European Commission 'satisfied' Brexit Irish Sea border port checks continuing

The European Commission has said it is satisfied Brexit protocol checks are continuing at Northern Ireland ports.

European Commission spokesman Eric Mamer said the EU's observers were monitoring the situation.

"We have experts who are on the ground in Northern Ireland precisely in relation to the issue of checks," he said.

The "preliminary information" from those experts "is indeed that those checks are continuing".

Downing Street it was unaware of the DUP's move to end checks until Edwin Poots announcement on Wednesday evening.

A spokesman for the PM said they were looking at the legal position and they were focused on resolving the issues around the protocol.

The spokesman added: "We certainly weren't aware that this was the approach the DUP were going to take.

"I'm not sure what preparatory work has gone on, on the basis this could happen."

Boris Johnson has said it is "crazy" to "have checks on goods that were basically circulating within the single market of the United Kingdom".

Speaking on a visit to Blackpool, the Prime Minister said he welcomed talks continuing between Foreign Secretary Liz Truss and European Commission vice-president Maros Sefcovic following Mr Poots' decision to order a halt to agri-food checks at Northern Ireland's ports.

Mr Johnson said: "What you could have, of course, is a common-sensical... practical steps to weed out, to check on things that might be at risk of circulation, as they say in Brussels, are at risk of circulation in Ireland, as well as Northern Ireland.

"Now we can do that, but without having a full panoply of checks on the GB/NI coast and at the airport, and that's the way forward.

"I think practical common sense is what's needed."

Asked if he was therefore going back on what was agreed with the EU, Mr Johnson said: "Actually, if you look at the protocol, which I'm sure you have studied in detail, there's plenty about uninterrupted east-west trade."

It was unclear on Thursday morning what checks continued to take place at the ports after Mr Poots said workers would be withdrawn from midnight.

EU Commissioner Mairead McGuinness said the decision to halt Brexit checks on goods entering Northern Ireland was a breach of international law.

Ms McGuinness, the commissioner in charge of financial services, told RTE radio on Thursday: "This is extremely unhelpful to have this news at this time of a new year, when all efforts are being made on our side.

"We're working tirelessly to find solutions with the United Kingdom to specific problems and indeed have put forward very specific details."

DUP Agriculture Minister Edwin Poots issued the unilateral direction on Wednesday evening, instructing officials to stop the agri-food checks at midnight.

However, there has been no confirmation from Stormont officials whether they intend to comply with the order.

DUP rivals at Stormont insist Mr Poots' direction is unlawful and civil servants are obliged to follow the law at all times.

Lorries were still being received at a Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (Daera) checking facility in Belfast Port earlier on Thursday morning.

Several vehicles entered the facility after the ferry arrived from Cairnryan in Scotland at 6am.

A staff member declined to confirm to the PA news agency whether the agri-food checks required under the Northern Ireland Protocol were continuing.

The picture is further clouded due to the fact some of the port checks have been delegated to local council staff while UK Border Force personnel also have a presence at the facilities. It is unclear what would happen to their roles if the Daera staff withdrew.

Mr Poots' direction only relates to the sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) checks required by the protocol. The customs procedures on Irish Sea trade are unaffected by his instruction.

Announcing the move on Wednesday, Mr Poots said legal advice he had sought on the issue supported his view that he was entitled to stop the checks.

The UK Government has said it will not intervene in what it has characterised as a matter that falls within the Stormont Executive.

Government critics dispute this contention, highlighting that the UK has a duty under international law to abide by the terms of the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement.

Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis has denied claims the development is a "stitch-up" between the Government and the DUP.

"No, absolutely not," he told ITV's Peston programme on Wednesday night. "This is a decision that the minister in Northern Ireland has taken."

Mr Poots' order came after he last week failed to secure the wider approval of the Stormont Executive to continue checks on agri-food produce arriving in Northern Ireland from Great Britain.

The minister argues that in the absence of Executive approval he no longer has legal cover to continue the documentary checks and physical inspections.