One of the main transit points for goods between the UK and the European Union.
(Photo: dpa)
London In the struggle for Brexit rules for the British province of Northern Ireland, the EU and Great Britain have not come to an agreement despite new concessions. Brexit Minister David Frost once again emphasized “the need for significant changes to the current conditions” at his meeting with EU Commission Vice-President Maros Sefcovic, according to a statement by the British government published on Monday.
In a statement, EU Commissioner Sefcovic welcomed the fact that it had been agreed to exchange “intensive and constructive” exchanges. Frost and Sefcovic tried again at the end of the week to find a compromise for the concrete implementation of the so-called Northern Ireland Protocol. Further meetings between EU and UK representatives are due to take place this week.
The Northern Ireland Protocol provides that the British province will remain part of the EU customs union and the internal market even after Brexit. The regulation avoids a hard border with the EU member Republic of Ireland, which would presumably lead to new tensions in the former civil war area.
However, this has created a customs border with the rest of the UK and there are severe restrictions on intra-UK trade. The Northern Ireland Protocol was the breakthrough in the dispute over the former civil war region during the British exit negotiations. In particular, the role of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) as the highest arbitration body for problems relating to Northern Ireland remains controversial between London and Brussels.
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Last week, Sefcovic had promised considerable relief for the movement of goods between Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The tests of quality standards for food and other goods are to be reduced just as significantly as customs formalities. Medicines should also be able to reach the British province without restrictions. There should be exceptions for typical products such as sausages.
For the British, however, these concessions are not enough. Frost demands that the role of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) as the authority for overseeing the rules of the protocol must end – a point that experts believe is non-negotiable from Brussels’ point of view. Frost had previously threatened to partially override the protocol through an emergency mechanism. Hopes for an agreement in the dispute, which has been simmering for months, are likely to fade further.
Holger Hestermeyer, Professor of International Law and European Law at King’s College London, makes it clear that the requirement cannot be met in practice. With regard to the role of the European Court of Justice, the EU has “hardly any legal scope for negotiation”, which is known to both sides. In the worst case, the dispute could lead to the termination of the free trade agreement, warns Hestermeyer.
Other experts are also warning of an impending trade war between Brussels and London. The analyst Mujtaba Rahman of the consultancy Eurasia Group believes that a drastic action on the part of the EU is becoming more and more likely. If London questions the Northern Ireland Protocol, the trade agreement is also on the brink, wrote Rahman on Twitter.
More: If necessary, the EU must wage a trade war against Great Britain