Taoiseach Micheál Martin is expected to discuss the Northern Ireland Protocol in his first formal meeting with British Prime Minister Liz Truss at Downing Street on Sunday morning.
Mr Martin will travel to London the day before the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II to meet the new prime minister. He will stay overnight to attend the funeral on Monday.
Ms Truss is holding a series of one-to-one meetings in London with world leaders who have arrived for the funeral. She will also meet US president Joe Biden; Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau and Polish President Andrzej Duda.
It is expected Mr Martin and Ms Truss will discuss a wide range of issues touching on Anglo-Irish relations and common interests. However, the Taoiseach will focus on the continuing dispute over the Protocol.
The Government has placed a lot of emphasis on comments by European Union chief negotiator Maroš Šefčovič this week that the EU was willing to eliminate checks on all but a few lorries travelling into Northern Ireland from Britain every day. Mr Martin is expected to say that the comment can provide a fresh impetus and also raise the possibility of a “landing zone” for an agreement.
As yet, Ms Truss and her new Cabinet have yet to show their hand as to entering meaningful negotiations on the post-Brexit protocol.
Mr Martin and Ms Truss met during the memorial service for the queen in Belfast on Tuesday. They also spoke by telephone last Friday.
On Friday, Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney expressed “cautious optimism” about fresh talks on the protocol which he expects to resume in the coming weeks.
A “new, more real round of dialogue” would commence over the next few weeks, he said. Such talks were necessary to repair the damage and to avoid the risk of new elections if an agreement was not reached, he added.
Mr Coveney told RTÉ Radio’s Morning Ireland he was cautiously optimistic that there would be “an honest effort” to settle some of the issues that have been outstanding for too long.
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When asked if he will vacate his position as Minister for Foreign Affairs if Micheál Martin seeks it after relinquishing his role as Taoiseach, Mr Coveney replied “I will have no choice, will I?”
Britain’s new Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris has said his government is committed to a “negotiated solution” with the EU over the protocol.
Speaking in the House of Commons last week during his first Northern Ireland question time in his new role, Mr Heaton-Harris repeatedly emphasised the UK’s preference was to resolve the issues through negotiation but added that if this was not forthcoming, “we will legislate”.
