The British foreign ministers apparently want to scrap parts of the Northern Ireland Protocol.
(Photo: IMAGO/ZUMA Wire)
London According to a newspaper report, British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss wants to remove large parts of the Northern Ireland Protocol in the dispute over customs regulations for Northern Ireland. Truss is said to have concluded that talks with the European Union have reached an impasse and that Maros Sefcovic, the vice-president of the European Commission, does not have the mandate to reach an acceptable agreement, The Times reported on Monday.
The ministry has drafted legislation that would unilaterally lift all controls on UK goods. A corresponding announcement is expected next week, the report said. A ministry spokesman told Reuters: “No decisions have been made on how to proceed, but the situation is now very serious.”
The protocol aims to ensure that EU rules apply in Ireland without the need for rigid border controls to be introduced between the EU member and Britain’s Northern Ireland. As a result, controls on the movement of goods have shifted to the sea border between the British mainland and Northern Ireland.
Northern Irish critics are up in arms, they see the beginnings of a separation from the kingdom. Great Britain then demanded that the protocol signed in the wake of Brexit be changed again. This has been the subject of negotiations between London and Brussels for months.
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