Gove ‘confident’ of progress in Northern Ireland Protocol talks with EU without triggering Article 16
Michael Gove has said he is “confident” that progress can be made in talks with the European Union over the Northern Ireland Protocol without Article 16 needing to be triggered.
Speaking at the British-Irish Council summit in Cardiff, the Cabinet minister said “a constructive approach” is being taken by both sides in the negotiations and that he believes the mechanism to suspend elements of post-Brexit trading arrangements won’t need to be enacted.
The UK has previously warned it could unilaterally spend parts of the Northern Ireland Brexit deal unless major changes are made.
EU Commission vice-president Maros Sefcovic said he hopes the UK’s ‘actions will follow the words’
The Northern Ireland Protocol prevents a hard border with Ireland by keeping Northern Ireland in the EU’s single market, but that meant checks on products crossing the Irish Sea from Great Britain.
It states that Northern Ireland will remain part of the UK’s customs territory however, and it will have to stick to some EU rules to allow goods to move freely into the Republic and rest of the EU.
Article 16 allows either the EU or the UK to suspend parts of the Brexit withdrawal agreement if it is causing economic difficulties.
“(Brexit minister) Lord Frost has signalled that while, of course, it’s always possible that Article 16 may require to be invoked, we’re confident that we’ll be able to make progress without it,” Mr Gove said on Friday.
The Cabinet minister added that there was clear “determination” from all negotiating parties to “make progress” in discussions.
“There’s a shared recognition that we do need to alter the operation of the protocol on the ground,” Mr Gove said.
He added: “I hope that we won’t need to trigger Article 16, for reasons that will be well understood, but we reserve the right to do so if we believe that changes which are required on the ground in Northern Ireland have not been made.”
Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin said he believes all sides share “a common desire to get these issues revolved through negotiation”.
He urged both the UK and the EU to “turn the corner” and act in the “best interests of people in Northern Ireland on the ground”.
“It’s clear in the discussions this morning from all participants, an acknowledgement of the challenges of COVID to supply chains, the challenges of Brexit and what that means.
“The last thing we need is further disruption and, rather, the focus should be on resolving this.”
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‘Major consequences’ over NI protocol
Their comments came as Brexit minister Lord Frost and EU Commission vice-president Maros Sefcovic continue fresh talks on Friday to resolve issues related to the protocol.
Ahead of their latest meeting, Mr Sefcovic welcomed a “change in tone” from Lord Frost’s team but warned that a post-Brexit trade deal “cannot exist” without the protocol matter being settled.
He added that he hopes the UK’s “actions will follow the words”.
“Our solutions can become reality if the UK plays its part. That is why we have engaged constructively with the UK in order to agree joint solutions,” the EU Commission vice-president said.
“But we also make clear, with the full support of the European parliament and the member states, that we will not renegotiate the protocol.
“To do so would mean to put at risk the stability in Northern Ireland and it would be unnecessary because solutions are available within the framework of the protocol.”
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Mr Sefcovic also said the bloc’s offer to permanently slash customs paperwork by 50% and remove up to 80% of checks would result in a “win-win situation” for all.
Lord Frost said “intensive and constructive talks have proceeded between the UK and EU teams”, adding: “There is the potential to generate some momentum in our discussions.”
But, speaking ahead of the meeting, he played down the prospect of progress, telling reporters there are still “significant gaps” between the UK and EU’s negotiating positions and that the option of triggering Article 16 of the Northern Ireland Protocol remains.
“Our preference is to see if we can find a negotiated way through this problem. If we can’t, Article 16 remains on the table,” he said.
Lord Frost added: “I wouldn’t expect any breakthroughs today but there are some issues that we are making better progress on than others.”
After the meeting, the UK’s Brexit minister said the two parties have “not yet made substantive progress on the fundamental customs and SPS (plant, human and animal health) issues relating to goods moving from Great Britain to Northern Ireland”.
Lord Frost also confirmed that he and Mr Sefcovic will reconvene for further talks on 26 November.
Kemi Badenoch has refused to say that the Conservatives are intending to win next May’s local elections, despite being repeatedly pushed on the issue.
Asked twice to define success for her party at the elections, the Tory leader merely said that she is “going to be fighting for every vote”.
Speaking to Sky News, she added: “Success is going to be people seeing the Conservative Party as the only party that is competent and credible enough to do the tough stuff that this country needs.”
The comments come as the Conservatives continue to trail in the polls.
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Watch Kemi Badenoch’s interview with Sky News in full
New data released by YouGov this morning has put the Tories in third place behind Reform and Labour, a space they have largely occupied throughout the year. The pollster’s weekly voting intention analysis put Ms Badenoch’s party on 18%, down one percentage point.
YouGov’s weekly voting intention poll has the Tories down one percent on last week, and just three above the Greens. Pic: YouGov
Ms Badenoch gave a speech on welfare costs in London on Tuesday, where she attacked the government’s plans to tackle child poverty. Afterwards, she sat down with Sky News political correspondent Sam Coates.
Asked about the local elections, she said: “There are going to be local elections all over the country, and there’s a conservative message that I want everyone to hear: Our country’s not working properly.
“There are fundamental things that need to change. We need to create jobs. Otherwise, we’re not going to have money for councils.”
She added: “We’ve seen new parties like Reform come in. They’re making a hash of things at council level. We need to make sure that people can see the benefits of voting Conservative.”
Ms Badenoch also refused to score her party’s performance out of 10. Pic: PA
When it was pointed out that she had not defined success as winning the local elections, Ms Badenoch said: “The country is going to decide. We’re going to put out an offer, and we’re going to fight for every vote.”
