Ireland will be net contributor to EU recovery fund - Martin {{ vm.siteSelectorList.flyout.cell1.global.countryLocale }} The new Northern Ireland (NI) Protocol was the key to unlocking the Johnson Withdrawal Agreement. Responding to the ‘The UK’s Approach to the NI Protocol’ command paper Where things stand in light of ‘The UK’s approach to the Protocol’ Dealing with the Coronavirus crisis has distracted from preparations that would otherwise have been Brexit: Concerns for EU after latest meeting with UK over Irish Protocol Find out how KPMG's expertise can help you and your company. A key report by the House of Lords has highlighted a litany of uncertainties and contradictions in the British government's approach to the Northern Ireland Protocol.Peers have also accused the UK of appearing to "reinterpret" the Protocol when it comes to one of its central elements.The report repeatedly warns of what it calls the "Herculean" task facing Northern Ireland business to come to terms with the Protocol, and the fact that time is running out for them to prepare for the changes involved.The 107-page report by the House of Lords Select Committee on the EU says the UK government's approach, as well as a too rigid approach by the European Union, pose a "potent threat to economic prosperity and political stability in Northern Ireland".Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, the chair of the House of Lords committee said there is a large amount of work to be done and his chief concern is that there is not a good process for getting the small detail sorted out so that businesses on the island of Ireland can plan for a post-Brexit future. The Northern Ireland Protocol. The NIBN told peers that if this meant one form per consignment it could amount to 70 forms for a single lorry, with the burden falling on freight companies "who would be relying on the exporter for information".The committee says "the EU should take this argument seriously, but the [UK] Government in turn needs to explain how such an exemption can be reconciled with the EU's international obligations under the [European] Union Customs Code".The report concludes by saying that Brexit and the negotiations around the revised Protocol have "regrettably" placed relations between both communities in the North and between Ireland and the UK "under considerable strain, with a concomitant diminution of trust on all sides".It says the agreement of the Protocol by the EU and UK in October last year did not mean tensions had been removed. https://home.kpmg/.../brexit-northern-ireland-protocol.html There are now seven months to go until the Protocol becomes operational on 1 January 2021," the report concludes. As the NI Protocol only covers goods but not services, this means that EU VAT rules will apply to goods but UK VAT rules will apply to services in respect of Northern Ireland. "Meanwhile, a spokesman for Mr Johnson has said that Britain hopes the latest round of trade talks with the EU - starting tomorrow - will keep the process on track before a high-level meeting later this month. Lord Kinnoull said that if details are not completed by September or October, it will be very difficult for businesses to plan and discussions of detail need to happen now, in order to give businesses any chance to prepare.He said the committee view is that it would be sensible for the British government to seek an extension but although this has "been put to them many times", the UK government is absolutely clear there will be no extension.The Protocol on Northern Ireland is contained in the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement and will come into effect on 31 December, unless the UK agrees an extension to the Brexit transition period.It provides for Northern Ireland to remain in the EU's single market for goods and means there will be customs, VAT, state aid and EU regulatory formalities for goods moving between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.The report, drawn up by the 19-member committee, reflects what it calls "the very high level of anxiety" among Northern Ireland businesses over the scale, complexity and costs of putting the Protocol into practice in just seven months' time.Peers have accused the British government of issuing "a series of seemingly contradictory statements, amounting to an inability to confirm and explain precisely what it agreed with the EU under the terms of the Protocol".The report also criticises the European Commission for insisting that "the rules are the rules", without indicating any flexibility over the interpretation or application of those rules.The Lords committee has compiled the report following months of hearings with senior UK ministers, including the former Brexit secretary Steve Barclay, and Michael Gove, the senior cabinet minister charged with implementing the overall Withdrawal Agreement.The committee also took detailed submissions from Northern Ireland business and freight stakeholders, as well as key trade and legal experts and academics.It comes in the light of ongoing tensions between the European Commission and the UK government over the meaning, scope and obligations of the Protocol.The report quotes the view of the Northern Ireland Business Network (NIBN) that the approach taken by both the UK and EU made Northern Ireland feel "like a pawn in the game".The uncertainties and lack of detail from the UK government, said the network during hearings, "hindered Northern Ireland stakeholders from preparing for the 'seismic change' that would happen on 1 January 2021".During the hearings the NIBN expressed its "deep frustration" at what it called the lack of engagement by the UK government and warned that "if there are new costs in terms of tariffs, paperwork or staff hours, and if costs exceed the product margin, then the product or business model becomes unviable".While welcoming the recent UK Command Paper on how it would implement the Protocol, the House of Lords committee "regrets" it took seven months to appear.The report also calls on the British government to explain how its promise not to create new customs infrastructure to cater for the incoming customs formalities is compatible with the demands of the Protocol.