Brexit trade war last thing Britain needs, warns Ireland

Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney said political leaders in Dublin and Brussels are hopeful Ms Truss will adopt a less strident stance on the protocol.

Mr Coveney said he hoped her premiership could herald a “change in direction” for UK/Irish relations after recent years of tension over Brexit and the protocol.

Referencing the prospect of retaliatory action by the EU if the UK moved to scrap the protocol, Mr Coveney said all sides wanted to avoid a trade war, especially in the current context of soaring inflation and a cost-of-living crisis.

“I think the last thing Britain wants and needs, and certainly Ireland wants and needs – and it’s the same across the EU – is a trade war between the EU and the UK,” he told RTE’s Morning Ireland programme.

“That can be avoided. We all know that. There is a deal to be done here through sensible politics and pragmatism, we know what it looks like, in my view.

“What it takes now is political will to be able to make that happen between a new UK Government and a European Commission that is willing to reach out and show flexibility.”

He added: “A lot of the key decision makers are trying to reach out and give a signal to Liz Truss that if she decides to change course to a more positive one in terms of trying to find a sensible compromise with the EU, that we can find a way forward on this issue.

“And I think Northern Ireland needs that and deserves this. We have so many issues to resolve together. We need to move on from the Northern Ireland Protocol issues and settle them on the basis of sensible compromise.”

Mr Coveney said he did not think that Ms Truss would trigger Article 16.

“I hope that Liz Truss will see that there is an opportunity and a space now over the next few months to try and reset relations, not just between Britain and Ireland, but between the UK and the EU more generally,” he said.

“I think leaders across the EU want to change and improve that relationship with the British prime minister because we’ve been through a period of some strain and I hope that Liz Truss and the people around her will see that opportunity.”