Recommendation 30

The Cabinet Office told us that, having seen considerable diversion of trade and, due to the lack of support for the Protocol among parts of the community in Northern Ireland, the government had proposed changes to the European Commission to how the Protocol operates. It also told us that it remains the UK’s preference to find a consensual way forward, but that Article 16 safeguards remained in place and could be used if needed and justified. It noted that there was a need for pragmatism and for comprehensive solutions to the genuine difficulties being experienced on the ground.95