DUBLIN/LONDON: The United Kingdom demanded a two-year extension to grace periods for checks on goods going between Britain and Northern Ireland on Wednesday as European Union and British officials met to discuss problems over border arrangements following Brexit.
EU member Ireland backed the call.
As part of its Brexit agreement last year, Britain agreed to checks on some goods moving between British-ruled Northern Ireland and other parts of the United Kingdom.
That let the land border between Northern Ireland and the rest of Ireland remain open with no checks. But the authorities in Northern Ireland complain that it has led to difficulty bringing in goods from other parts of the United Kingdom – and supermarkets have complained of shortages of some items.
British Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove, in charge of negotiating the rules around Northern Ireland, asked in a letter to his EU counterpart Maros Sefcovic that the bloc agree to extend and expand waivers on the movement…