by well-rehearsed accusations of intransigence from both European and British officials suggesting the stalemate over the Northern Ireland Protocol remains unchanged.
The British government, via Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab, has called for "stability" in Northern Ireland, calling on the various political formations to come together and form an executive. But he also, in the next breath, argued that "it's equally clear that that stability is being put at risk, imperilled if you like, by the problems with the Northern Ireland Protocol."
Brandon Lewis, Britain's Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, stressed meanwhile that "it is really frustrating that the EU have not shown the flexibility we need to see to get that resolution" and that although the UK has for now abstained from triggering Article 16 that would see it unilaterally withdraw from the Protocol, "we've always said we take nothing off the table and that hasn't changed."
This led Maros Sefcovic, the EU's chief negotiator, to riposte that the 27-country bloc has "already shown a lot of flexibility by proposing impactful, durable solutions and we stand ready to continue discussions.
"We need the UK government to dial down rhetoric, be honest about the deal they signed and agree to find solutions within its framework," he added in a statement.
The Protocol remains a painful thorn in EU-UK relations.
London, which negotiated and approved special post-Brexit arrangements keeping
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