British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss announced legislation in the House of Commons that would allow the government to unilaterally withdraw from the deal with the EU. Should it come to that, Brussels has already threatened sanctions up to and including a trade war.
“We will be introducing legislation in the coming weeks that will allow companies to choose between EU and UK rules,” Truss announced. “It’s not about abolishing the protocol for us,” said the conservative politician. “We want to continue negotiating with the EU and looking for a common solution.” However, London must act now. Truss rejected criticism of the unilateral breach of contract: “The Northern Ireland Protocol was never set in stone.”
The Northern Ireland Protocol is intended to regulate freight traffic between the Northern Irish province and the rest of Great Britain after Great Britain has left the European single market. It was necessary because, according to the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, there should be no hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
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British Prime Minister Boris Johnson therefore agreed in 2019 that Northern Ireland would remain part of the EU internal market and its regulation by Brussels and that the customs border would run in the Irish Sea.
Renegotiation “not an option for the EU”
The British advance was immediately condemned in Brussels. “Should the UK go ahead with the law and suspend essential elements of the protocol, the EU will respond with any means at its disposal,” said European Commission Vice-President Maros Sefcovic. “Going it alone is not acceptable.”
The British government complains that the bureaucratic customs controls impede the movement of goods with Northern Ireland.
(Photo: Getty Images; Per-Anders Pettersson)
The announcement also triggered sharp reactions in the European Parliament. “This is an unprecedented low point in the artificial long-term escalation by the British government,” said Anna Cavazzini (Greens), Chair of the Internal Market Committee in the European Parliament. “Should such a law actually come into force, it is a clear breach of international law.”
The chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, David McAllister (CDU), emphasized that renegotiating the Northern Ireland Protocol was “not an option for the EU”. It is about finding sustainable solutions within the existing legal framework. “This unilateral step by London does not make further talks any easier.”
Irish Foreign Secretary Simon Coveney said now was a bad time for a row between the EU and Britain given the war in Ukraine. Unilateral action by London would be a breach of contract. There are legal procedures for this.
There are fears among London-loyal Unionists in Northern Ireland that they would be detached from Britain and part of a reunited Ireland should that happen after a possible referendum.
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The victory of the nationalist party Sinn Fein in regional elections in early May added to these fears. Since then, Unionists have refused to agree to a new government in Northern Ireland, fueling political tensions in the province again.
The majority of nationalists are in favor of maintaining the agreement with the EU, while the unionists will not even be satisfied with Truss’s announcement and will not agree to forming a government in Belfast until London carries out its threat and legislation to change the protocol is enacted brings. Words are not enough, stressed the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP).
Demonstrators hold up signs as they protest outside Hillsborough Castle in Northern Ireland ahead of a visit by British Prime Minister Johnson.
(Photo: dpa)
But that’s not all: The British government also complains that the bureaucratic customs controls impede the movement of goods with Northern Ireland, and proposes a “green” import route with significantly reduced controls for goods destined for Northern Ireland.
Johnson received support from Archie Norman, chairman of the British department store chain Marks & Spencer. He put his company’s administrative costs for exports to the EU at the equivalent of 35 million euros a year and fears that Brussels could impose similarly expensive requirements for deliveries to Northern Ireland.
Brussels insists on protecting the EU internal market
Johnson also wants to ensure that Northern Ireland benefits from all British laws and is no longer under the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice. For example, if London lowers VAT on energy to reduce price pressure, the relief cannot simply be passed on to the Northern Irish.
The EU Commission has so far rejected the proposals with reference to the protection of its internal market. Vice-Commissioner Sefcovic had stressed that the EU was ready to further reduce border controls in Northern Ireland. However, the British side did not respond to his offers at all. There is a lack of political will in London to implement the protocol.
Instead, Johnson continued to play poker and had taken some pressure off the boiler in the past few days: “We don’t want to abolish the protocol, but we think it can be improved,” said the prime minister after a visit to Belfast on Monday.
“In agreement with our friends and partners,” he wanted an agreement with the EU to relax border controls. At the same time, however, Johnson was determined to undermine the protocol if necessary: ”In order to get the insurance, we have to find a legislative solution at the same time,” he announced.
The prime minister’s strategy is apparently to use the threat like a sword of Damocles to wring further concessions from the EU. The British Cabinet had approved this strategy before Truss appeared in Parliament. “We’re not taking anything off the table,” said British Minister for Northern Ireland Brandon Lewis before the cabinet meeting. “We are determined to do what we have to do.”
Johnson previously conceded that the Brexit deal he signed with the EU was to blame for Northern Ireland’s political woes. He signed the protocol “with good intentions” and did not expect the EU to interpret it so “draconically”.
More: Northern Ireland dispute: The worst political earthquake in the English Channel since the Brexit referendum is imminent