Britain gives EU more time to ratify post-Brexit trade deal chinadaily.com.cn - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from chinadaily.com.cn Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
2021-02-23 22:05:53 GMT2021-02-24 06:05:53(Beijing Time) Xinhua English
BRUSSELS. Feb. 23 (Xinhua) Britain has accepted a request by the European Union (EU) for extra time to ratify the post-Brexit trade agreement, European Commissioner for Interinstitutional Relations and Foresight Maros Sefcovic said on Tuesday.
He said Britain agreed to extend the period of provisional application of the agreement until April 30 to give the necessary time to complete our ratification procedure in all of the bloc s 24 official languages.
A deadline had originally been set for Feb. 28 for the European Parliament to formally scrutinize the legal document of the trade deal, while it was provisionally applied from Jan. 1 this year.
European Commission Vice President for Interinstitutional Relations Maroš Šefcovic has told the Oireachtas Joint Committee on European Union Affairs that an attempt to trigger Article 16 of the Northern Ireland Protocol was a mistake, but it was corrected within three hours.
He said Article 16 was invoked as the EU grappled with securing a supply of Covid-19 vaccines.
Mr Šefcovic said the decision was made in the intensity of the moment as there were concerns that the EU was not getting its fair share of vaccines.
He added the EU did not want to block the export of vaccines but wanted to find out where they went.
The European Commission Vice President for Interinstitutional Relations has said his meeting with Michael Gove over the Northern Ireland Protocol was "very constructive", and that he hopes the personal relationship developed between them will allow them to find a solution to the issue.