The bill proposed by the British government on Monday seeks to remove customs controls on certain goods entering Northern Ireland from the rest of the United Kingdom. The EU believes that the UK’s unilateral decision violates international law. The so-called Northern Ireland Protocol is part of the Brexit agreement that keeps Northern Ireland in the EU single market for goods. The 27-nation bloc will resume infringement proceedings against the UK government last year after Britain unilaterally extended a grace period for trade on the island of Ireland. The action was put on hold in September 2021 as both sides tried to find a common solution. In addition, the EU will launch further action against the United Kingdom for possible failure to carry out the necessary checks in accordance with EU rules and for the provision of trade statistics, as required by the Protocol. Unilateral action is not constructive. Violation of international agreements is not acceptable. Today we have initiated infringement proceedings against the United Kingdom for non-compliance with parts of the Ireland / Northern Ireland Protocol.https://t.co/N377fB9VIw – @ EU_Commission
“Relatively insignificant”: PM Johnson
The EU said the British government would have two months to respond, after which it would consider referring the matter to the European Court of Justice. “Trust is built on compliance with international obligations,” said Maros Sefkovic, vice-president of the European Commission. “Unilateral action is not constructive. Violation of international agreements is unacceptable.” European Commission Vice President Maro Sefkovic is holding documents as he speaks during a press conference at the European Union headquarters in Brussels on Wednesday. The British government on Monday proposed new legislation that would unilaterally rewrite post-Brexit trade rules for Northern Ireland, despite opposition from some British and EU lawmakers. (Geert Vanden Wijngaert / The Associated Press) The British government described the EU move as “disappointing”. “The UK preference remains for a negotiated solution, but the proposals the EU is making today are the same proposals we have been discussing for months,” he said. Leaving aside the criticism, Johnson told reporters this week that the proposed change was “relatively simple.” “Honestly, it’s a relatively insignificant set of adjustments to the big picture,” he told LBC Radio. Arrangements for Northern Ireland – the only part of the United Kingdom that shares a land border with an EU nation – have proved to be the most thorny issue in Britain’s divorce from the bloc, which became final in late 2020.
Few interested are happy
Britain and the EU have agreed in their Brexit agreement that Ireland’s land borders will remain free of customs and other controls, as open borders are a key pillar of the peace process that ended decades of violence in Northern Ireland. Instead, in order to protect the EU single market, controls are carried out on certain goods, such as meat and eggs, which enter Northern Ireland from the rest of the United Kingdom But the deal has proved politically damaging to Johnson because he treats Northern Ireland differently than the rest of the UK. The Democratic Unionist Party of Northern Ireland refused to return to the power-sharing government in the region until the protocol was repealed or substantially changed. CLOCKS Elections in Northern Ireland lead to uncertainty about government formation:
British officials in Northern Ireland urge new power-sharing government following Sinn Féin’s rise
The British Foreign Secretary for Northern Ireland is urging the major parties in the region to form a new government after the Irish nationalist Sinn Féin party won the largest number of seats in the Northern Ireland Assembly. British trade unionists in Northern Ireland say the new controls have burdened businesses and severed ties between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK – seen by some trade unionists as a threat to their British identity. The British Conservative government says Brexit rules are also undermining peace in Northern Ireland, where they have sparked a political crisis. Northern Ireland’s main trade union party is blocking the formation of a new government in Belfast, saying it will not take part until Brexit’s trade rules are lifted. The bill to circumvent this arrangement is expected to face opposition in Parliament, including from members of Johnson’s own Conservatives. The legislation proposed by the British government will take months to pass through Parliament and officials seem to be hoping to reach a new agreement with the EU in the meantime. The UK government has said its proposed measures would mitigate the impact on businesses by canceling controls and reducing red tape for goods coming from Britain to Northern Ireland and staying there. Goods moving through Ireland or the EU market will continue to be controlled in the ports of Northern Ireland. According to EU officials, who were not authorized to speak in public because of the sensitivity of the issue, there were seizures last year in Northern Irish ports of high-value electronics, tobacco, counterfeit drugs, smartphones and illicit drugs that could be smuggled into the EU market. . Northern Ireland is the only part of the United Kingdom that shares a border with an EU country – the Republic of Ireland. When Britain left the EU and the free trade area without borders, the two sides agreed to keep Ireland’s land border free of customs and other controls, as the open border is a key pillar of the peace process that ended decades of violence in Northern Ireland. Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin said on Monday that it was “very sad for a country like the United Kingdom to renounce an international treaty”.
