STORMONT'S leaders last night emerged from a meeting aimed at addressing problems associated with Irish Sea border offering two very distinct takes on the proceedings.
First Minister Arlene Foster said the virtual meeting of the UK-EU Joint Committee was "hugely disappointing", while the Deputy First Minster Michele O'Neill described it as "very constructive".
There had been hope ahead of the meeting chaired by Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove and European Commission vice president Maros Sefcovic that a British government request for an extension to the grace period until January 2023 would be granted.
But the DUP leader said EU officials appeared "tone deaf" to concerns voiced about disruption to trade.
Mrs Foster claimed Mr Gove was "slightly taken aback by the attitude of the European Union".
"I can't say I had high expectations for it given the attitude of the European Commission to everything that we have said thus far, so it has been hugely disappointing that they haven't listened to the voices of unionism, the majority community in Northern Ireland," she told the BBC afterwards.
"What they have decided to do instead is, if there are problems then what is needed to deal with those problems is actually not less protocol but more protocol, and I think that that is entirely tone deaf."
The first minister warned of "real and genuine difficulties" at the end of March when some of the grace periods for checks will expire.
In contrast, Ms O’Neill said she welcomed the "positive and constructive engagement".
She said the protocol offered a "competitive advantage which must be exploited to create jobs".
"It was very clear from the discussions that there was a recognition, particularly given the recent engagement with the local business community and civic society, that there are issues that need to be resolved, but both sides committed to try and define practical solutions and that's where everyone needs to be focused right now," she said.
The deputy first minister welcomed an EU offer for the joint committee to meet again before the end of next month.
"I welcome the fact that we had the conversation today and actually are able to focus on how to find solutions to these issues because that's what needs to happen here," she said.
Earlier, Secretary of State Brandon Lewis stressed that the British government was focused on making the protocol work, not ditching it.
The joint committee meeting came as it emerged that Belfast loyalist Clifford Peeples has launched a separate court challenge against the protocol.
Mr Peeples said he had instructed his solicitor to issue proceedings last week before becoming aware of the action being led by former Brexit MEP Ben Habib, Baroness Kate Hoey and TUV leader Jim Allister.
