NI Protocol port checks could be reduced by 80% – Coveney

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian and Simon Coveney during a press conference (Julien Behal Photography)

The number of checks on goods arriving into Northern Ireland from Great Britain could be reduced by 80%, the Foreign Affairs minister has said.

Simon Coveney said that option exists within the Northern Ireland Protocol if the UK was willing to agreed a common approach to standards in relation to veterinary practices, and sanitary and phytosanitary standards on food.