EU will not renegotiate Brexit's Northern Ireland deal - Sefcovic

Britain on Wednesday demanded a new deal from the European Union to govern post-Brexit trade with Northern Ireland, saying it already had cause to step away from parts of the deal that it struck with Brussels only last year. "We will continue to engage with the UK, also on the suggestions made today," Sefcovic said in a statement.

The European Commission will seek "creative solutions" to difficulties in trade between Britain and Northern Ireland caused by Brexit, but will not renegotiate the Brexit deal on Northern Ireland, Commission Vice President Maros Sefcovic said. Britain on Wednesday demanded a new deal from the European Union to govern post-Brexit trade with Northern Ireland, saying it already had cause to step away from parts of the deal that it struck with Brussels only last year.

"We will continue to engage with the UK, also on the suggestions made today," Sefcovic said in a statement. "We are ready to continue to seek creative solutions, within the framework of the Protocol, in the interest of all communities in Northern Ireland. However, we will not agree to a renegotiation of the Protocol," he said.

The Northern Ireland protocol, backed by Prime Minister Boris Johnson, was part of the settlement that finally sealed Britain's sometimes bitter divorce from the bloc, four years after Britons voted to leave in a referendum.