Leaders from the UK, EU and Northern Ireland are due to meet to discuss tensions arising from post-Brexit checks on goods.

On Tuesday, two major ports in Northern Ireland – at Larne and Belfast – suspended border checks after threats were made against staff. UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has called for "urgent action" from the EU to try to resolve the issue.

Relations between the two sides are strained following last week's attempt by the bloc to control the supply of vaccines through Northern Ireland – a move that was described as a "mistake" by EU member state Ireland.

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The latest issues revolve around checks on goods such as food and livestock.

At the heart of the matter is the so-called Northern Ireland Protocol, an insurance policy that meant after Brexit, the UK territory stays in the EU's single market for goods.

As a result, there are now new checks on goods coming into Northern Ireland from the rest of the UK.

That has angered local politicians in Belfast, who want the new trade barriers to be scrapped.

Michael Gove, the UK cabinet minister attending the talks, has written to Brussels calling for checks to be relaxed on essential items such as food and medicine until 2023. The current "light-touch" regulations are due to end in March.

Adding to concerns is a 1998 peace deal signed between warring factions in Northern Ireland, the UK government and Ireland. The agreement ended three decades of sectarian violence between Irish Republicans wanting a united Ireland and Unionists seeking closer ties to the UK.

All sides have said maintaining the deal is essential, with Ireland's Foreign Minister Simon Coveney calling on the UK and EU on Wednesday to "defuse tensions" as soon as possible.