UK's Gove demands longer grace period and "political solution" for N. Ireland

Britain demanded on Wednesday that the European Union agree to extend and expand waivers on the movement of certain goods from Britain into Northern Ireland calling for urgent political solutions to problems implementing post-Brexit rules.

"What is now required is political, not technical, solutions," Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove, in charge of negotiating the rules around Northern Ireland, said in a letter to his EU counterpart Maros Sefcovic.

"The arrangements that currently apply to supermarkets and their suppliers must be extended until at least 1 January 2023. The eligibility for these arrangements must also be adapted so that all relevant local businesses and services are able to be included as authorised traders."