The Brexit minister believes that the best way to tackle the EU is to be tough.
(Photo: Bloomberg)
Brexit is not an event, but an endless process. This is shown by the ongoing dispute over the Northern Ireland Protocol. On Wednesday, the EU Commission wants to present a compromise proposal and relax the rules for the delivery of British sausages and medicines to Northern Ireland. In doing so, she is responding to the criticism that the British province will be cut off from the rest of the kingdom by the new EU customs controls in the Irish Sea.
The EU is showing a pleasing pragmatism in its courtesy. Northern Ireland is the only British part of the country to remain part of the European internal market even after Brexit. This hybrid status requires a special instinct from everyone involved.
The British government, however, does not appear to want to take hold of the Commission’s outstretched hand. Even before the proposal was even published, Brexit Minister David Frost rejected it in a speech in Lisbon on Tuesday. Even more: he launched excerpts from the speech in the Sunday newspapers at the weekend.
Anyone who acts like this does not want an agreement, but an escalation. The protocol has to be renegotiated in principle and the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice for Northern Ireland abolished, demands Frost. Having negotiated the protocol in person, he knows that the role of the Court of Justice is a red line for the EU. Brussels will not give up the protection of the internal market. So what is the demand?
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Tactics of maximum demands
Either it is the old British Brexit tactic of offending Brussels with maximum demands and then giving in afterwards. In this scenario, both sides would agree in a few weeks to further relax the EU controls on British territory.
Or Frost is looking for an excuse to cancel the protocol altogether. He and his boss Boris Johnson have long considered the document to be a mistake and want to undo it. They are counting on the EU not to punish the breach of treaty so as not to endanger peace in Northern Ireland.
In fact, the EU must be concerned with balancing – but only up to a certain point. She mustn’t be fooled. Should the UK end the Northern Ireland Protocol, the EU must be ready to impose punitive tariffs on British products. The member states must show unity, even if some reject a trade war. Johnson and Frost are convinced that the best way to tackle the EU is to be tough. The EU should also try the other way around.
More: Brexit undermines the dominance of the City of London