27/07/2021 (Agence Europe) – The British government has rejected the EU’s offers aiming to ease certain provisions of the Northern Ireland Protocol—notably those on the supply of generic medicines and on sanitary and phytosanitary controls (see EUROPE 12769/15)—judging them to be “insufficient”, revealed a government spokesman who was then quoted by The Guardian on the evening of 26 July. The European Commission published its proposed solutions to ease the protocol on 26 July—avenues that had already been put forward on 30 June; however, the [UK] government has indicated that what the EU covers [in these proposals] represents “only a small subset of the many difficulties caused by the way the protocol is operating”. “We need comprehensive and durable solutions if we are to avoid further disruption to everyday lives in Northern Ireland,” the spokesperson added. (SP)