The BBC reports that the UK’s Brexit Minister has played down the prospect of reaching a new agri-food agreement with the EU.
Such an agreement is seen as central to reducing controls on goods moving from Great Britain to Northern Ireland.
Lord Frost said there is a “pretty significant difference” between the EU and UK on what sort of deal is possible.
He said it is a “fundamental issue of principle” that the UK will not dynamically align with EU rules.
Dynamic alignment, otherwise known as a Swiss-style arrangement, would involve the UK following EU rules in this area indefinitely.
Switzerland aligns with EU rules which means its products do not have be checked as they enter the EU, but they have no power in the setting of those rules.
Some political parties in Northern Ireland support such a deal as it would eliminate the most onerous checks and controls required by the NI Protocol.