May will see local council elections, as well as votes for the Senedd in Wales and the Scottish Parliament. They are seen as a crucial moment for the Tory leader – and also for Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer.
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‘Of course poverty bothers me’
Ms Badenoch also refused to score the party’s performance out of 10, as the year draws to a close, and she marks a little over 12 months as leader.
She told Sky News: “When I look at the historic defeats which Conservatives suffered last year, things are definitely better.”
Read more:
Tory-Reform pact ‘not happening’
Badenoch dismisses Reeves’s ‘mansplaining’ claim
Challenged on the Tories’ position in the polls, Ms Badenoch said: “Of course, we have a mountain to climb.
“We lost more seats [in 2024] than we’ve ever done in our 200-year history. This was always going to be a long road ahead.”
Wyoming Senator Cynthia Lummis, a member of the US Senate Banking Committee and one of the most prominent proponents for addressing digital asset market structure in Congress, said she wants to take the next step in advancing the bill sometime next week.
Speaking at the Blockchain Association Policy Summit on Tuesday, Lummis said she anticipated that the markup hearing for the Responsible Financial Innovation Act — the Banking Committee’s version of market structure — would happen before Congress broke for the holidays.
The senator said the crypto industry “was getting a little concerned” about the progress of the bill, adding that drafts were “changed so much every few days” during bipartisan discussions.
“Our staffs are exhausted,” said Lummis, referring to her and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand’s teams. “I think that we’re to the point where it’s better to go ahead with a product and mark it up next week and then give everybody a break over the Christmas break to catch their breath.”
She added:
“My goal […] is to share a draft at the end of this week that is our best efforts [sic] to date and let industry vet it, let Republicans and Democrats vet it, and then go to markup next week.”
A markup hearing involves lawmakers considering amendments and changes before a bill is sent to the Senate for a vote.
Although the banking committee released a discussion draft of the market structure bill in July, after the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act passed the US House of Representatives, progress was slowed by the longest government shutdown in the country’s history and reports of pushback from some lawmakers over DeFi provisions in the bill.
Related: How market structure votes could influence 2026 crypto voters
A Monday report from Politico signaled that bipartisan negotiations over market structure were proceeding with plans for a markup in December. Lummis said in September that she expected the bill to be signed into law by 2026.
However, it’s unclear whether Republicans’ timeline will pan out. Even if senators were to proceed with a markup, other obstacles — such as partisan pushback — could lengthen the time for a vote.
What will a US market structure bill mean for the crypto industry?
Although the bill has yet to work its way through the Senate Banking Committee and Senate Agriculture Committee, many in the crypto industry have been championing Congress’ efforts to advance the legislation, citing clarity and benefits to the market.
“More and more finance will move onchain under the leadership of [SEC Chair Paul Atkins] once a market structure is passed into law by Congress,” said Coinbase chief legal officer Paul Grewal on Wednesday. “Our leaders need to align on the last details in the bill without delay […].”
Although the final version of the bill to be considered by the US Senate was not public at the time of publication, previously released drafts indicated that it would grant the Commodity Futures Trading Commission more authority over digital assets. This would represent a significant change from the Securities and Exchange Commission essentially handling regulation and enforcement.
Magazine: When privacy and AML laws conflict: Crypto projects’ impossible choice
Major tokenization platform Securitize has doubled down on its push to bring tokenized equity to US investors, naming a former PayPal executive as its new general counsel.
Securitize on Tuesday announced the appointment of ex-PayPal executive Jerome Roche, who led the company’s expansion into digital asset projects, including the PayPal USD (PYUSD) stablecoin.
Securitize also said its tokenized securities are already available to US investors, challenging the notion that most issuers prefer to offer such products abroad due to local stock access.
“There’s been a perception that tokenized securities must be offered primarily outside the US, but our experience shows the opposite,” Securitize CEO Carlos Domingo told Cointelegraph.
“Clear regulatory path” for tokenized stocks in the US
According to Securitize, operating real-world asset (RWA) tokenization offerings inside the US regulatory perimeter is “not only possible, but scalable, at institutional quality.”
“We’ve demonstrated that there is a clear regulatory path for issuers to natively tokenize assets for US investors,” Domingo said.
“These are not synthetic representations, or derivatives, but real securities onchain,” the CEO said, adding:
“We operate using SEC-regulated infrastructure, including a registered transfer agent broker-dealer, and fund admin, which allows US investors to access and legally hold tokenized securities in a fully compliant framework.”
Securitize’s optimistic outlook on the US tokenization comes days after the platform obtained regulatory approval to operate as an investment company and a trading ánd settlement system in the European Union on Nov. 26. According to the company, the approval positioned it as one of the first operators for regulated digital securities infrastructure in both the US and EU.
“For the first time, modern ledger technology is giving us the ability to record ownership, settle transactions, and move value in ways that are fundamentally better than the fragmented systems we’ve inherited,” Securitize’s newly appointed general counsel, Roche, said in the announcement.
“Innovation only works when it fits squarely within the guardrails of applicable law,” he added, underscoring Securitize’s global push for regulated tokenized securities.
Related: US Treasurys lead tokenization wave as CoinShares predicts 2026 growth
Securitize’s news is another sign of the US warming to tokenization. On Monday, the Securities and Exchange Commission dropped its investigation into rival tokenization platform Ondo Finance.
Ondo said the decision marks a new chapter for tokenized securities in the US, where they are poised to become a “core part of the capital markets.”
Magazine: When privacy and AML laws conflict: Crypto projects’ impossible choice
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