The Government has thrown its weight behind a European Union office in Belfast amid a deepening stand-off between the UK and European Union on the issue, RTÉ News understands.
The move coincides with a sharp warning from the EU that the office issue is "urgent", and that time is running short for the UK to implement the requirements of the Northern Ireland Protocol, contained in the Withdrawal Agreement.
The warning comes in a detailed note circulated to member states setting out in stark detail all of the elements that the EU believes the UK must put in place in order to implement the protocol.
The note, seen by RTÉ News, said work needs to start by 1 June on IT systems and customs databases that will facilitate customs and regulatory controls on goods moving between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
Meanwhile, the Government has let it be known that it regards an EU office in Northern Ireland as "logical" according to the needs of the protocol.
Ireland also believes the office would be a reflection of the EU's "ongoing support" for the peace process.
Irish officials made an intervention on the issue during the first meeting of an EU-UK technical committee, which was set up to implement the protocol on Northern Ireland.
This week, the UK sent a second letter to the EU turning down its request for an office in Belfast to help it implement the technical work required by the Irish Protocol.
During today's technical meeting, conducted by video conference, the UK insisted there should be no EU office in Belfast.
It repeated the view expressed in the letter, written by UK Minister of State Penny Mordaunt to Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief negotiator and another senior EU official, that the protocol did not require an EU presence in Belfast and that it would "be divisive in political and community terms".
However, in its intervention, an Irish official told the video conference that an EU office in no way undermined the Good Friday Agreement, and that on the contrary it reflected "ongoing EU support for the peace process".
The official said an EU office would be a "logical" way of delivering on the requirements of protocol.
In a nine-page technical note circulated to member states this evening, and seen by RTÉ News, the EU has described the Irish protocol as the "biggest challenge" facing both sides in implementing the Withdrawal Agreement "considering the technical complexity and political sensitivity".
The note sets out all of the technical measures the UK has to implement by 31 December in order to comply with the terms of the protocol.
The EU says the measures, which will involve the biggest change in Northern Ireland, are also "the politically most sensitive" and require "timely and thorough preparation".
The note highlights the need for checks and controls on goods moving between Britain and Northern Ireland when it comes to customs, agri-food and animal health, VAT, fisheries and other regulatory and certification requirements.
Such procedures, says the note, require "very careful preparation to avoid major disruptions at the end of the transition period".
However, the EU regards the creation of IT systems and databases to be ready as early as 1 June "at the very latest".
The note also highlights the issue of an EU office in Belfast.
It states: "Discussions on the [European] Union presence in Northern Ireland need to be advanced as a matter of urgency as well.
"We need clarity on the administrative arrangements before we can recruit staff, organise the uptake of their functions."
The issue of the office has become mired in sectarian politics in Northern Ireland, with the leaders of Sinn Féin, the SDLP, the Alliance Party and the Green Party writing a joint letter to the British Prime Minister Boris Johnson expressing their concern at the rejection of the EU request, while the UK stance has been supported by the two main unionist parties.
It is understood the Government is dismayed that the issue has taken on such symbolic and political weight.
However, the Government believes an EU presence is important and that the EU will not willingly back down on the issue.
Irish and EU sources stress that both sides will remain "engaged" on the issue.
The European Commission insists that Article 12 of the protocol, which sets out that EU customs officials will oversee the proper implementation of checks and controls, means that officials should have an office to work from in Northern Ireland.
Sources in Brussels say such officials will provide a supportive role, rather than a supervisory one, given that UK customs officials - technically from a third country - will be implementing the EU’s customs rule book.
It is understood the British government regards the issue as all but dead. However, there are indications that any further requests made by the EU will be listened to.
Apart from the EU office issue, both sides have said today’s meeting was "constructive," with one senior EU source saying the encounter was more constructive "than feared".
The protocol requires the UK to ensure that any goods moving from Britain and Northern Ireland are not at risk of crossing into the EU’s single market over the land border.
The EU believes that this requires all goods to be subject to the principle of customs and regulatory checks and controls. Brussels believes that only once it is clearly established by the specialised committee that certain goods are not at risk of crossing the land border, then tariffs can be exempted or rebated.
It is understood the UK provided more concrete details on how it plans to implement the Protocol, including a commitment to having designated controls at the port of Larne.
UK officials also gave details of how it will protect the rights of EU citizens in Northern Ireland, which is required by Article 2 of the protocol.
A UK Government spokesperson said: "The European Commission has chosen to publish this technical note to set out its own views on the implementation of the Northern Ireland Protocol.
"It was not shared at recent meetings with the UK, nor has it been agreed by the UK Government.
"We are committed to complying with our legal obligations under the Protocol, just as we expect the European Union to comply with theirs.
"We will continue to take forward discussions on the implementation of the Protocol in the Joint Committee and Specialised Committee."
